The association between hippocampal subfield volumes and education in cognitively normal older adults and amnestic mild cognitive impairment patients

• Published in: Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment Vol. 14; pp. 143 - 152
• Main Authors: Kang, Dong Woo, Lim, Hyun Kook, Joo, Soo-Hyun, Lee, Na Rae, Lee, Chang Uk
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Zealand Dove Medical Press Limited 01.01.2018; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Dove Medical Press
• Subjects: Advertising executives; Age; Alcoholism; Alzheimer's disease; Automation; Brain; Cognitive ability; cognitive reserve; Dementia; Diagnostic imaging; Drug abuse; Education; Elderly; Head injuries; hippocampus; Mediation; Memory; Mental disorders; mild cognitive impairment; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Older people; Original Research; presubiculum; Proxy; Psychiatry; Regression analysis; Studies; subiculum; subiculum; mild cognitive impairment; education; hippocampus; presubiculum; cognitive reserve
• ISSN: 1176-6328; 1178-2021; 1178-2021
• DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S151659

Previous research has indicated that there are potential associations between education and total hippocampal volume in the trajectory of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the correlation between education and hippocampal subfield volumes in the progression of AD has yet to be understood. This study examined the relationship between education, which is a standard proxy for cognitive reserve, and hippocampal subfield volumes in healthy and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) groups. Thirty-eight subjects with aMCI and 39 healthy control subjects underwent 3 T magnetic resonance imaging, and hippocampal subfield volumes were measured by automated segmentation. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the association between education and hippocampal subfield volumes. Education had a significant negative correlation with the left parasubiculum, presubiculum, and subiculum volumes in the aMCI group. In addition, multiple subfield volumes including left parasubiculum, left/right presubiculum, left cornus ammonis (CA)3, and left CA4 showed a significant correlation with the neuropsychological test scores in the control group and aMCI group. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the association between education, hippocampal subfield volumes, and amnestic cognitive functions in the early phase of AD.