White Matter PDF

The Behavioral Neurology
of White Matter
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of White Matter
SECOND EDITION
CHRISTOPHER M. FILLEY
P R O F ES S O R O F N EU R O L O G Y AN D PSYC H I AT RY
D I R EC T O R , B EH AVI O R A L N E U R O L O G Y S E C T I O N
UNI V E R S I T Y O F C O L O R A D O S C H O O L O F M E DI C I N E
N EU R O L O G Y S E RV I C E C H I E F
D E N VER VET ER A N S A F FA I R S M E DI C AL C E N T E R
A U R O R A, C O
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Filley, Christopher M., 1951-
The behavioral neurology of white matter/Christopher M. Filley.—2nd ed.
p.; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-974326-1 (hardcover)
I. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Brain Diseases—physiopathology. 2. Brain Diseases—psychology.
3. Behavior—physiology. 4. Brain—physiology. 5. Mental Disorders—physiopathology.
6. Neural Pathways—physiopathology. WL 348]
616.8'047—dc23 2011044187
______________________________________________________________________
This material is not intended to be, and should not be considered, a substitute for medical or other
professional advice. Treatment for the conditions described in this material is highly dependent on the
individual circumstances. And, while this material is designed to offer accurate information with respect
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9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
For, in the first place,
the brain is essentially a place of currents,
which run in organized paths.
—William James
CONTENTS
Foreword from the First Edition xi

Preface to the First Edition xiii
Preface to the Second Edition xv
PART ONE The Brain, the Mind, and White Matter

1. The Neurologic Background 3
White Matter in the History of Neurology 4
The Concept of Subcortical Dementia 10
White Matter and Higher Function 12
The Perspective of Behavioral Neurology 17
2. White Matter Structure and Function 23

Neuroanatomy 24
Neurophysiology 34
3. Neuroimaging 43
Computed Tomography 43
Magnetic Resonance Imaging 44
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy 50
Magnetization Transfer Imaging 51
Diffusion Tensor Imaging 51
Functional Neuroimaging 56
Mapping Neural Networks 58
4. Development and Aging 65

Development of White Matter 65
White Matter Changes in Aging 68
PART TWO Disorders of White Matter

5. Genetic Disorders 81
Leukodystrophies 82
Fragile X Tremor/Ataxia Syndrome 92
viii CONTENTS
Aminoacidurias 93
Phakomatoses 95
Mucopolysaccharidoses 98
Muscular Dystrophy 99
Callosal Agenesis 101
6. Demyelinative Diseases 113

Multiple Sclerosis 113
Neuromyelitis Optica 123
Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis 124
Schilder’s Disease 125
Marburg’s Disease 126
Balò’s Concentric Sclerosis 126
Tumefactive Multiple Sclerosis 126
7. Infectious Diseases 135

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection 135
Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy 140
Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis 141
Progressive Rubella Panencephalitis 142
Varicella Zoster Vasculopathy 142
Cytomegalovirus Encephalitis 143
Lyme Encephalopathy 143
8. Inflammatory Diseases 151

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus 151
Behçet’s Disease 155
Sjögren’s Syndrome 156
Wegener’s Granulomatosis 156
Temporal Arteritis 157
Polyarteritis Nodosa 157
Scleroderma 158
Primary Angiitis of the Central Nervous System 158
Sarcoidosis 159
9. Toxic Leukoencephalopathy 163

Radiation 163
Therapeutic Drugs 167
Drugs of Abuse 169
Environmental Toxins 176
The Spectrum of Toxic Leukoencephalopathy 178
CONTENTS ix
10. Metabolic Disorders 187

Cobalamin Deficiency 187
Folate Deficiency 190
Central Pontine Myelinolysis 191
Hypoxia 192
Hypertensive Encephalopathy 194
Eclampsia 195
High-Altitude Cerebral Edema 196
11. Vascular Diseases 201

Binswanger’s Disease 201
Leukoaraiosis 206
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy 210
CADASIL 211
Migraine 214
White Matter Disease of Prematurity 215
12. Traumatic Disorders 225

Traumatic Brain Injury 225
Shaken Baby Syndrome 230
Corpus Callosotomy 231
Frontal Lobotomy 233
13. Neoplasms 241

Gliomas 241
Gliomatosis Cerebri 246
Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma 248
Focal White Matter Tumors 250
14. Hydrocephalus 257

Early Hydrocephalus 257
Hydrocephalus Ex Vacuo 260
Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus 261
PART THREE White Matter and Higher Function

15. Cognitive Dysfunction and Dementia 273
Cognitive Dysfunction 274
White Matter Dementia 278
Why Another Dementia Syndrome? 293
x CONTENTS
16. White Matter and Neurodegenerative Disease 303

Alzheimer’s Disease 304
Frontotemporal Dementia 306
Parkinson’s Disease 307
Dementia with Lewy Bodies 308
Huntington’s Disease 308
Corticobasal Degeneration 309
Progressive Supranuclear Palsy 309
17. Focal Neurobehavioral Syndromes 313

Amnesia 314
Aphasia 316
Apraxia 319
Alexia 320
Developmental Dyslexia 321
Gerstmann’s Syndrome 321
Agnosia 321
Neglect 322
Visuospatial Dysfunction 324
Akinetic Mutism 324
Executive Dysfunction 324
Callosal Disconnection 325
18. Neuropsychiatric Dysfunction 331

Psychiatric Syndromes in White Matter Disorders 332
Psychiatric Disorders with White Matter Abnormalities 341
The Relevance of White Matter to Psychiatry 346
19. Neurologic Aspects 361

Gait Disorder 361
Prognosis 363
Plasticity 364
Treatment 366
20. The Behavioral Neurology of White Matter 373

White Matter–Behavior Relationships 373
Distributed Neural Networks 377
Neural Network Disconnection 380
Future Directions 388
White Matter and the Mind 396
Index 405
FOREWORD FROM THE FIRST EDITION
The central nervous system consists of gray matter structures, including the
neocortex, basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum, and an extensive array of
connecting white matter tracts that allow the integration of the many functions
mediated by the gray matter. Neuroscience, neurology, and behavioral neuro-
logy have tended to emphasize gray matter function and have left white matter
disorders and the essential behavioral functions of white matter relatively
unexplored. Individual diseases such as multiple sclerosis have been studied
extensively, but an integrated view of the function of white matter and patterns
of dysfunction occurring when white matter is affected has been lacking.
In the current volume, Dr. Filley redresses this imbalance and provides a
detailed discussion of the biology of white matter, the phenomenology of white
matter diseases, and the pathological disturbances that affect primarily the
white matter. When one reads the book, it is impressive how great an effect
white matter diseases have, contributing to many disease processes and provid-
ing the neurobiological basis for many cognitive disturbances.
The first section addresses the history of white matter neurology, and pro-
vides a description of the neuroanatomy and the neurophysiology of white
matter tracts. Changes in white matter in the course of development and aging
are described, and the neuroimaging of white matter is presented.
Part II deals with the plethora of illnesses that can affect the white matter,
including genetic disorders, demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis,
infectious diseases such as AIDS and progressive multifocal leukoencepha-
lopathy, inflammatory diseases, toxic disorders such as glue sniffing, metabolic
conditions, vascular diseases, traumatic brain injuries, neoplasms, and hydro-
cephalus.
Part III is devoted to cognitive disorders associated with white matter dis-
eases. Dementias are described and the role of the white matter in focal neurobe-
havioral syndromes such as amnesia and aphasia is discussed. Neuropsychiatric
xii F OR EWOR D F ROM T H E FIRST EDITION
syndromes arising with white matter dysfunction include depression, mania,

psychosis, personality alterations, and fatigue, and they are also presented.
Finally, an overview of the behavioral neurology of white matter, including
what is to be learned about distributed neuronal networks and disconnection,
is given. Dr. Filley ends by looking ahead to future directions in the study of
white matter and white matter diseases, and speculates on the role of white
matter in consciousness and self-consciousness.
Clinicians and neurobiologists from many disciplines will find this to be a
useful volume. The description of the diseases themselves is a worthwhile con-
tribution, and creating the context for these disorders is an understanding of
the neurobiology of white matter that provides a unique new perspective on old
diseases. Those who make themselves students of Dr. Filley’s extensive knowl-
edge of white matter and white matter disorders by reading this book will find
themselves richly rewarded for their efforts.
Jeffrey L. Cummings, MD
Los Angeles, California
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
Every book represents an attempt to discover order. An area of interest and

