FreeSurfer vs. Manual Tracing: Distinguishing Stable from Cognitively Declining Elders Using Prospectively Measured Hippocampal Volume

Authors

Alissa Butts, Marquette UniversityFollow
Kristy A. Nielson, Marquette UniversityFollow
Nathan Hantke, Marquette UniversityFollow
Melissa A. Lancaster, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and ScienceFollow
Michael Seidenberg, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and ScienceFollow
John L. Woodard, Wayne State University
J. Carson Smith, Medical College of Wisconsin
Monica Matthews, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and ScienceFollow
Sally Durgerian, Medical College of WisconsinFollow
Stephen M. Rao, Cleveland ClinicFollow

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Language

eng

Format of Original

2 p.

Publication Date

2-2012

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Source Publication

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society

Source ISSN

1355-6177

Original Item ID

doi: 10.1017/S1355617712000537

Abstract

Objective: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology is thought to begin years before symptom onset. Hippocampal volume is sensitive to age-related cognitive decline and conversion from MCI to AD. Measurement of hippocampal volumes has used either automated methods such as FreeSurfer (FS) or manual tracing (MT). We compared the ability of FS and MT in detecting baseline volume differences in cognitively intact older individuals who subsequently showed significant cognitive decline.

Participants and Methods: Seventy-five cognitively intact elders underwent baseline and 18-month follow-up structural MRI scan and neuropsychological testing. Participants were classified as Declining (n=27) or Stable (n=48) based on the baseline to 18-month changes on a listlearning task and a measure of general cognitive functioning. A 2 (left, right) x 2 (anterior, posterior) x 2 (Declining, Stable) repeated measures ANOVA was conducted for both the MT and FS hippocampal volumes derived at baseline.

Results: MT identified significantly smaller left and right hippocampal volumes and smaller anterior than posterior hippocampal volumes in Declining compared to Stable subjects. In contrast, no group differences in hippocampal volumes were observed using FS. Notably, MT included more subiculum and entorhinal cortex, while FS included more of the amygdala and the CA region of the hippocampus.

Conclusions: MT was superior to FS for detecting prospective volumetric differences associated with cognitive decline in cognitively intact older participants. MT afforded more unique coverage of the anterior hippocampus than FS. The differences in regional coverage of the mesial temporal lobe between MT and FS may account for the different findings in discriminating Stable and Declining groups.

Comments

Published version. Published as part of the proceedings of the conference, Fortieth Annual Meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, 2012: 197-198. DOI. © 2012 Cambridge University Press. Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Butts, Alissa; Nielson, Kristy A.; Hantke, Nathan; Lancaster, Melissa A.; Seidenberg, Michael; Woodard, John L.; Smith, J. Carson; Matthews, Monica; Durgerian, Sally; and Rao, Stephen M., "FreeSurfer vs. Manual Tracing: Distinguishing Stable from Cognitively Declining Elders Using Prospectively Measured Hippocampal Volume" (2012). Psychology Faculty Research and Publications. 140.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/psych_fac/140