Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Jan 2025
Tract-specific white matter hyperintensities and neuropsychiatric syndromes: a multicentre memory clinic study.
White matter hyperintensities (WMH) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia but the functional significance of WMH in specific white matter (WM) tracts is unclear. We investigate whether WMH burden within major WM fibre classes and individual WM tracts are differentially associated with different neuropsychiatric syndromes in a large multicentre study. ⋯ Tract-syndrome specificity of WMH burden with apathy and hyperactivity suggests that disruption of strategic neuronal pathways may be a potential mechanism through which small vessel disease affects emotional and behavioural regulation in memory clinic patients.