confusion becomes apparent, study and contemplation proceed, and, with
patience and good fortune, a coherent synthesis may emerge from the chaos. In
this spirit I have pursued a deeper understanding of white matter. The reader
can judge the extent to which I have succeeded.
Behavioral neurology attempts to explain the relationships between brain
and behavior, which really means the role of the brain in all mental phenomena.
An appropriate first step in this quest is to focus on the cerebral cortex, where
astonishingly complex neuronal events play a central role in the variegated and
richly textured phenomena of the mind. One may also look to the subcortical
gray matter as making a vital contribution to human behavior. The white matter,
however—that tangled collection of tracts coursing everywhere in the brain—is
more difficult to understand in neurobehavioral terms. Compared to the adja-
cent gray matter, white matter may almost seem to be a passive bystander in the
extraordinary activities occurring all around it.
This component of the brain has nevertheless proven to be an endless source
of fascination. As enticing as cortical structure and function can be for the
study of the mind, I have been steadily intrigued by frequent and consistent
suggestions from both clinical practice and the neuroscientific literature that
the white matter plays a major role in cognition and emotion. I entertain no
illusion that my intuition is unique—indeed, experienced neurologists surely
have a similar appreciation for this aspect of white matter disease. Yet it is sur-
prisingly difficult to find comprehensive summary works dealing with the white
matter disorders and their effects on higher function.
In this book, therefore, my objective is to examine the role of the brain white
matter in the organization of human mental activity. This task will be under-
taken from the perspective of behavioral neurology, and, as in the description
of higher function deficits associated with cortical neuropathology, the lesion
xiv P R E FA C E T O T H E F I R S T E D I T I O N
method will be primarily employed. To begin, a review of relevant background

information will serve as a broad introduction. Then follows a consideration of
white matter disorders that occur across the life span, with special attention to
the neurobehavioral syndromes with which they are associated. Finally, by con-
structing some notion of the behavioral functions that are disrupted by white
matter disease or injury, it will be possible to venture tentative speculations
about normal operations of the white matter based on these clinical observa-
tions. From this process will emerge an attempt to establish a behavioral neu-
rology of white matter.
At the conclusion of this book, I hope to have demonstrated that it is most
reasonable to regard the white matter as interacting with gray matter in distrib-
uted, multifocal neural networks to produce the phenomena of human behav-
ior. There can be no neophrenological assignment of neurobehavioral functions
to discrete brain centers, whether these are individual Brodmann areas, cortical
gyri, or the entire cortical mantle. The neural network model of current neuro-
science compels a more sophisticated view, and inclusion of the white matter in
this theorizing promises to expand our understanding of these networks and
how they mediate various neurobehavioral operations. Thus I will attempt to
explore how a consideration of the white matter assists in conceptualizing the
organization of cognition and emotion in the human brain. The mind, I wish to
propose, depends as much on the white matter as on its gray counterpart.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
In the 10 years that elapsed between the publication of the first edition of this
book and the start of preparing the second, I have observed with steady interest
the growing appreciation of the role of white matter in human behavior. Not
without some satisfaction have I come across thousands of articles devoted to
the topic, each illuminating in some manner the questions that arise from
focusing on myelinated systems in studying the relationships of brain and
behavior. It appears that many others have appreciated the value of investigat-
ing this half of the brain, and the technologies with which to conduct such
study are enabling extraordinary advances. Many of the themes developed
in the first edition have been elaborated to a much greater extent, and this
impressive expansion of knowledge compels an update on how the field has
progressed.
In its essence, the notion that white matter contributes to behavior and its
disorders is self-evident. How could it not be that 50% of the brain, made up
mainly of axons and the insulation surrounding them, is involved in human
behavior? My goal has not been to claim originality for this simple realization
but to counteract a tendency to focus on gray matter—to introduce a “leuko-
centric” vision of cognitive neuroscience to complement the “corticocentric”
view that has been so dominant. The last decade has shown that such a transi-
tion is now under way, although tradition often dies hard and a tendency to
revert to “higher cortical function” as the essence of behavioral neurology can
still be witnessed.
In this edition, then, I have attempted to summarize the current understand-
ing of white matter as mediating human cognition and emotion. Again, a clini-
cal emphasis is maintained, and all previous chapters have been revised, while
two more have been added. Although not a neuroradiology book, this edition
devotes continued attention to neuroimaging because of the rapid development
of sensitive techniques to view the microstructure of white matter as well as its
xvi P R E FA C E T O T H E S E C O N D E D I T I O N
macrostructure. Other important developments are also considered, but

because a focused account was the goal, clinical implications were given
priority. Naturally, given the multitude of publications on the topic since 2001,
I have of necessity been selective in including citations, and many other studies
would merit inclusion if space permitted.
I continue to believe that highlighting the role of white matter in behavior is
a worthy goal that stimulates creative thinking and further study. Some
hazards, however, attend such an endeavor. A too strong assertion of the idea,
citing only evidence that supports one’s claim, should be avoided. Another peril
is the logical fallacy of post hoc ego propter hoc, which leads to the common
error of confusing correlation with causation. My efforts to avoid these pitfalls
include discussing only those conditions in which white matter involvement is
substantially supported as a cause of neurobehavioral dysfunction and making
clear the difficulty posed by coexisting neuropathology in the gray matter. Some
disorders, to be sure, are clear examples of how white matter involvement alone
can alter behavior. Many more, however, implicate gray matter to some extent
and therefore require a more nuanced interpretation. Still, in all examples dis-
cussed, the impact of white matter neuropathology finds reasonable support,
and if nothing else, I hope this summary account can motivate a more compre-
hensive approach to the consideration of brain–behavior relationships.
This book has been immeasurably improved by the assistance of many
mentors, colleagues, and advisors. In particular, I am grateful to Jeremy D.
Schmahmann, Bruce L. Miller, M.-Marsel Mesulam, Kenneth L. Tyler, Ellen
Mangione, Elizabeth Kozora, Mark S. Brown, Jose M. Lafosse, Steven M. Rao,
B. K. Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, Jack H. Simon, Michael R. Greher, Brian D.
Hoyt, James Grigsby, C. Alan Anderson, James P. Kelly, Michael P. Alexander,
Bruce H. Price, Neill R. Graff-Radford, Michael D. Geschwind, Kirk R. Daffner,
Ronald C. Petersen, Robert A. Bornstein, Sterling G. West, Aziz M, Uluğ,
Michael D. Lockshin, Robin A. Hurley, Benzi M. Kluger, Victoria S. Pelak, Hal
S. Wortzel, Kristin M. Brousseau, John R. Corboy, Maureen A. Leehey, David B.
Arciniegas, Thomas W. McAllister, Daniel I. Kaufer, Kenneth M. Heilman,
C. Munro Cullum, Bruce F. Pennington, Robert L. Heilbronner, Paul T. Cirino,
Mark C. Spitz, Jonathan H. Woodcock. Lawrence A. Meredith, Jody Tanabe,
David Rubinstein, Peter J. Wagner, Donald C. Rojas, Josette G. Harris, John
DeLuca, Michael Trimble, Clive Hawkins, S. Rock Levinson, Floyd E. Bloom,
Peter Kristoferitsch, Steven P. Ringel, Stuart A. Schneck, and James H. Austin.
My first investigations of the white matter disorders were made possible by
Gary M. Franklin, Robert K. Heaton, and Neil L. Rosenberg, without whose
guidance I could not have reached this point. Kathy Illian offered helpful assis-
tance with finer details of preparing the manuscript and figures. I also acknowl-
edge the enthusiastic support of Craig Panner of Oxford University Press, whose
unfailing encouragement and sound advice were most appreciated.
PART ONE
The Brain, the Mind, and

White Matter
1
The Neurologic Background
The title of this book brings together two terms seldom linked in the vocabulary
of neuroscience. White matter has not traditionally been emphasized in
behavioral neurology, and the higher functions of humans are generally viewed
as implicating the gray matter of the brain, particularly the cerebral cortex.
Indeed, the assumption that the singular phenomena of human behavior
depend predominantly on the activities of the cortical gray matter is one of the
most pervasive in all of neuroscience. While an impressive body of evidence
supports this belief, it is worth pointing out that the cerebral cortex is only the
outermost layer of the brain, roughly 3 millimeters thick. Moreover, a wealth of
clinical experience suggests that disorders affecting structures below the
cortex, many of which are white matter tracts, reliably and significantly alter
mental functions. A corticocentric view of brain–behavior relationships is thus
too restrictive (Parvizi, 2009), and the notion that mental life is represented
exclusively in the cortical gray matter is a misleading oversimplification.
The study of white matter connectivity and its relevance to brain–behavior
relationships, however, offers formidable challenges. The neuroanatomy of
cerebral white matter is complex and not fully understood. Discrete lesions of
specific tracts are relatively rare and often difficult to visualize in vivo. Diffuse
or multifocal white matter involvement is more typical, complicating the
interpretation of a resultant clinical syndrome. Still, the impressive number of
individuals affected with some form of white matter disorder in association
with neurobehavioral dysfunction strongly impels this kind of investigation.
A wide range of syndromes involving cognitive decline and emotional
dysfunction have been linked with structural involvement of the brain white
matter. Clinical observations of patients with white matter disorders generate
the essential data to support this claim. Much additional information has been
4 T H E B E H AV I O R A L N E U R O L O G Y O F W H I T E M AT T E R
gathered with the help of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a powerful

