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Frontal-striatal tract integrity and depression in older adults with and without multiple sclerosis

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Abstract

Objective

Lower white matter integrity of frontal-subcortical circuitry has been associated with late-life depression in normally aging older adults and with the presence of multiple sclerosis (MS). Frontal-striatal white matter tracts involved in executive, cognitive, emotion, and motor function may underlie depression in older adults with MS. The present study examined the association between depression score and frontal-striatal white matter integrity in older adults with MS and controls.

Methods

Older adults with MS (OAMS) (n = 67, mean age = 64.55 ± 3.89) and controls (n = 74, mean age = 69.04 ± 6.32) underwent brain MRI, cognitive assessment, psychological, and motoric testing. Depression was assessed through the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was extracted from two bilateral tracts: dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to putamen nucleus (DLPFC-pn) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to caudate nucleus (DLPFC-cn).

Results

OAMS reported significantly worse (i.e., higher) depression symptoms (β = .357, p < .001) compared to healthy controls. Adjusted moderation analyses revealed, via group by FA interactions, significantly stronger associations between FA of the left DLPFC-pn tract and total depression (B =  − 61.70, p = .011) among OAMS compared to controls. Conditional effects revealed that lower FA of the left DLPFC-pn was significantly associated with worse (i.e., higher) depression symptoms (b =  − 38.0, p = .028) only among OAMS. The other three tracts were not significant in moderation models.

Conclusions

We provided first evidence that lower white matter integrity of the left DLPFC-pn tract was related to worse depression in older adults with MS.

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Data Availability

Data will be provided to qualified investigators upon written request to the corresponding author.

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Funding

This research was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) [R01NS109023].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY, USA

    Sarah E. Cote, Frederick W. Foley & Roee Holtzer

  2. Department of Radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Bronx, NY, USA

    Mark Wagshul, Michael Lipton & Jimmy S. Lee

  3. Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Frederick W. Foley & Roee Holtzer

  4. Multiple Sclerosis Center, Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck, NJ, USA

    Mary Anne Picone

  5. Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA

    Michael Lipton

  6. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA

    Michael Lipton

  7. Department of Psychiatry Radiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Michael Lipton

Authors
  1. Sarah E. Cote
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  2. Mark Wagshul
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  4. Mary Anne Picone
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  5. Michael Lipton
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  6. Jimmy S. Lee
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  7. Roee Holtzer
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Sarah E. Cote or Roee Holtzer.

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The work described in this manuscript has been executed in adherence with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki). The Institutional Review Board of Albert Einstein College of Medicine approved this study. Written informed consent was obtained on the first in-person study visit.

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Cote, S.E., Wagshul, M., Foley, F.W. et al. Frontal-striatal tract integrity and depression in older adults with and without multiple sclerosis. Neurol Sci (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-024-07316-y

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