Association of olfactory and cognitive function test scores with hippocampal and amygdalar grey matter volume: a cross-sectional study
Few population-based studies including younger adults have examined the potential of olfactory function tests to capture the degree of atrophy in memory-associated brain regions, which cannot be adequately explained by cognitive function tests screening for cognitive impairment. This population-based study investigated associations between high-resolution olfactory test data with few odours and grey matter volumes (GMVs) of the left and right hippocampi, amygdala, parahippocampi, and olfactory cortex, while accounting for differences in cognitive decline, in 1444 participants (aged 31-91 years). Regression analyses included intracranial volume (ICV)-normalised GMVs of eight memory-related regions as objective variables and age, sex, education duration, smoking history, olfaction test score, and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Japanese version (MoCA-J) score as explanatory variables. Significant relationships were found between olfactory test scores and ICV-normalised GMVs of the left and right hippocampi and left amygdala (p = 0.020, 0.024, and 0.028, respectively), adjusting for the MoCA-J score. The olfactory test score was significantly related to the right amygdalar GMV (p = 0.020) in older adults (age ≥ 65 years). These associations remained significant after applying Benjamini-Hochberg multiple testing correction (false discovery rate < 0.1). Therefore, olfactory and cognitive function tests may efficiently capture the degree of atrophy in the hippocampi and amygdala, especially in older adults.
Authors
- Shunji Mugikura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9138-610X)
- Naoko Mori (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8700-9731)
- Ryosuke Ishiwata (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5998-7901)
- Nobuo Fuse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0237-4746)
- Rieko Hatanaka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5729-4837)
- Akira Narita (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9076-0710)
- Atsushi Hozawa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8031-8523)
- Kengo Kinoshita (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3453-2171)
- S. Koshiba (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2001-1949)
- Shūichi Satō (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3122-9214)
- Naoki Nakaya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5344-8170)
- Soichi Ogishima (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8613-2562)
- Makiko Taira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5551-0786)
- Mana Kogure (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2585-2405)
- Ikumi Kanno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5012-7315)
- Kumi Nakaya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0027-6667)
- Ippei Chiba (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1966-3595)
- Fuji Nagami (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3652-9788)
- Takao Imaeda
- Tomo Saito (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0485-2377)
- Shinichi Kuriyama (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6445-0911)
- Ikuko N. Motoike (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5528-7964)
- Tomohiro Nakamura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8349-2367)
- Kazumi Hayakawa
- Masaki Takanashi
Institutions
- Tohoku University (JP)
- Tohoku University Hospital (JP)
- Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (JP)
- Institute of Aging (CA)
- Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratories (Japan) (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2024-08-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-69726-4
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.81
Funders
- Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development