neuroimaging technique that has provided unprecedented views of white matter
macrostructure and permitted correlations with neurobehavioral syndromes.
The evolution of higher magnetic field strengths—increasing from the 0.35
tesla (T) of early MRI scanners to the 1.5-T and 3.0-T magnets now in common
use—has provided additional resolution, and field strengths of 7.0 T or even
higher are being investigated. Moreover, in recent years, the related techniques
of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), magnetization transfer imaging
(MTI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have enabled the assessment of
white matter microstructure, allowing for more detailed exploration of white
matter–behavior relationships. These neurobehavioral syndromes may equal or
surpass in clinical importance the various deficits in sensory and motor func-
tion due to white matter lesions well known from classical neurology. Whereas
caution is still appropriate in assessing the neurobehavioral importance of white
matter changes, it is not possible to ignore them.
The goal of this book is to construct a foundation for understanding the
relationship between brain white matter and behavior. On this basis, an attempt
can then be made to contribute to a larger understanding of how the brain
mediates the phenomena of human mental life. The intent is not to devalue the
role of the gray matter but rather to suggest how gray and white matter function
together in the elaboration of human behavior. Central to this idea is the
concept of distributed neural networks, a widely accepted model that readily
lends itself to an appreciation of the integrated activity of multiple gray and
white matter regions. In this light, higher functions can be viewed as resulting
from the joint activities of gray and white matter areas that each contribute
unique components to the ultimate behavioral manifestation.
By way of introduction, several background issues require attention. The
history of the neurobiological understanding of white matter will provide
a general orientation to the topic. Next will follow a review of the concept of
subcortical dementia, which has provided an organizing framework for consid-
ering cerebral white matter disorders. In this context I will discuss how the white
matter may be interpreted as a participant in higher cerebral function. Finally,
I will attempt to demonstrate how no conception of the brain as the organ of the
mind can exclude the white matter and its many and varied disorders.
W HI T E MAT T ER IN THE HISTORY OF NEU RO LO G Y
The brain was anatomically recognized in antiquity, and the Greek physician
Hippocrates (460–370 bce) regarded it as the source of human intelligence,
dreams, and thought (McHenry, 1969). The understanding of brain anatomy
was long hindered, however, by the reluctance of the Greeks and their succes-
sors to dissect the human body. Thus for centuries neuroanatomy made little
progress. Although the influential physician Galen of Pergamus (131–201 ce)
held that the substance of the brain was the site of mental faculties, many
authorities throughout the Middle Ages believed that mental functions were
localized within the ventricles (McHenry, 1969).
With the arrival of the Renaissance, dissection of the body was undertaken
in earnest, and the science of anatomy began to flourish. This development
invigorated neuroanatomy as never before. In 1543 some of the most remark-
able depictions of brain anatomy ever produced were published by the great
Belgian anatomist Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564; Figure 1-1) in his monumen-
tal De Humani Corporis Fabrica. This extraordinary work, one of the most
enduring and influential in the history of science, initiated the objective study
of the human body, encouraged by the humanistic interests of the era in which
it appeared. Vesalius himself produced some of the drawings in the Fabrica,
although most were produced by students working in the studios of the
Renaissance master Titian, the most notable of whom was Jan Stefan van Kalkar
(Saunders and O’Malley, 1973). The beauty and elegance of these illustrations,
combined with an extraordinary degree of anatomic accuracy, render them
superb examples of descriptive science that still impress the observer more than
five centuries later.
Figure 1-1. Andreas Vesalius. (Reprinted with permission from Saunders

and O’Malley, 1973.)
Figure 1-2. Drawing of the brain from the seventh book of Vesalius’s De Humani
Corporis Fabrica, distinguishing cerebral white matter from gray matter. (Reprinted with
permission from Saunders and O’Malley, 1973.)
In the Fabrica, the white matter of the brain was identified as a distinct
neuroanatomic structure for the first time. Vesalius clearly distinguished the
white matter from the cortical gray matter in drawings from the seventh book
of his masterwork (Figure 1-2). The function of the white matter, however, was
not understood, although it was speculated that its purpose was purely mechan-
ical. Vesalius believed that the corpus callosum, for example, was primarily a
supporting structure in the brain, serving to maintain and protect the integrity
of the ventricles (Bogen, 1993).
The observations of Vesalius stimulated others to examine both the structure
and the function of white matter. Soon after the appearance of the Fabrica,
Arcangelo Piccolomini (1526–1586) completed the first successful gross
dissection of white from gray matter (Gross, 1998). Piccolomini referred to the
cerebral cortex as the “cerebrum” and the white matter as the “medulla,” but did
not assign functional roles to either structure (Gross, 1998). An early attempt at
describing the function of white matter was made in the next century by the
famous English anatomist Thomas Willis (1621–1675), who thought that the
white matter, including the corpus callosum, elaborated sensory signals into
perceptions and imaginations that were later stored as memories in the cortex
(Gross, 1998). With this speculation, Willis anticipated later understanding of
white matter connectivity. After the introduction of the microscope, Marcello
Malpighi (1628–1694) used primitive instruments to became the first to exam-
ine the fine structure of white matter. The founder of microscopic anatomy,
Malpighi observed that white matter fibers arose from cerebral gyri and
traveled to other regions of the brain (Gross, 1998). Nicolaus Steno (Niels
Stensen, 1648–1686), a Danish physician, extended Malpighi’s work and wrote
that fibers could be followed to determine their course in the brain; his studies
led him to consider white matter as “nature’s finest masterpiece” (Schmahmann
and Pandya, 2007).
Further progress was gradually made by many investigators. The Swedish
philosopher and scientist Emmanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) recognized that
white matter fibers descended through the brain stem to the spinal cord (Gross,
1998). François Gigot de la Peyronie (1678–1747) believed that mental illness
occurred only when the corpus callosum was diseased and thus that this tract
was the seat of intellectual faculties (Schmahmann and Pandya, 2007). The
Swiss anatomist Albrecht von Haller (1708–1777) thought the white matter to
be more important than gray for mental life because it contained a “sensorium
commune”—a junction in the brain where the five senses met and a pooled
impression was made (Schmahmann and Pandya, 2007). In Italy, Francesco
Gennari (1752–1797) discovered the grossly visible white matter streak in the
occipital cortex that came to be called the line of Gennari (Schmahmann and
Pandya, 2007). The anatomist and personal physician of Marie Antoinette Felix
Vicq d’Azyr (1748–1794) independently confirmed Gennari’s line, distinguished
for the first time the commissural connections from association tracts, and
described the mammillothalamic tract, a bundle that came to bear his name
(Schmahmann and Pandya, 2007).
Brain dissection improved substantially in the years after 1800, when
new brain fixation techniques preserved structures that would have
otherwise decayed. Johann Christian Reil (1759–1819) used these advances to
investigate hemispheric white matter and introduced the term corona radiata
(Schmahmann and Pandya, 2007). Somewhat later, Louis Pierre Gratiolet
(1815–1865) was the first to describe the optic radiations (Schmahmann and
Pandya, 2007). The major work on white matter from this era, however, came
from Franz Joseph Gall (1758–1828; Figure 1-3), who, with the help of his
student Johann Kaspar Spurzheim (1776–1832), performed highly credible
neuroanatomic studies before venturing into the fanciful area of organology,
later to be known as phrenology (McHenry, 1969). Working in Vienna in the
early 1800s, Gall and Spurzheim established that white matter consisted of indi-
vidual fibers and that these coalesced into tracts that connected cortical gray
matter regions they considered the organs of mental activity (McHenry, 1969).
Thus although Gall and Spurzheim were primarily neuroanatomists, they spec-
ulated on functional aspects of brain regions and anticipated modern systems
neuroscience (Schmahmann and Pandya, 2007). Their emphasis on cortical
function strongly influenced subsequent concepts of localization, but they also
Figure 1-3. Franz Joseph Gall. (Reprinted with permission from McHenry, 1969.)
laid a solid foundation for later ideas on the contributions of white matter
(Schmahmann and Pandya, 2007).
As the 19th century progressed, microscopes steadily improved and more
detail was elucidated on the fine structure of white matter; eventually, such
studies led to the establishment of the “neuron doctrine” with the work of the
Spaniard Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934). In 1838 Theodor Schwann
(1810–1882) was the first to describe the insulating sheath around the axon
(McHenry, 1969). Jules Gabriel François Baillarger (1815–1890) first found evi-
dence of myelinated fibers within the cerebral cortex (Schmahmann and
Pandya, 2006), and the lines of Baillarger persist in neuroanatomy textbooks
today. Among his many contributions to neuropathology, the German patholo-
gist Rudolph Virchow (1821–1902) is credited with the introduction of the
word myelin to describe the material that constitutes this sheath (Morell and
Norton, 1980). In 1871 Louis-Antoine Ranvier (1835–1922) used a silver
impregnation method to discover and describe the nodes in myelinated fibers
for which he is remembered (Schmahmann and Pandya, 2007). Around that
time, Theodor Hermann Meynert (1833–1892) firmly established the classifica-
tion of cerebral white matter tracts—association, commissural, and projec-
tion—that remains widely accepted (Schmahmann and Pandya, 2007). Carl
Weigert (1845–1904) developed a stain for myelin in 1882 that advanced
the study of white matter tracts and is still in use today (McHenry, 1969).
The German histologist Paul Flechsig (1847–1929) devoted several decades of
his long career to the study of white matter and myelinogenesis. Among his
many contributions, he described a number of white matter tracts, including
the pyramidal tract, the internal capsule, and the auditory radiation (McHenry,
1969). Flechsig also showed that myelinogenesis proceeded in a variable manner
depending on the brain area involved, and his assertion that cerebral regions
are functionally mature only when their myelination is complete has been
widely influential (McHenry, 1969). Flechsig’s rule, which states that cortical
sensory areas are not connected directly with each other but with related asso-
ciation cortices (Flechsig, 1901), played a major role in Geschwind’s theorizing
about disconnection syndromes many years later (Geschwind, 1965a, 1965b).
In the 20th century, studies of white matter connectivity in experimental
animals significantly advanced knowledge of white matter. A silver impregna-
tion technique developed by the German Max Bielschowsky (1869–1940) in
1902 became widely used to study retrograde degeneration in white matter
tracts after ablations (Schmahmann and Pandya, 2006). Later the use of
horseradish peroxidase enjoyed some success as a method of physiologic retro-
grade tract tracing (Schmahmann and Pandya, 2007). The technique of autora-
diography was introduced around 1970 and became widely popular because
the injection of a radioisotope enabled the study of anterograde connections
(Schmahmann and Pandya, 2007). Such studies continue to prove exception-
ally revealing in animal research (Schmahmann and Pandya, 2006) and helped
lay the foundation for in vivo human studies made possible by the evolving
techniques of MRI.
In the clinical arena, cerebral localization of function became an object of
intense study during the late 1800s (Young, 1970). Neurologists made great
strides in understanding the functional sequelae of cerebral lesions. Most inves-
tigators, however, concentrated on focal lesions of the cerebral cortex, the study
of which revealed clinical–pathologic correlations that substantially advanced
the understanding of the localization of higher functions. The seminal studies
of Paul Broca (1824–1880), Carl Wernicke (1848–1904), Jules Dejerine (1849–
1917), Hugo Liepmann (1863–1925), Heinrich Lissauer (1861–1891), John
Hughlings Jackson (1835–1911), and others provided classic descriptions of
syndromes such as aphasia, alexia, apraxia, and agnosia that were based for the
most part on lesions in critical cortical areas (Haymaker, 1953; McHenry, 1969).
These studies provided the neuroscientific basis for behavioral neurology as
understood and practiced today.
The effects of cerebral white matter on behavior did attract some attention
from neurologists in this era. The leading figure in this regard was the French
neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot (1825–1893; Figure 1-4). Working at the
Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, Charcot made many seminal contributions to
the understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other disorders that clarified
Figure 1-4. Jean-Martin Charcot. (Reprinted with permission from McHenry, 1969.)
the role of white matter in health and disease (Haymaker, 1953; McHenry,
1969). Charcot, among his many observations of MS patients, clearly recog-
nized that intellectual and emotional faculties could be affected (Charcot, 1877).
Others delineated elegant brain–behavior relationships based on the study of
focal white matter lesions. Dejerine, for example, demonstrated involvement of
the splenium of the corpus callosum in pure alexia (Geschwind, 1965a, 1965b).
Similarly, Liepmann included the anterior corpus callosum in his explanation
of unilateral apraxia (Geschwind, 1965a, 1965b). These focal disorders, the
appearance of which depended on the disruption of a tract connecting cortical
areas, came to be known as disconnection syndromes. Thus although the
cortical gray matter was the main interest of classical neurologists, cerebral
white matter was included in many formulations of brain–behavior relation-
ships. At the close of the 19th century, one can discern a nascent appreciation
of the interaction of multiple cerebral regions in the operations of the mind.
THE C O NCEPT OF SUBCOR TICAL DEMEN TI A
In the 20th century, a different line of inquiry appeared that would prove
relevant to the study of cerebral white matter. Whereas it was generally believed
that cortical damage was the major neuropathologic substrate of mental
dysfunction, some investigators began to examine the possibility that disorders

