Eni Halilaj1, Stephen Correia2,
David H. Laidlaw1, Stephen Salloway3
1Computer Science, Brown University,
Providence, RI, United States; 2Department of Psychiatry and Human
Behavior, Warren Alpert School of Brown University; 3Neuroscience,
Brown University
In
this study we use quantitative tractography to explore potential associations
between cognitive functions and cerebral white matter pathways. We support
inferences made about relationships between working memory, processing speed,
motor function, executive function, visual naming and white matter health not
only though observed correlations, but also through the lack thereof, in
functions expected to rely more heavily on the functional integrity of
cortical regions. Quantitative tractography metrics are powerful markers of
structural integrity in white matter. Using such metrics, rather than
diffusivity scalars, helps us identify underlying correlations between
localized white matter atrophy and categorical cognitive decline.