Cognitive changes are common in corticobasal syndrome (CBS) and significantly impact quality of life and caregiver burden. However, relatively few studies have investigated the neural substrates of cognitive changes in CBS, and reliable predictors of cognitive impairment are currently lacking. The nucleus basalis of Meynert (NbM), which serves as the primary source of cortical cholinergic innervation, has been functionally associated with cognition. This study aimed to explore whether patients with CBS exhibit reduced NbM volumes compared with healthy control participants and whether NbM degeneration can serve as a predictor of cognitive impairment in patients with CBS. In this study, we investigated in vivo volumetric changes of the NbM in 38 patients with CBS and 84 healthy control participants. Next, we assessed whether gray matter degeneration of the NbM evaluated at baseline could predict cognitive impairment during a 12-month follow-up period in patients with CBS. All volumetric analyses were performed using 3T T1-weighted images obtained from the 4-Repeat Tauopathy Neuroimaging Initiative. Patients with CBS displayed significantly lower NbM volumes than control participants ( < .001). Structural damage of the NbM also predicted the development of cognitive impairment in patients with CBS as assessed by longitudinal measurements of the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes ( < .001) and Mini-Mental State Examination ( = .035). Our findings suggest that NbM atrophy may represent a promising noninvasive in vivo marker of cognitive decline in CBS and provide new insights into the neural mechanisms that underlie cognitive impairment in CBS.

中文翻译：

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Meynert 变性的基底核预示着皮质基底节综合征的认知能力下降

认知变化在皮质基底综合征 (CBS) 中很常见，并显着影响生活质量和护理人员负担。然而，相对较少的研究调查了 CBS 认知变化的神经基础，并且目前缺乏可靠的认知障碍预测因子。 Meynert 基底核 (NbM) 是皮质胆碱能神经支配的主要来源，在功能上与认知相关。本研究旨在探讨与健康对照参与者相比，CBS 患者的 NbM 体积是否减少，以及 NbM 变性是否可以作为 CBS 患者认知障碍的预测因子。在这项研究中，我们调查了 38 名 CBS 患者和 84 名健康对照参与者体内 NbM 的体积变化。接下来，我们评估了基线评估的 NbM 灰质变性是否可以预测 CBS 患者 12 个月随访期间的认知障碍。所有体积分析均使用从 4-Repeat Tauopathy Neuroimaging Initiative 获得的 3T T1 加权图像进行。 CBS 患者的 NbM 体积显着低于对照参与者 (< .001)。 NbM 的结构损伤还预测了 CBS 患者认知障碍的发展，这是通过临床痴呆评分框 ( < .001) 和简易精神状态检查 ( = .035) 的纵向测量进行评估的。我们的研究结果表明，NbM 萎缩可能是 CBS 认知衰退的一种有前途的非侵入性体内标志物，并为 CBS 认知障碍背后的神经机制提供了新的见解。