involving selective lesions of subcortical structures such as the basal ganglia
and thalamus could also disrupt cognition and emotion (Mandell and Albert,
1990). In 1922, a form of mental impairment called bradyphrenia was described
in patients with postencephalitic parkinsonism, who presumably had primary
damage to the substantia nigra and related areas (Naville, 1922). The term
subcortical dementia was coined 10 years later to describe postencephalitic
patients with a similar mental slowness who also had personality and affective
disturbances (von Stockert, 1932). These developments were largely ignored,
however, as were concepts of cerebral localization in general during the first
half of the century. With the ascendancy of Freudian interpretations of behav-
ior in those years, the neural basis of behavior—cortical or subcortical—
received scant attention.
After many decades of neglect, the idea of subcortical dementia was revived
in the 1970s. Interest in the concept evolved from the work of two groups that
independently made remarkably similar clinical observations. Martin Albert
and colleagues (1974) described a pattern of cognitive impairment consistent
with subcortical dementia in five patients with progressive supranuclear palsy,
while Paul McHugh and Marshall Folstein (1975) described a nearly identical
syndrome in eight patients with Huntington’s disease. In general, these investi-
gators emphasized cognitive slowing, forgetfulness, and personality and emo-
tional changes as typical of subcortical dementias, in contrast to the amnesia,
aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia that are traditionally associated with cortical
dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Subcortical dementia was theo-
rized to disrupt the “fundamental” functions of arousal, attention, motivation,
and mood that provide for the timing and activation of cortical processes,
whereas cortical dementia was seen as interfering with the “instrumental”
functions of memory, language, praxis, and perception primarily associated
with the neocortex (Albert, 1978). An analogous distinction was drawn between
“channel” functions, referring to the specific contents of cognition, and “state”
functions, which maintain the state of information processing in the brain
(Mesulam, 2000). Based on these formulations, descriptive clinical work in the
dementias flourished, and subcortical dementia became a widely used, if not
universally accepted, term for the dementia that can be seen in patients with a
variety of subcortical diseases (Cummings and Benson, 1984; Whitehouse,
1986). As further studies appeared, the clinical resemblance of subcortical to
frontal lobe disease was recognized, and the alternate terms fronto-subcortical
dementia and frontal systems dementia were suggested (Freedman and
Albert, 1985), although subcortical dementia has remained the most common
designation of this syndrome. The concept continues to serve as a useful guide
for classifying dementias, and while the dichotomy between subcortical and
cortical dementias is not strict, the subcortical dementias generally resemble

each other more than they do AD (Bonelli and Cummings, 2008).
Cerebral white matter disorders were not initially included in the list of
subcortical dementias. However, in the years following the reports of Albert,
McHugh, and their colleagues, disorders of white matter were recognized as
capable of disrupting neurobehavioral function in a similar fashion. Prominent
among these was MS, the most familiar disease of cerebral white matter.
Considerable investigative effort was concentrated on the neurobehavioral
deficits that can accompany MS, and the disease came to be seen as capable of
causing many different syndromes and often major disability (Rao, 1986).
As other diseases with significant white matter neuropathology were found to
manifest similar deficits, including Binswanger’s disease (Babikian and Ropper,
1987) and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) dementia com-
plex (Navia et al., 1986), cerebral white matter disorders began to be regarded
as etiologies of subcortical dementia (Cummings, 1990).
At present, white matter disorders of the brain are included, albeit somewhat
tentatively, in lists of subcortical dementias by most authorities. To some extent,
clinical lore persists that white matter disorders do not significantly disturb
cognition. Subcortical gray matter disorders are more readily accepted as having
the potential to disrupt cognition and emotion; white matter disorders are
regarded as more likely to cause elementary motor, sensory, and visual deficits
than neurobehavioral disturbances. While white matter disorders are acknowl-
edged to produce a clinical picture similar to that of subcortical gray matter
diseases, whether they have any distinct features remains uncertain. A sign of
the lasting emphasis on gray matter function can be seen by perusal of major
textbooks in behavioral neurology and neuropsychology, which typically do
not specifically address white matter or its disorders (Feinberg and Farah, 1997;
Mesulam, 2000; Devinsky and D’Esposito, 2004).
W HI T E MAT T ER AND HIGHER F UNCTION
The uncertainty surrounding the role of cerebral white matter in higher

function results from the belief prevalent among neuroscientists that gray
matter—cortical and more recently subcortical—is the neural tissue primarily
responsible for cognition and emotion. A substantial basis for this view exists,
and indeed the popular identification of intelligence with “gray matter” attests
to the power of this concept even beyond academia. Compelling evidence
supporting the neurobehavioral importance of cortical gray matter in particu-
lar has led to the widely used term “higher cortical function” (Luria, 1980) as a
descriptor of the interests of behavioral neurologists, neuropsychiatrists, and
neuropsychologists. The white matter, in contrast, is generally believed to be

