Lesion-Independent Associations Between Thalamic Nuclei Volumes and Information Processing Speed in Multiple Sclerosis

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Hauptverfasser: Pooladi-Darvish, Arshya, Rosehart, Heather, Everest, Marina R., Khan, Ali R., Morrow, Sarah A.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Pooladi-Darvish, Arshya
Rosehart, Heather
Everest, Marina R.
Khan, Ali R.
Morrow, Sarah A.
author_facet Pooladi-Darvish, Arshya
Rosehart, Heather
Everest, Marina R.
Khan, Ali R.
Morrow, Sarah A.
contents Background: Cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) is driven by both focal inflammation and compartmentalized neurodegeneration, yet the relative effect of lesion-independent thalamic atrophy on information processing speed (IPS) remains unclear. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 100 participants with MS. Automatic segmentation techniques quantified lesion load and delineated 26 thalamic regions of interest (ROIs). Linear models compared associations between ROI volumes and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) performance in lesion-adjusted and unadjusted models. Results: Twenty-one of 26 ROIs showed significant SDMT associations before lesion adjustment; twelve remained significant after adjustment. Lesion-independent associations were observed in the global thalamus, sensory relay nuclei (ventral posterolateral, medial and lateral geniculate), and associative hubs (pulvinar and mediodorsal-parafascicular complex). These processing-associated ROIs exhibited significantly lower lesion-mediated effects (13.4%) than those losing significance after adjustment (34.2%, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that IPS impairment reflects heterogeneous contributions from focal lesion-driven and chronic neurodegenerative pathology, with nucleus-specific phenotyping potentially informing identification of higher risk individuals.
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publishDate 2025
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spellingShingle Lesion-Independent Associations Between Thalamic Nuclei Volumes and Information Processing Speed in Multiple Sclerosis
Pooladi-Darvish, Arshya
Rosehart, Heather
Everest, Marina R.
Khan, Ali R.
Morrow, Sarah A.
Neurons and Cognition
Background: Cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) is driven by both focal inflammation and compartmentalized neurodegeneration, yet the relative effect of lesion-independent thalamic atrophy on information processing speed (IPS) remains unclear. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 100 participants with MS. Automatic segmentation techniques quantified lesion load and delineated 26 thalamic regions of interest (ROIs). Linear models compared associations between ROI volumes and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) performance in lesion-adjusted and unadjusted models. Results: Twenty-one of 26 ROIs showed significant SDMT associations before lesion adjustment; twelve remained significant after adjustment. Lesion-independent associations were observed in the global thalamus, sensory relay nuclei (ventral posterolateral, medial and lateral geniculate), and associative hubs (pulvinar and mediodorsal-parafascicular complex). These processing-associated ROIs exhibited significantly lower lesion-mediated effects (13.4%) than those losing significance after adjustment (34.2%, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that IPS impairment reflects heterogeneous contributions from focal lesion-driven and chronic neurodegenerative pathology, with nucleus-specific phenotyping potentially informing identification of higher risk individuals.
title Lesion-Independent Associations Between Thalamic Nuclei Volumes and Information Processing Speed in Multiple Sclerosis
topic Neurons and Cognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.21677