Whole-brain voxel-based morphometry of white matter in mild cognitive impairment

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to analyze whole-brain white matter changes in mild cognitive impairment (MCI).Materials and methodsWe studied 14 patients with MCI and 14 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) on T1-weighted 3D datasets. The data were collected on a 3T MR system and analyzed by SPM2 to generate white matter volume maps.ResultsVoxel-based morphometry revealed diffusively reduced white matter in MCI prominently including the bilateral temporal gyrus, the right anterior cingulate, the bilateral superior and medial frontal gyrus and right parietal angular gyrus. White matter reduction was more prominent in anterior regions than that in posterior regions.ConclusionWhole-brain white matter reduction in MCI patients detected with VBM has special distribution which is in line with the white matter pathology of MCI.