Cognition‐Associated Changes in Retinal Thickness Relate to Limbic and Temporal Cortical Atrophy in Parkinson's Disease

ABSTRACT Background: Research links retinal changes to cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease (PD), paralleling findings in Alzheimer's, raising questions about specific cortical patterns of cognition‐related retinal abnormalities in PD. Objective: The study aimed to explore whether reti...

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Main Authors: Kerstin Schweyer, Tobias Mantel, Benjamin Knier, Lilian Aly, Jan S. Kirschke, Tobias Meindl, Bernhard Haslinger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-05-01
Series:Brain and Behavior
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70509
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author Kerstin Schweyer
Tobias Mantel
Benjamin Knier
Lilian Aly
Jan S. Kirschke
Tobias Meindl
Bernhard Haslinger
author_facet Kerstin Schweyer
Tobias Mantel
Benjamin Knier
Lilian Aly
Jan S. Kirschke
Tobias Meindl
Bernhard Haslinger
author_sort Kerstin Schweyer
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Background: Research links retinal changes to cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease (PD), paralleling findings in Alzheimer's, raising questions about specific cortical patterns of cognition‐related retinal abnormalities in PD. Objective: The study aimed to explore whether retinal thinning linked to cognitive decline could act as a potential biomarker for cerebral atrophy in PD. Methods: Twenty seven patients with PD underwent cognitive and neurological assessments, along with retinal imaging using OCT and cerebral imaging using structural MRI. After identifying abnormal retinal layers associated with cognitive dysfunction through partial correlation analyses controlling for age‐related effects, associations between these retinal layers and the parcellated cerebral gray matter were assessed using multiple comparison‐corrected partial correlation analyses adjusted for age and gender. Results: Significant positive correlations were found between cognitive impairment measured by MoCA and specific retinal layers (IPL, GCL, and RNFL). Of these, strong associations were observed between the IPL and GCL and cortical thickness in brain the temporal lobe and limbic cortex, with more detailed further analysis showing significant correlations particularly within the middle and posterior cingulate cortex in the limbic cortex and the middle and superior temporal gyrus in the temporal lobe. Conclusion: Correlations between retinal thinning, cognitive decline, and specific patterns of cortical atrophy in PD support a potential of retinal measurements as a biomarker for cognitive impairment linked to cerebral neurodegeneration.
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spelling doaj-art-8a42681e00a74a22afad7b0a25bb4c512025-08-20T03:48:26ZengWileyBrain and Behavior2162-32792025-05-01155n/an/a10.1002/brb3.70509Cognition‐Associated Changes in Retinal Thickness Relate to Limbic and Temporal Cortical Atrophy in Parkinson's DiseaseKerstin Schweyer0Tobias Mantel1Benjamin Knier2Lilian Aly3Jan S. Kirschke4Tobias Meindl5Bernhard Haslinger6Department of Neurology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, TUM School of Medicine and Health Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyDepartment of Neurology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, TUM School of Medicine and Health Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyDepartment of Neurology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, TUM School of Medicine and Health Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyDepartment of Neurology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, TUM School of Medicine and Health Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyDepartment of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, TUM School of Medicine and Health Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyDepartment of Neurology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, TUM School of Medicine and Health Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyDepartment of Neurology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, TUM School of Medicine and Health Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyABSTRACT Background: Research links retinal changes to cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease (PD), paralleling findings in Alzheimer's, raising questions about specific cortical patterns of cognition‐related retinal abnormalities in PD. Objective: The study aimed to explore whether retinal thinning linked to cognitive decline could act as a potential biomarker for cerebral atrophy in PD. Methods: Twenty seven patients with PD underwent cognitive and neurological assessments, along with retinal imaging using OCT and cerebral imaging using structural MRI. After identifying abnormal retinal layers associated with cognitive dysfunction through partial correlation analyses controlling for age‐related effects, associations between these retinal layers and the parcellated cerebral gray matter were assessed using multiple comparison‐corrected partial correlation analyses adjusted for age and gender. Results: Significant positive correlations were found between cognitive impairment measured by MoCA and specific retinal layers (IPL, GCL, and RNFL). Of these, strong associations were observed between the IPL and GCL and cortical thickness in brain the temporal lobe and limbic cortex, with more detailed further analysis showing significant correlations particularly within the middle and posterior cingulate cortex in the limbic cortex and the middle and superior temporal gyrus in the temporal lobe. Conclusion: Correlations between retinal thinning, cognitive decline, and specific patterns of cortical atrophy in PD support a potential of retinal measurements as a biomarker for cognitive impairment linked to cerebral neurodegeneration.https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70509atrophycognitioncognitive dysfunctiongray mattermagnetic resonance imagingParkinson disease
spellingShingle Kerstin Schweyer
Tobias Mantel
Benjamin Knier
Lilian Aly
Jan S. Kirschke
Tobias Meindl
Bernhard Haslinger
Cognition‐Associated Changes in Retinal Thickness Relate to Limbic and Temporal Cortical Atrophy in Parkinson's Disease
Brain and Behavior
atrophy
cognition
cognitive dysfunction
gray matter
magnetic resonance imaging
Parkinson disease
title Cognition‐Associated Changes in Retinal Thickness Relate to Limbic and Temporal Cortical Atrophy in Parkinson's Disease
title_full Cognition‐Associated Changes in Retinal Thickness Relate to Limbic and Temporal Cortical Atrophy in Parkinson's Disease
title_fullStr Cognition‐Associated Changes in Retinal Thickness Relate to Limbic and Temporal Cortical Atrophy in Parkinson's Disease
title_full_unstemmed Cognition‐Associated Changes in Retinal Thickness Relate to Limbic and Temporal Cortical Atrophy in Parkinson's Disease
title_short Cognition‐Associated Changes in Retinal Thickness Relate to Limbic and Temporal Cortical Atrophy in Parkinson's Disease
title_sort cognition associated changes in retinal thickness relate to limbic and temporal cortical atrophy in parkinson s disease
topic atrophy
cognition
cognitive dysfunction
gray matter
magnetic resonance imaging
Parkinson disease
url https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70509
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