Capacity of cognitive control in patients with cerebral small vessel disease

Objective To evaluate the capacity of cognitive control(CCC) in patients with cerebral small vessel disease(CSVD) and explore the relationship between CCC and cognitive function in CSVD, and to assess the predict value of CCC on the occurrence of CSVD. Methods Twenty-two patients with CSVD and twenty-three healthy controls were enrolled.All of them completed the majority function task-masked (MFT-M) and a set of neuropsychological tests.Neuropsychological test was performed by Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), verbal fluency test (VFT), Chinese auditory learning test (CAVLT), symbol digit modalities test (SDMT), digital span (DS), Stroop color word test (SCWT), color trail test (CTT) and Modified Boston naming test (Modified BNT). The predict value of CCC for the occurrence of CSVD was assessed with logistic regression analysis. Results CCC of patients with CSVD was lower than that of healthy control ((2.97±0.72)bps vs (3.53±0.62)bps, t=-2.704, P=0.01). Between patients with CSVD and healthy control, there were significant differences in MoCA ((22.24±4.58 vs (24.86±2.42), t=-2.334, P=0.026), VFT-animal (12(6) vs 15(6), Z=-2.965, P=0.003), VFT-vegetables and fruits ((13.79±3.81) vs (18.27±4.13), t=-3.592, P=0.001), CAVLT-immediate ((7.45±2.18) vs (9.11±2.08), t=-2.502, P=0.017), CAVLT-short term delay ((7.20±3.32) vs (10.76±3.08), t=-3.564, P=0.001), CAVLT-long term delay ((7.30±3.16) vs (10.29±3.18), t=-3.012, P=0.005), SDMT ((15.95±5.49) vs (23.41±12.73), t=-2.513, P=0.018), CTT-A (85.17(42.60) vs 55.50(52.65), Z=-2.965, P=0.003), CTT-B ((200.69±71.35) vs (132.44±53.66), t=3.556, P=0.001), and CTT-B-A ((104.13±53.31) vs (65.20±35.98), t=2.819, P=0.007). But there was no significant difference in VFT-word begin with Chinese character"water"((3.68±2.63) vs (5.44±2.71), t=-1.940, P=0.061), CAVLT-recognition (14(3) vs 14(4), Z=-0.524, P=0.601), DS-forward (7.0(3.0) vs 5.5(2.0), Z=-0.152, P=0.880), DS-backward (4(1) vs 4(2), Z=-1.044, P=0.297), SCWT ((9.50±9.28) vs (5.94±10.47), t=1.123, P=0.268), Modified BNT (14.0(3.0) vs 13.5(3.0), Z=-0.727, P=0.467) between CSVD patients and healthy controls.In patients with CSVD, CCC was positively correlated with scores of MoCA (r=0.551, P=0.010) and also with DS-forward (r=0.532, P=0.013) and SCWT (r=-0.487, P=0.040). Logistic regression analysis showed that CCC was an important variable in predicting the possibility of CSVD (B=-1.318, P=0.019, OR=0.268, 95%CI (0.089-0.808)). Conclusion Compared with the healthy control, CCC in patients with CSVD decreases significantly and CCC is related to the cognitive impairment.CCC can predict the possibility of CSVD. Key words: Cognitive control capacity; Cerebral small vessel disease; Cognitive function