Lacunar cerebral infarction (LI) is one of risk factors of vascular dementia and correlates with progression of cognitive impairment including the executive functions. However, little is known on spatial navigation impairment and its underlying microstructural alteration of white matter in patients with LI and with or without mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Our aim was to investigate whether the spatial navigation impairment correlated with the white matter integrity in LI patients with MCI (LI-MCI). Thirty patients with LI were included in the study and were divided into LI-MCI (n=17) and non MCI (LI-Non MCI) groups (n=13) according neuropsychological tests.The microstructural integrity of white matter was assessed by calculating a fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans. The spatial navigation accuracy, separately evaluated as egocentric and allocentric, was assessed by a computerized human analogue of the Morris Water Maze tests Amunet. LI-MCI performed worse than the CN and LI-NonMCI groups on egocentric and delayed spatial navigation subtests. LI-MCI patients have spatial navigation deficits. The microstructural abnormalities in diffuse brain regions, including hippocampus, uncinate fasciculus and other brain regions may contribute to the spatial navigation impairment in LI-MCI patients at follow-up.

Department of Neurology Memory Disorders Clinic Charles University Prague 2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University Hospital Prague Czech Republic

Department of Neurology The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University Nanjing Jiangsu P R China

Department of Neurology The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing Medical University Nanjing Jiangsu P R China

Department of Radiology The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University Nanjing Jiangsu P R China

Department of Radiology The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School Nanjing Jiangsu P R China

Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular Medicine Nanjing University Medical School Nanjing China

Nanjing Medical Research Center on Neurology and Psychiatry Jiangsu P R China

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Czech Brain Aging Study (CBAS): prospective multicentre cohort study on risk and protective factors for dementia in the Czech Republic