NeuroImage: Clinical ( IF 4.2 ) Pub Date : 2020-07-03 , DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102337 Hanna Malmberg Gavelin 1 , Anna Stigsdotter Neely 2 , Tora Dunås 3 , Therese Eskilsson 4 , Lisbeth Slunga Järvholm 5 , Carl-Johan Boraxbekk 6
Emerging evidence suggests that mental fatigue is a central component of the cognitive and clinical characteristics of stress-related exhaustion disorder (ED). Yet, the underlying mechanisms of mental fatigue in this patient group are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate cortical and subcortical structural neural correlates of mental fatigue in patients with ED, and to explore the association between mental fatigue and cognitive functioning. Fifty-five patients with clinical ED diagnosis underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Mental fatigue was assessed using the Concentration subscale from the Checklist Individual Strength. Patients with high levels of mental fatigue (n = 30) had smaller caudate and putamen volumes compared to patients with low-moderate levels of mental fatigue (n = 25). No statistically significant differences in cortical thickness were observed between the groups. Mediation analysis showed that mental fatigue mediated the relationship between caudate volume and working memory; specifically, smaller caudate volume was associated with higher level of mental fatigue and mental fatigue was positively associated with working memory performance. Our findings demonstrate that the structural integrity of the striatum is of relevance for the subjective perception of mental fatigue in ED, while also highlighting the complex relationship between mental fatigue, cognitive performance and its neural underpinnings.
中文翻译:
与压力有关的精疲力竭症中的精神疲劳:结构性大脑的相关性,临床特征以及与认知功能的关系。
新兴证据表明,精神疲劳是压力相关性疲惫症(ED)认知和临床特征的重要组成部分。然而,对该患者组中精神疲劳的潜在机制了解甚少。这项研究的目的是调查ED患者精神疲劳的皮质和皮质下结构神经相关性,并探讨精神疲劳与认知功能之间的关系。55例临床ED诊断的患者接受了磁共振成像。使用核对表“个人力量”中的“浓度”子量表评估精神疲劳。精神疲劳程度较高(n = 30)的患者的尾状核和壳状核素量少于精神疲劳程度较低的患者(n = 25)。两组之间没有观察到皮质厚度的统计学显着差异。中介作用分析表明,精神疲劳介导了尾鳍体积与工作记忆之间的关系。具体来说,尾状核的体积较小与较高的精神疲劳水平相关,而精神疲劳与工作记忆性能呈正相关关系。我们的研究结果表明,纹状体的结构完整性与ED的主观感觉有关,同时也突显了心理疲劳,认知表现及其神经基础之间的复杂关系。