devoted mainly to motor and sensory systems in the brain and spinal cord.
Thus when cognitive and emotional problems appear in patients with cerebral
white matter disorders, some reluctance to ascribe these deficits to white matter
lesion(s) is common, and psychological explanations are often invoked.
The dominance of the concept of higher cortical function results from more
than two centuries of clinical and experimental evidence supporting the role of
cortical gray matter in the activities of the mind. Gall and Spurzheim first con-
centrated on the cerebral cortex because they believed this was the part of the
brain that could exert a physical effect on the conformation of the skull, and
identification of palpable surface landmarks of the skull was central to their
theories of brain function (Young, 1970). Although they recognized white
matter as connecting gray matter areas, Gall and Spurzheim did not include
these tracts in their ideas on localization. Despite the errors and excesses of
phrenology that were soon recognized, the phrenologists’ notion that mental
faculties were to be found in the cortex held firm.
Later in the 19th century, investigators influenced by Gall and Spurzheim
made clinical observations consistent with the idea that higher functions
were represented in the cerebral cortex. As the idea of cerebral localizationism
gradually gained acceptance during this era (Tyler and Malessa, 2000),
the functions of the cortex most often attracted the attention of neurologists.
For example, Broca’s famous promotion of the role of the left frontal lobe
in language production gave strong support to the concept of cortical localiza-
tion (Young, 1970). In the 1870s the work of Gustav Fritsch (1838–1927) and
Eduard Hitzig (1838–1907) demonstrating the electrical excitability of
the motor cortex further focused attention on cortical function (Young, 1970).
The more detailed physiologic investigations of David Ferrier (1843–1928)
confirmed and extended these findings, and he proposed that psychological
as well as motor phenomena could be represented in the cortex (Young, 1970).
At about the same time, Jackson’s clinical observations that irritative cortical
lesions could produce psychic phenomena in epileptic patients further sup-
ported the role of the cortex in higher functions (McHenry, 1969). As noted
above, localizationists in neurology from Broca onward generally emphasized
the role of cortical function in neurobehavioral syndromes. In the mid-20th
century, the studies of Wilder Penfield (1891–1976) brought a new level of
maturity to these theories by providing direct evidence that cortical stimulation
could elicit mental experiences (Penfield, 1975). In recent decades, with the
arrival of new functional neuroimaging techniques that enable mental phe-
nomena to be safely and accurately imaged in the living brain, the major role of
the cortex was again made abundantly clear (Raichle, 1994). Finally, steady
advances in molecular biology and neurophysiology provided major insights
into the cortical mediation of memory and other cognitive domains (Kandel,
2006).
The relative underemphasis on white matter in the study of behavior
persisted through the 20th century despite major contributions from promi-
nent clinical neuroscientists. Norman Geschwind (1926–1984), the leading
behavioral neurologist of the era, influenced a generation of clinicians and
investigators with his insights into brain–behavior relationships (Figure 1-5).
In 1965 Geschwind published a famous article on cerebral disconnection
syndromes, widely acknowledged as his most important publication (Geschwind,
1965a, 1965b). Among the many features of this remarkable tour de force is its
reference to the role white matter played in the cognitive modeling of many
classic 19th-century neurologists. For Geschwind, disconnection of cerebral
regions by lesions of association cortices or white matter tracts was central to
the classic syndromes of behavioral neurology. It followed from this perspective
that interruption of white matter tracts, whether intrahemispheric (associa-
tion) fibers or interhemispheric (callosal) fibers, could disturb neurobehavioral
functioning even if the cortical areas connected by those tracts were intact.
Although the idea of disconnection had a substantial impact on behavioral
neurology and neuroscience in general (Absher and Benson, 1993), interest in
the specific role of white matter lesions did not equal the attention devoted to
lesions of the association cortices.
Disconnection research in the 20th century also focused on the corpus
callosum. This structure is the largest white matter tract in the brain, and its
Figure 1-5. Norman Geschwind.

obvious importance in connecting the two hemispheres has attracted substan-

tial interest. Geschwind based much of his early theorizing on a patient with
cerebral disconnection due to a lesion of the anterior corpus callosum
(Geschwind and Kaplan, 1962), and additional studies have been undertaken
with individuals who have callosal agenesis (Chapter 5) or corpus callosotomy
(Chapter 12). In particular, elegant studies supporting a neurobehavioral role of
the corpus callosum came from the work of Roger Sperry and Michael
Gazzaniga, who used experimental animals and humans with “split brains”
following surgical section of the corpus callosum to document contributions of
commissural white matter to cognitive function (Sperry, 1961; Gazzaniga,
1970). However, because patients with callosal lesions typically have relatively
subtle neurologic deficits, skepticism about the role of the corpus callosum in
behavior has persisted (Bogen, 1993). Even today, studies on callosal discon-
nection are largely of interest to research neuroscientists, and there has been
relatively little application of the resulting information to the clinical realm.
The conceptual dominance of gray matter, although still strong, began to be
challenged in the 1980s with the advent of MRI (Chapter 3). With this develop-
ment, which made possible the routine imaging of the cerebral white matter
with high resolution and without patient exposure to ionizing radiation,
clinical detection of white matter disorders became common. For example, the
dementia associated with solvent vapor abuse was found to be associated
with leukoencephalopathy on MRI (Filley et al., 1990), and toluene leukoen-
cephalopathy provided one of the best examples of dementia from white matter
disease (Chapter 9). Since its introduction, MRI has continued to reveal
an impressive variety of cerebral white matter abnormalities in many popula-
tions. One of the most intriguing findings is the common phenomenon
in elderly individuals known as leukoaraiosis (Hachinski et al., 1987),
which has raised many questions about the origin and impact of vascular white
matter disease (Chapter 11). The study of previously known white matter dis-
eases also advanced rapidly with the arrival of MRI, as the example of MS
readily demonstrates. MRI has evolved to become a mainstay of clinical and
research work devoted to the understanding and treatment of white matter dis-
orders. More recently, MRS, MTI, and DTI have greatly expanded the capabil-
ity to evaluate white matter that appears normal on MRI but that may harbor
subtle neuropathology (Aralasmak et al., 2006; Wozniak and Lim, 2006; Khaleeli
et al., 2007).
The convergence of considerable clinical and neuroimaging evidence
initiated a reconsideration of the role of cerebral white matter. The most
important syndrome to emerge from early studies was cognitive impairment,
and patients with cognitive loss or frank dementia were increasingly recog-
nized. In an effort to highlight the dementia that could specifically be ascribed
to dysfunction of cerebral white matter, the term white matter dementia

was proposed (Filley et al., 1988). Whereas the main goal of this designation
was to call attention to potential neurobehavioral disturbances in these patients,
evidence also began to appear suggesting that this syndrome has a specific
neuropsychological profile that distinguishes it from both cortical and subcor-
tical gray matter dementia (Rao, 1996). Thus in addition to serving as an
exhortation to clinical vigilance in evaluating individuals with white matter
disorders, the concept of white matter dementia has a theoretical dimension
(Filley, 1998; Schmahmann et al., 2008).
In the 1990s the most thorough and systematic exploration of the role of
white matter in behavior was undertaken with MS (Chapter 6). While interest
grew in the contribution of gray matter plaques to neurobehavioral dysfunction
in the disease, MS came to be recognized as a prominent white matter disorder
in which a wide range of neurobehavioral and neuropsychiatric syndromes
may be encountered (Feinstein, 2007). White matter disorders in general began
to attract further attention as a group with distinctive neuropsychological
features within the broad category of the dementias (Derix, 1994; Rao, 1996).
In children and adolescents, a related approach was the proposal of a model of
neuropsychological dysfunction called the “syndrome of nonverbal learning
disabilities” (Rourke, 1995). This model postulates that a pattern of cognitive
deficits detectable in a wide range of diverse disorders can be explained by
the common feature of white matter dysfunction. Attention also came to be
focused on a range of psychiatric disorders in which disruptions of white matter
connectivity were postulated to play a pathogenetic role (Kumar and Cook,
2002; Lee and Fields, 2009).
As the 21st century proceeds, the importance of white matter in behavioral
neurology is becoming clearer. Not only are the cerebral cortex and subcortical
gray matter structures crucial for the operations of the mind, so too is the white
matter lying interposed between them (Schmahmann et al., 2008; Filley, 2011).
Propelled in large part by the remarkable advances of neuroimaging, a specific
focus on this portion of the brain has now become feasible. While MRI
remains highly regarded for a host of clinical and research purposes, advanced
neuroradiologic techniques such as MRS, MTI, and DTI now enable more
detailed studies of normal and abnormal white matter at all ages and in many
diverse settings. In addition, and in part owing to the advances in neuroimag-
ing, greater neuroanatomic definition of white matter has become available
from elegant studies of nonhuman primates (Schmahmann and Pandya, 2006).
All of these trends have now generated the concept of the connectome, or the
structural description of the connections forming the human brain (Sporns,
2011). The connectome serves as an organizing principle for neuroscientists
engaged in the study of behavior at any level. Clinicians are well aware of these
developments, and while focal disconnection retains its interest, investigations

