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Neuropsychologic Correlates of Brain White Matter Lesions Depicted on MR Images: 1921 Aberdeen Birth Cohort¹

¹ From the Departments of Mental Health (S.A.L., H.A.L., L.J.W.), Radiology (A.D.M.), Biomedical Physics and Bioengineering (R.T.S.), and Psychology (J.R.C.), University of Aberdeen, Clinical Research Center, Royal Cornhill Hospital, Cornhill Rd, Aberdeen AB25 2ZJ, Scotland; and Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Scotland (I.J.D.). From the 2000 RSNA scientific assembly. Received November 30, 2000; revision requested January 11, 2001; revision received March 9; accepted March 22. Supported by the Henry Smith Kensington Estates Charity, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and the Chief Scientists Office of the Scottish Executive. Address correspondence to L.J.W. (e-mail: l.j.whalley.abdn.ac.uk).

PURPOSE: To examine relationships between brain white matter hyperintensities depicted at magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and performance on neuropsychologic tests in community-dwelling elderly adults.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The 1921 Aberdeen Birth Cohort is a subsample of survivors of the Scottish Mental Survey of 1932 whose mental ability was tested at 11 years of age. Ninety-five of these subjects agreed to undergo brain MR imaging, an examination of general health, and a neuropsychologic evaluation. White matter hyperintensities detected at T2-weighted MR imaging were rated by using a semiquantitative method yielding two continuous variables: white matter lesions and periventricular lesions. Cognitive ability, including crystallized and fluid intelligence domains, was assessed with standard neuropsychologic tests.

RESULTS: Rating scores of white matter lesions were normally distributed (on a devised scale) with means of 1.14 for white matter lesions and 1.28 for periventricular lesions. Intra- and interobserver reliability coefficients for scores were high, generally above 0.7. There were significant correlations of medium effect size between the T2-weighted MR imaging–depicted white matter lesions and performance on tests of fluid-type intelligence. No significant correlation was demonstrated between white matter lesion ratings and tests of crystallized intelligence.

CONCLUSION: Lower fluid-type ("prevailing") intelligence test scores were associated with increased severity of white matter lesion ratings but not crystallized-type ("premorbid") intelligence test scores. This indicates that MR imaging–depicted white matter lesions are of clinical importance.

Index terms: Aging, 10.91, 10.92 • Brain, atrophy, 10.879, 10.91 • Brain, function, 10.91 • Brain, MR, 10.121411 • Brain, white matter, 10.879, 10.91

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