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The relationship between dorsal stream connections to the caudate and verbal fluency in Parkinson disease.

Federico Rodriguez-PorcelJanina WilmskoetterChristine CooperJames Andrew TaylorJulius FridrikssonGregory HickokLeonardo Bonilha
Published in: Brain imaging and behavior (2020)
Performance in verbal fluency tasks are widely used as a marker of cognitive impairment in Parkinson disease. However, the anatomical substrate of its impairment remains undetermined. Based on the dual-stream language model, we hypothesized cortical input to the subcortical circuitry would be a crucial determinant of fluency. We performed a retrospective study using individual whole-brain structural connectomes derived from 135 individuals with PD and assessed the relationship between white matter integrity and verbal fluency tasks. Controlling for multiple factors, including dysarthria, we observed higher integrity of dorsal stream-caudate connectivity was associated with better letter fluency. This preliminary study indicates the possible dissociation between dorsal and ventral stream connectivity and letter fluency in PD. In addition, it suggests a non-motor role of the frontostriatal fibers in letter fluency.
Keyphrases
  • parkinson disease
  • white matter
  • working memory
  • deep brain stimulation
  • spinal cord
  • neuropathic pain
  • resting state
  • multiple sclerosis
  • cognitive impairment
  • functional connectivity
  • spinal cord injury
  • brain injury