are also under way aimed at enhancing understanding of the role of white
matter in a host of neurologic and psychiatric disorders in which network
dysfunction is postulated (Filley, 2010; Filley, 2011).
T HE PER SPECT IVE OF BEHAVIORAL NEURO LO G Y
The preceding review of the historical background to this book has shown
that the white matter of the brain, while not fully dismissed by behavioral
neurologists, has merited more attention than it has received. This situation,
happily, has begun to change. Far from existing only as a supporting structure
in the brain, white matter is being conceptualized as connecting cortical and
subcortical regions within and between the hemispheres in functionally
meaningful patterns (Mesulam, 2005; Schmahmann et al., 2008; Filley, 2010,
2011). White matter in the brain stem and cerebellum is also likely to be
relevant to higher function, extending the idea of distributed neural networks
to areas throughout the brain (Schmahmann and Pandya, 2008). The white
matter of the brain necessarily participates in a wide range of neuronal
ensembles that subserve capacities of the nervous system as diverse as motor
function, visual recognition, and impulse control. Whereas elemental neuro-
logic deficits can clearly result from white matter lesions, so too can higher
functional impairments. Current thinking in behavioral neurology stresses the
existence of multifocal distributed neural networks dedicated to the higher
functions (Mesulam 1990, 1998, 2000). Gray matter areas operate in concert in
mediating these activities, and white matter forms the connecting tissues that
link these areas into distributed neural assemblies. Lesions in these tracts there-
fore produce dysfunction that reflects the uncoupling of neural networks even
when their gray matter components remain intact.
Notwithstanding recent gains in the acknowledgment of the theoretical
significance of disconnection of neural networks by white matter lesions,
patients with white matter disorders may still not be evaluated with due regard
for possible neurobehavioral syndromes. The entrenchment of the idea of
higher cortical function surely plays some part in this omission, but other
factors are also at work. There is the perplexing occasional patient, usually
older, who has extensive white matter changes on MRI but is nonetheless
cognitively intact (Fein et al., 1990). Such individuals introduce doubt about
whether lesions in the white matter have any neurobehavioral consequences.
In addition, the neuroanatomy of white matter is complex, and details of
white matter connections, while well studied in the monkey, are not nearly as
fully understood in humans (Mesulam, 2005). Whereas cortical or subcortical
lesions can increasingly be well identified by clinical and neuroradiologic

methods, discrete white matter tracts are not so easily located and analyzed.
Nevertheless, the increasing frequency with which white matter disorders of
the brain are encountered is rapidly expanding clinical experience with them,
and as this book will document, the weight of clinical evidence supports their
impact on cognitive and emotional function. The prevalence of neurobehav-
ioral syndromes caused by white matter disorders is difficult to determine, but
considering the range of afflictions discussed in Part II of this book, they are
clearly not rare. As will also be seen, the burden of neurobehavioral disability in
patients with these disorders is enormous and underappreciated. Moreover,
because white matter lesions often involve damage to myelin alone, without
axonal damage, the potential for spontaneous improvement or effective treat-
ment is higher than in disorders of gray matter, which typically destroy neu-
rons. Substantial clinical benefit may thus accrue from a better understanding
of these issues.
A comprehensive and critical literature review, collecting substantial
information across many contexts, will provide the basis for this book’s consid-
eration of the role of the brain white matter in neurobehavioral function.
A major resource has necessarily been clinical reports of individuals with
cerebral white matter disorders. The lesion method that has proven so useful in
other areas of behavioral neurology will be assumed to be equally applicable to
the analysis of white matter disorders. A central tenet of research on brain–
behavior relationships is that the location of the neuropathology, not its specific
type, is the key to understanding clinical sequelae (Cummings and Mega, 2003),
so the identification of commonalities across many parallel literatures is most
instructive.
In many cases, some ambiguity will be unavoidable about whether a given
disorder does in fact represent sufficiently selective white matter involvement
to allow for correlation with neurobehavioral observations. The problem of
neuroanatomic specificity, while not trivial, has long bedeviled behavioral neu-
rology and should not deter a work such as this. Critics who contend that the
neurobehavioral significance of a white matter lesion cannot be interpreted
because of adjacent gray matter damage should recall that Broca’s aphasia is
accepted as a cortical syndrome despite the frequent coexistence of subjacent
white matter involvement. The cerebral localization of many familiar neurobe-
havioral disorders is in fact still debated, and this process energizes and refines
the understanding of brain–behavior relationships. The intent here is to pro-
vide a survey of white matter disorders that will introduce the reader to the
increasing plausibility of their neurobehavioral significance. If this book gener-
ates further work either confirming or denying these ideas, it will have served a
useful purpose.
A recurring theme will be the remarkable frequency with which important

and similar neurobehavioral features of white matter disorders appear in clini-
cal observations, even when they are not the focus of a report. Findings from
various neuroimaging techniques relevant to myelinated systems will also play
a central role in this undertaking. The specific objectives are to explore what
information is available, consider how it can be employed clinically and
theoretically, and suggest ways to gather additional useful data. Throughout
what follows, a conceptual scheme will be steadily developed on the manner in
which white matter assists in the elaboration of mental operations. As the organ
of the mind, the brain deserves the most meticulous scrutiny—in all of its
immense structural and functional complexity.
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2
White Matter Structure

and Function
The white matter is a major constituent of the brain. In the adult human, white
matter makes up more than 40% of the brain’s cross-sectional area (Morell and
Norton, 1980), and 40–50% of the adult cerebral volume is occupied by white
matter (Miller et al., 1980). Recent estimates hold that the normal human fore-
brain contains about 135,000–176,000 kilometers of myelinated fibers (Marner
et al., 2003; Saver, 2006). The remainder of the brain comprises the cerebral
cortex, subcortical nuclei, the brain stem and cerebellum, and the blood vessels.
White matter is constituted of axons invested with myelin, millions of which
combine to form the many tracts that travel within and between the hemi-
spheres as well as to more caudal brain stem and cerebellar regions. Myelinated
fibers perform a critical role in normal brain function by virtue of this vast and
intricate connectivity. Although the great majority of the white matter is located
within these tracts, smaller numbers of myelinated fibers course within cortical
and subcortical gray matter structures en route to their final destinations. Thus
the distinction between gray and white matter is only relative, and disorders of
myelin can affect gray matter regions as well. This chapter reviews clinically
relevant details of the structure and function of the brain white matter.
A general notion will be developed here and in many chapters to follow that
white matter principally subserves information transfer, in contrast to the
information processing mediated by gray matter (Filley, 2005, 2010). White
matter is organized to enable macroconnectivity of the brain—linking widely
distributed cortical and subcortical gray matter regions into coherent neural
networks—whereas the essence of gray matter function is microconnectivity—
the intricate web of synaptic contacts between individual neurons that
permits chemical transmission, long-term potentiation, and other critical
neurobiological processes (Filley, 2005, 2010). Both aspects of brain structure

contribute vitally to the rich tapestry of uniquely human behavior.
NE URO ANAT O MY
The human brain is a collection of nervous tissue, glial cells, and vasculature
weighing about 1400 grams (range 1100–1700) in the adult, or roughly 2% of
the total body weight (Nolte, 2002). Within the brain are an estimated 100 bil-
lion neurons, each of which makes contact with at least 10,000 others, and many
times this number of glial cells (Kandel et al., 2000). The great majority of neu-
rons (more than 99%) are classified as interneurons, meaning that almost all
neurons are interposed between the afferent sensory systems concerned with
the acquisition of external information and the efferent systems devoted to the
generation of motor output (Nolte, 2002). Many of these interneurons include
long, myelinated axons, which course through the brain and constitute roughly
half its volume. The brain white matter consists of the myelinated axons of
neurons, a large number of glial cells, and the blood vessels that nourish this
portion of the central nervous system (CNS).
Myelin
The word myelin derives from the Greek word for marrow (myelos) and was
coined by Virchow to indicate the abundance of white matter in the core, or
marrow, of the brain (Morell and Norton, 1980). This complex, lipid-rich sub-
stance is now known to surround axons in both the peripheral and the central
nervous systems, and although structural differences exist between central and
peripheral myelin, its universal function is to insulate axons and thereby dra-
matically affect their electrical properties (Baumann and Pham-Dinh, 2001).
The structure of myelin consists of multiple lipid bilayers along with closely
related proteins. Myelin in the freshly cut brain is easily visible because of
its glistening white appearance, which derives from its preponderance of lipid.
In the brain, lipid accounts for approximately 70% of the dry weight of myelin
and protein about 30% (Baumann and Pham-Dinh, 2001). Cholesterol is the
most abundant lipid in brain myelin (40%), followed by cerebrosides (20%),
phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylcholine (16%), ethanolamines (13%),
phosphoglycerides (5.5%), sphingomyelin (4%), gangliosides (1%), and inositi-
des (0.5%) (McLaurin and Yong, 1995). Proteins in brain myelin include pro-
teolipid protein (PLP, 50%), myelin basic protein (MBP, 30%), cyclic nucleotide
phosphohydrolase (CNP, 4%), myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG, 1%), and
a variety of other glycoproteins and proteins, some of which have enzymatic

activity (Baumann and Pham-Dinh, 2001).
Glial Cells
Of the four types of glial cells in the CNS—oligodendrocytes, astrocytes,

ependymal cells, and microglia—the first two are important in determining the
structure and function of white matter. Oligodendrocytes are responsible for
the formation of myelin, in a manner analogous to the Schwann cells of the
peripheral nervous system (Baumann and Pham-Dinh, 2001; Benarroch, 2009).
These cells originate from neuroectodermal cells in the ependymal germinal
matrix that migrate into both white and gray matter to complete their matura-
tion. Oligodendrocytes deposit myelin along the axon by laying down their
membranes in a manner permitting the circumferential encircling of the axon
(Figure 2-1). The oligodendrocyte extends its process to the axon and then
wraps its membrane around the axon several times to form a compact myelin
sheath. Each oligodendrocyte is capable of investing up to 60 neighboring axons
with myelin, although this process is always limited to a specific segment of the
axon (McLaurin and Yong, 1995). Thus the myelin sheath is discontinuous,
leaving short segments of the axon uncovered between areas of myelin. These
regions, called nodes of Ranvier, permit much more efficient axonal transmis-
sion, as will be discussed below.
Oligodendrocyte
Myelin sheath
Node
Mitochondrion
Cytoskeletal filaments in axon
Figure 2-1. Drawing of an oligodendrocyte and the myelination of axons in the brain.
(Reprinted with permission from Kandel et al., 2000.)
Table 2-1. White Matter Tracts in the Brain: Three Classifications
Nolte (2002) Aralasmak et al. (2006) Schmahmann and Pandya (2006);

