94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Aging Neurosci.
Sec. Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias
Volume 17 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1508849
This article is part of the Research TopicUnraveling Cognitive Impairment: A Multimodal MRI Approach to Brain NetworksView all 7 articles
Unravelling the Interplay: Brain Regional Atrophy and Neuropsychological Function in Early Alzheimer's Disease
Provisionally accepted- 1Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 2Hanyang University Seoul Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
ObjectivesThe structural changes in the brain differ between normal aging and Alzheimer’s dementia (AD). The results of cognitive function tests reflect structural changes in the brain in AD. This study aimed to determine the specific relationship between regional brain volume and neuropsychological subtest scores.MethodsNinety-three patients with definitive diagnosis of AD (confirmed by PET) were retrospectively enrolled. An automated program Quick Brain Volumetry (QBraVo) was used to measure the regional gray matter (GM) volume of the participants. Each score of the Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery (SNSB) subset test was statistically analyzed to observe correlations between regional brain volumes and cognitive function. Results of the SNSB subset test were compared to the degree of brain volume atrophy.ResultsThe Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT), Trail making test for the elderly (TMT–e), and Korean version Boston naming test (K-BNT) were strongly correlated with GM volume atrophy, mainly in the temporal lobe. Memory functions, including Seoul verbal learning test (SVLT), Rey complex figure test (RCFT) recall and recognition tests, were significantly correlated with both the temporal and frontal regions. Various tests reflecting frontal and executive functions did not reveal significant correlations with the frontal regions. The BNT test scores reflecting language function did not correlate with frontal atrophy. Tests reflecting visuospatial capability (RCFT) were also related to inferior frontal and temporal atrophies.ConclusionIn patients with AD, the results of most cognitive function tests are related to the degree of atrophy of the temporal and frontal cortices. Further research is necessary to determine the extent to which cognitive function test results are associated with brain atrophy.
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, brain volumetry, Cognitive Function, Correlation studies, Retrospective Studies
Received: 10 Oct 2024; Accepted: 16 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 HEO, KIM, LEE, KIM, SEONG, KIM and Kim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Heejin Kim, Hanyang University Seoul Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.