Association between pineal volume reduction and affective dysregulation in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: The role of mild behavioral impairment

BackgroundMild behavioral impairment (MBI) and pineal volume reduction are early indicators of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Thus, the pineal volume reduction observed in early AD may be associated with MBI. Given that pineal volume reduction may be specific to AD, it might also be related to amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).ObjectiveIn this study, we aimed to examine the relationship between MBI and pineal volume reduction in mild cognitive impairment (MCI; including aMCI and non-amnestic MCI) and normal cognition.MethodsThis retrospective study included 86 patients aged ≥ 50 years with either MCI or normal cognition. Stepwise Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between MBI and pineal parenchymal volume (PPV). PPV was manually measured using brain magnetic resonance imaging data. The dependent variable was the MBI Checklist (MBI-C) score. In contrast, independent variables included PPV, total intracranial volume, age, sex, Mini-Mental State Examination score, psychotropic drug use, and antidementia drug use.ResultsPPV was the sole significant predictor of the MBI-C impulse dyscontrol score in the overall sample (adjusted R²: 0.058, p: 0.014, β: 0.263) and the sole significant predictor of the MBI-C affective dysregulation score in individuals with aMCI (adjusted R²: 0.117, p: 0.014, β: -0.371).ConclusionsPineal volume reduction was associated specifically with MBI affective dysregulation symptoms in individuals with aMCI. As affective dysregulation is an early symptom of AD, these findings suggest a potential link between this symptom and pineal volume reduction, a feature potentially specific to AD.