Abstract:Objective: To explore the correlation between the hippocampal subfields and serial position effect in the elderly with normal cognition and mild cognitive impairment. Methods: A total of 21 subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) treated in Fu Xing Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2016 to January 2019 were selected as the MCI group, and 39 healthy controls (HC) with normal cognition (NC) from physical examination center and outpatient department were simultaneously selected as control group. All participants completed a set of neuropsychological assessment and were all examined by head MRI. The score of serial position effect was obtained using the auditory verbal learning test (AVLT). T1-weighted structural MRI data were collected after cognitive testing, and the subfields of the hippocampal formation were segmented automatically using the FreeSurfer 6.0 software, then volumetric estimates and estimated total intracranial volume were also calculated. Finally, the relationship between hippocampal subfields and serial position effect were analyzed. Results: The volume of each hippocampal subfield of MCI was smaller than that of the healthy control, but after Bonferroni correction of multiple comparison, only the difference in the presubiculum was statistically significant (P<0.05). The presubiculum was positively correlated with the total score of AVLT delayed recall and the score of primacy effect. Conclusion: Compared with the healthy control, the MCI patients show atrophy in all subfields. The volume of the presubiculum presents the most prominent reduction, which is correlated with the impairment of long-term memory.