Schmahmann et al. (2007)
Methods: gross dissection, myelin staining Method: diffusion tensor imaging of human Methods: autoradiography and diffusion
of human brain, lesion degeneration brain spectrum imaging of rhesus monkey brain
Projection Projection Projection (Subcortical)

Optic radiation Optic radiation Optic radiation (within the sagittal stratum)
Thalamocortical radiation Acoustic radiation Thalamic peduncles
Internal capsule Internal capsule Internal capsule
Fornix
Commissural Commissural Commissural

Corpus callosum Corpus callosum Corpus callosum
Anterior commissure Anterior commissure Anterior commissure
Hippocampal commissure Hippocampal commissure Hippocampal commissure
Habenular commissure
Posterior commissure
Tectal commissure
Association Association Association

Short association (U) fibers Short association (U) fibers Local (U) fiber system
Neighborhood fiber system
Arcuate fasciculus Superior longitudinal (arcuate) fasciculus Arcuate fasciculus
Association Association Association
Superior longitudinal fasciculus 1
Middle longitudinal fasciculus
Extreme capsule
Superior occipitofrontal fasciculus Superior occipitofrontal (subcallosal) Occipitofrontal fasciculus
fasciculus
Inferior occipitofrontal fasciculus Inferior occipitofrontal fasciculus
Inferior longitudinal fasciculus Inferior longitudinal fasciculus
Uncinate fasciculus Uncinate fasciculus Uncinate fasciculus
Cingulum Cingulum Cingulum bundle
Striatal
External capsule
Subcallosal fasciculus of Muratoff (Muratoff
bundle)
Astrocytes are star-shaped glial cells found throughout the CNS. These
abundant cells are closely associated with neurons, for which they provide
structural support and contribute to metabolic homeostasis. In the white
matter, astrocytic processes make numerous contacts with nearby axons at the
nodes of Ranvier, and these connections enable the involvement of astrocytes
in the regulation of the ionic microenvironment (Vernadakis, 1988; Bennaroch,
2005). In addition, it is thought that astrocytes participate in synthesizing sodium
channels for the nodal axon membrane (Waxman and Ritchie, 1993; see
below).
White Matter Tracts
White matter is primarily characterized by collections of myelinated fibers

that travel together between various cortical and subcortical destinations
(Kandel et al., 2000). Axons of these fibers may be as short as 1 millimeter (if
they are strictly intracortical), or as long as 1 meter (if they travel from the brain
to the caudal spinal cord). The diameter of brain axons ranges from 0.2 to 20
micrometers, and myelinated axons are substantially larger. In their aggregate
form, most white matter tracts are large enough to be grossly discernible,
although they are substantially interwoven with each other so that identifica-
tion of a single tract from its origin to its destination is not a simple task.
The word tract is the most commonly used descriptor for white matter
pathways in the brain; other words are fasciculus, funiculus, lemniscus, peduncle,
and bundle (Nolte, 2002). These various terms find use in specific neuroana-
tomic contexts, but all refer to discrete collections of white matter fibers. Three
major groups of cerebral white matter pathways are recognized in standard
accounts (Nolte, 2002; Table 2-1). These are the projection, commissural, and
association fibers. Table 2-1 provides three classifications of tracts within these
systems based on results of different experimental techniques in humans and
monkeys; the last classification (Schmahmann and Pandya, 2006; Schmahmann
et al., 2007) includes striatal fibers as a fourth category.
Projection fibers consist of long ascending (corticopetal) and descending
(corticofugal) tracts. Corticopetal, or afferent, tracts connect structures lower
in the brain and the spinal cord with the cerebral cortex, while corticofugal, or
efferent, tracts proceed in the opposite direction. Well-known projection fiber
systems include the optic and thalamocortical radiations linking thalamic
nuclei with visual and somatosensory cortices and the corticospinal and
corticobulbar tracts connecting motor cortices with lower motor areas via the
internal capsule.
Commissural fibers connect the two hemispheres of the cerebrum. The most
important commissural tract is the corpus callosum, a prominent structure
containing some 300 million myelinated axons (Nolte, 2002; Figure 2-2).
The corpus callosum connects cortical regions in one hemisphere with homol-
ogous areas in the other and consists of the posterior splenium, the central
body, the anterior genu, and the ventrally directed rostrum, which merges with
the lamina terminalis. Other cerebral commissures are also recognized: the
anterior commissure, which connects olfactory and temporal regions; the hip-
pocampal or fornical commissure, which links the two crura of the fornices;
and three smaller tracts, the habenular commissure in the posterior thalamus,
the posterior commissure at the junction of the midbrain and diencephalon,
and the tectal commissure in the dorsal midbrain.
Association fibers connect cerebral areas within each hemisphere (Table 2-2;
Figure 2-2). First, short association fibers, the U or arcuate fibers, link adjacent
cortical gyri. Second, a large number of long association fibers connect more
distant cerebral areas; a common listing includes the arcuate (superior longitu-
dinal) fasciculus, the superior occipitofrontal fasciculus (subcallosal bundle),
the inferior occipitofrontal fasciculus, the cingulum, and the uncinate fascicu-
lus (Nolte, 2002). Variations in nomenclature of these tracts highlight the
emergence of new information and the general vigor of connectionist neuro-
anatomy research now in progress. The striatal fibers join the cortex with the
striatum and are closely allied with the association systems. While many details
of the origins and terminations of association tracts have yet to be established,
Figure 2-2. Drawing of major association and commissural white matter tracts.
AF—arcuate fasciculus; C—cingulum; CC—corpus callosum; IOFF—inferior
occipitofrontal fasciculus; SOFF—superior occipitofrontal fasciculus; UF—U fibers;
Un F—uncinate fasciculus.
Table 2-2. Cerebral Connections of the Association Fiber Systems
Tract Structures Connected

Short (U or arcuate fibers) Adjacent cortical gyri
Arcuate fasciculus Frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital lobes
Superior occipitofrontal fasciculus Frontal, parietal, occipital lobes
Inferior occipitofrontal fasciculus Frontal, temporal, occipital lobes
Cingulum Frontal, parietal, temporal lobes
Uncinate fasciculus Frontal, temporal lobes
(from Nolte, 2002)
it is clear that they are generally arranged so as to be bidirectional (Nieuwenhuys

