P2‐039: Lateralized associations between neuropsychological functioning and cerebral glucose metabolism
Year: 2008
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: While language functions are usually attributed to left-brain function and spatial/perceptual abilities to right brain function, few studies have examined the relationship between modality-specific cognitive skills and lateralized molecular neuroimaging results. We investigated the association between left-right FDG-PET metabolism with language-based and spatial/perceptual neuropsychological performance. Cognitive and FDG-PET data were collected from 66 patients undergoing clinical evaluations for cognitive complaints (35 males, 31 females; 60/66 right-handed); they ranged in age from 48–86 (M=72.1 ± 8.7) and had MMSE scores 18 (M=25.1 ± 3.5). Neurostat warped FDG-PET images in a Talariach atlas and provided averaged peak metabolic values for lateral and medial regions within the parietal, temporal, and frontal lobes to compute global left and right neocortex scores that were normalized to the pons. Language-oriented measures included the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Third Edition (WAIS-III), the Boston Naming Test (BNT), and the Token Test from the Multilingual Aphasia Examination. Spatial/perceptual measures were Clock and Complex Figure Drawing (CCFD) from the Kaplan-Baycrest Neurocognitive Assessment, Judgment of Line Orientation (JOLO), and the WAIS-III Perceptual Organization Index (POI). Cognitive scores were corrected for age and education. All language scores were significantly correlated with left-sided glucose metabolism on the WAIS-III VCI (0.33), BNT (0.31), and the Token Test (0.31); in contrast, associations failed to reach significance between right-sided FDG-PET findings and language results of verbal intelligence (0.18), naming (0.15), and comprehension/praxis (0.03). A different pattern emerged on spatial/perceptual tests: Associations of equal statistical strength emerged respectively between right and left metabolism on the WAIS-III POI (0.34, 0.27) and CCFD (0.37, 0.33), with the exception of a significant right-left differential on JOLO (0.28, 0.21). Many spatially oriented tests are not selectively associated with right brain functioning. Very basic spatial tasks, such as judging line orientation, appear more right focal than tasks with complex constructional demands. Furthermore, selectively impaired results on construction tasks might be associated with greater functional impairment because of similar glucose hypometabolism in both cerebral cortices.
Source: Alzheimer s & Dementia
Institution: University of Utah
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4253939999