INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 09 Program Schedule 02/16/2024 03:30 pm - 04:45 pm Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60) Poster Session 09: Epilepsy \| Oncology \| MS \| Infectious Disease Final Abstract #27 Frontal-Striatal Tract Integrity and Depression in Older Adults With and Without Multiple Sclerosis Sarah Cote, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, New York, United States Mark Wagshul, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, New York, United States Roee Holtzer, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, New York, United States Category: Multiple Sclerosis/ALS/Demyelinating Disorders Keyword 1: depression Keyword 2: neuroimaging: structural Keyword 3: demyelinating disorders 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, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to caudate nuclei (DLPFC-cn) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to putamen nuclei (DLPFC-pn), may underly depression in older adults with MS. Depression sub-domains including dysphoria, hopelessness, cognitive, agitation, and worry may vary in etiology and contribution to overall depression. The present study examined associations between total and sub-domain depression scores with white matter integrity of the DLPFC-cn and DLPFC-pn tracts in older adults with MS and controls. Participants and 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 3T MRI protocols that included diffusion tensor and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery imaging, cognitive and psychological assessment, and motoric testing. Total depression and five depression sub-domains (dysphoria, hopelessness, cognitive, agitation, worry) were assessed through the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale. After lesions had been masked, fractional anisotropy (FA) was extracted from two bilateral tracts: DLPFC-pn and DLPFC-cn. Covariates included age, gender, years of education, and global cognitive functioning. Group differences in depression were assessed with linear regression models. Moderations models utilizing the Hayes statistical software in SPSS were used to examine whether the presence of MS influenced the strength of associations between depression and FA in the above specified tracts. Results: OAMS reported significantly worse (i.e., higher) total (β=.357, p<.001) and cognitive (β=.453, p.05). 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) and of the left DLPFC-pn tract and the agitation/depression sub-domain (B=-9.79, p=.038) among OAMS compared to controls. Conditional effects revealed that lower FA of the left DLPFC-pn was significantly associated with worse (i.e., higher) total (b=-38.0, p=.028) and agitation (b=-7.13, p=.034) depression scores 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. Furthermore, agitation, an important sub-domain of depression, may play a key role in this association.

Poster

02/16/2024
03:30 pm - 04:45 pm
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)

Poster Session 09: Epilepsy | Oncology | MS | Infectious Disease

Final Abstract #27

Frontal-Striatal Tract Integrity and Depression in Older Adults With and Without Multiple Sclerosis

Sarah Cote, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, New York, United States
Mark Wagshul, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, New York, United States
Roee Holtzer, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, New York, United States

Category: Multiple Sclerosis/ALS/Demyelinating Disorders

Keyword 1: depression
Keyword 2: neuroimaging: structural
Keyword 3: demyelinating disorders

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, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to caudate nuclei (DLPFC-cn) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to putamen nuclei (DLPFC-pn), may underly depression in older adults with MS. Depression sub-domains including dysphoria, hopelessness, cognitive, agitation, and worry may vary in etiology and contribution to overall depression. The present study examined associations between total and sub-domain depression scores with white matter integrity of the DLPFC-cn and DLPFC-pn tracts in older adults with MS and controls.

Participants and 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 3T MRI protocols that included diffusion tensor and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery imaging, cognitive and psychological assessment, and motoric testing. Total depression and five depression sub-domains (dysphoria, hopelessness, cognitive, agitation, worry) were assessed through the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale. After lesions had been masked, fractional anisotropy (FA) was extracted from two bilateral tracts: DLPFC-pn and DLPFC-cn. Covariates included age, gender, years of education, and global cognitive functioning. Group differences in depression were assessed with linear regression models. Moderations models utilizing the Hayes statistical software in SPSS were used to examine whether the presence of MS influenced the strength of associations between depression and FA in the above specified tracts.

Results:

OAMS reported significantly worse (i.e., higher) total (β=.357, p<.001) and cognitive (β=.453, p.05). 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) and of the left DLPFC-pn tract and the agitation/depression sub-domain (B=-9.79, p=.038) among OAMS compared to controls. Conditional effects revealed that lower FA of the left DLPFC-pn was significantly associated with worse (i.e., higher) total (b=-38.0, p=.028) and agitation (b=-7.13, p=.034) depression scores 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. Furthermore, agitation, an important sub-domain of depression, may play a key role in this association.