et al., 1988), which allows for extensive reciprocal communication between
cerebral regions.
The long association tracts in Table 2-1 share the interesting feature that they
all have one terminus in the frontal lobe (Nolte, 2002). No other lobe of the
brain enjoys such rich connectivity. The white matter is therefore structurally
organized to facilitate interaction of the frontal lobes with all other regions of
the cerebrum. Although the specific mechanisms by which the frontal lobes
exert their prominent influence remain obscure, this pattern of connectivity
provides a neuroanatomical basis for their essential role in human behavior
(Weinberger, 1993; Mesulam, 2000; Filley, 2010). Recent comparative neuro-
logy studies have come to the startling conclusion that compared with other
primates, prefrontal white matter—and not gray matter—is disproportionately
larger in humans (Schoenemann et al., 2005). Also notable is that myelination
has been termed the last major step in cellular evolution in the vertebrate
nervous system (Nave, 2010). These observations imply that it is connectional
elaboration of frontal white matter that explains the substantially greater growth
of the frontal lobes in humans, and that the expansion of frontally mediated
neural networks is central to cognitive and emotional aspects of human
evolution.
Cerebral white matter tracts coalesce with each other, forming a richly
interdigitated mass of white matter within each hemisphere. This complexity
has led to the adoption of other terms that are useful in clinical and research
settings. Above the internal capsule, through which nearly all the neural traffic
to and from the cerebral cortex passes, lies a collection of fibers that fans out
laterally called the corona radiata (Nolte, 2002). Still higher is found the
centrum semiovale, the white matter located subjacent to the cortical mantle
(Nolte, 2002). Other descriptive terms are also used to describe the white matter
of the hemispheres. The periventricular white matter conveniently refers to that
which lies immediately adjacent to the lateral ventricles. Less specific is the
subcortical white matter, used by some authors to refer to the white matter sub-
jacent to the cortex and by others to designate the aggregate of all major tracts
found within the hemispheres. Whereas these terms all prove helpful for
descriptive purposes, their imprecision underscores the incomplete knowledge
of white matter in the human brain. Adding to this uncertainty is the consider-
able variability in normal tract architecture, which complicates the interpreta-
tion of lesion effects (Taber and Hurley, 2007).
A number of smaller tracts deep within the brain deserve mention because
of evolving knowledge of their application to clinical syndromes: the fornix,
the medial forebrain bundle, the external capsule, and the extreme capsule. The
fornix is a continuation of the fimbria, which emanates from the hippocampus
and merges into the fornix as it curves posteriorly and dorsally to terminate in
a nucleus of the hypothalamus called the mammillary body (Nolte, 2002).
This tract serves as an important link in the limbic system and has a role in
both memory and emotion. The medial forebrain bundle connects the hypo-
thalamus with the brain stem inferiorly and the cerebral cortex superiorly
(Kandel et al., 2000) and contains neurons conveying various biogenic amines
(dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin) to their cortical destinations. The
external capsule courses lateral to the lenticular nucleus (caudate and putamen)
and contains cholinergic fibers also destined for the cerebral cortex (Selden
et al., 1998). The neurotransmitters carried within these two tracts enable the
major modulatory influences on the cortex that originate from the ascending
reticular activating system in the brain stem (Mesulam, 1998). The extreme
capsule lies lateral to the claustrum just below the insula, and its fibers connect
the temporal and frontal lobes in addition to those of the arcuate fasciculus
(Damasio and Damasio, 1980).
Finally, it should be recalled that gray matter itself also contains white matter
fascicles. In the cerebral cortex, the inner and outer bands of Baillarger travel in
layers V and IV, respectively, and in the occipital (or striate) cortex, the line of
Gennari courses within layer IV (Nolte, 2002). A number of smaller white
matter tracts also travel in and around subcortical gray matter structures
including the basal ganglia and thalamus (Nolte, 2002). These tracts, particu-
larly in the cortex, are receiving current attention in view of renewed interest in
intracortical demyelination as a feature of multiple sclerosis (MS; Chapter 6).
Other details of white matter neuroanatomy deserve comment. One intri-
guing observation pertains to laterality differences in the distribution of white
matter. Evidence exists that the right hemisphere contains a larger relative
proportion of white matter than the left (Allen et al., 2003), with a particularly
marked difference in the frontal lobes (Gur et al., 1980). In contrast, the left
hemisphere, or at least some areas within it, may contain a relatively larger
proportion of gray matter (Geschwind and Levitsky, 1968; Gur et al., 1999). Just
as interhemispheric cortical gray matter differences may represent differential
functional affiliations, this variation in the distribution of white matter may
have significant implications for the functional specializations of the two hemi-
spheres, and even of individual regions within the hemispheres.
Another area of interest concerns gender differences. Although males have
larger brains at all ages (Dekaban and Sadowsky, 1978), volumetric magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) studies indicate that women have a higher percent-
age of gray matter, whereas men appear to have proportionally more white
matter and cerebrospinal fluid (Gur et al., 1999; Allen et al., 2003). The greater
proportion of gray matter among females may be particularly notable in the
language regions of the left hemisphere, as autopsy studies indicate that women
have proportionally larger Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas than men (Harasty
et al., 1997). These differences may again have important functional implica-
tions. First, the relatively greater amount of left hemisphere gray matter in
women may help explain the well-documented superiority of females in lan-
guage tasks (Mann et al., 1990; Gur et al., 1999). Second, the relatively greater
amount of white matter among males, which is more pronounced in the right
than the left hemisphere, may account in part for the superiority of males on
visuospatial tasks (Gur et al., 1999; van Vugt et al., 2000). It has been proposed
that womens’ superior verbal ability arises from more compact information
processing of somatodendritic tissue enabled by the larger proportion of gray
matter, whereas men’s enhanced spatial processing stems from the more wide-
spread information transfer by myelinated tracts afforded by their more exten-
sive white matter (Gur et al. 1999). These speculations, while provocative,
should be interpreted cautiously, as more information is clearly needed.
The foregoing account is sufficient for appreciating the major structural
aspects of white matter tracts for clinical purposes, and as Table 2-1 demon-
strates, progress enabled by modern neuroimaging has been impressive. In
addition, recent microanatomic information has added new complexity and
raised many new questions. First, it appears that white matter contains its own
complement of neurons (Suárez-Solá et al., 2009). These intriguing cells, called
interstitial neurons, have been found mainly in human brains and are rudimen-
tary in nonhuman primates; they are most abundant near the cortical gyri and
are less often found in the deep white matter (Suárez-Solá et al., 2009). The
function of interstitial neurons is not known, but their prominence in humans
and their expression of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid
(GABA) suggest that they serve more than a structural role and influence
human behavior. Second, it has been discovered that chemical synapses are a
feature of white as well as gray matter (Alix and Domingues, 2011). These
synapses are glutamatergic and form contacts between unmyelinated regions of
axons and neighboring oligodendrocyte precursor cells (Alix and Domingues,

2011). One of the fascinating implications of these synapses is that they may
contribute to the plasticity of white matter; emerging information suggests
that electrical activity within axons can induce myelination, and white matter
synapses may be crucial to this process (Chapter 19). Both interstitial neurons
and white matter synapses alter prevailing notions of how white matter is
organized. In addition to elucidating aspects of plasticity that may pertain to
the treatment of white matter disorders, these developments may have implica-
tions for understanding the pathogenesis of diseases as diverse as MS, stroke,
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and schizophrenia (Suárez-Solá et al., 2009; Alix and
Domingues, 2011).
A final area of interest concerns the genetics of brain fiber architecture.
Recent twin studies of normal young adults with diffusion tensor imaging
(DTI) have shown that the brain white matter of identical twins is more similar
than that of fraternal twins (Chiang et al., 2009). White matter integrity is in
fact under strong genetic control, with about 80% of the variance in normal
structure being explained by genetic factors, particularly in the frontal and
parietal lobes (Chiang et al., 2009). Correlations of white matter integrity with
full-scale IQ and performance IQ have been established, but not with verbal IQ
(Chiang et al., 2009). These data bear upon the cognitive profile of white matter
dysfunction, in which verbal deficits are less apparent than nonverbal deficits
(Chapter 15), and also inform the understanding of white matter plasticity
(Chapter 19).
Blood Supply
The arterial supply of the cerebral white matter comes from many small arteries
that arise from larger arteries irrigating the brain. Prominent among the former
are the lenticulostriate arteries, which originate from the proximal middle cere-
bral artery and follow a long course as they penetrate the deep structures of the
cerebrum (Nolte, 2002). Arterioles also descend to the white matter from the
cortical surface after arising from the border zone region between the middle
and anterior cerebral arteries (Moody et al., 1990). This arterial blood supply
thus mainly arrives through small-caliber vessels, a feature that renders deep
cerebral white matter vulnerable to chronic hypoperfusion and ischemia.
In contrast, the U or arcuate fibers, the extreme capsule, and the external capsule
receive a rich blood supply provided by many short and interdigitated cortical
arterioles (Moody et al., 1990). The corpus callosum is supplied by short, small-
caliber arterioles that arise from the pial plexus (Moody et al., 1988). The blood
supply of the brain stem white matter comes from penetrating arteries arising
from the basilar artery, and the cerebellar white matter is supplied by penetrat-
ing branches of the superior cerebellar, posterior inferior cerebellar, and ante-
rior inferior cerebellar arteries (Nolte, 2002).
NE URO PHYSIO LOGY
The brain is an electrical organ, and its function depends on the capacity to
transmit electrical signals. Neurons are excitable cells that serve as the basic
functional units of the nervous system. Every neuron, whether in the central
or peripheral nervous system, operates by conducting an electrical impulse
based on ionic current flow across the axonal membrane. This impulse,
or action potential, is propagated along the axon in an “all or none” fashion
and can then influence another neuron to which it is connected by synaptic
transmission. All neurons in the brain—whether motor, sensory, or interneu-
rons—function in a similar manner. The speed and efficiency of this process,
however, is significantly influenced by the degree of myelination of the
axons. In the absence of normal myelination, brain function is dramatically
compromised.
The Action Potential
The axon of a neuron is constructed so that it may propagate the action poten-
tial. This event represents a departure from the normal resting membrane
potential of the axon, which is approximately -65 millivolts (Kandel et al., 2000).
The resting potential is determined by the separation of extracellular positive
charges from intracellular negative charges that is maintained by the activity of
the adenosine triphosphate (ATP)–dependent sodium–potassium pump. The
action potential, or “spike,” is generated by the rapid influx of positively charged
sodium ions through voltage-gated sodium channels, which temporarily depo-
larizes the membrane so that the membrane potential briefly becomes positive
(Figure 2-3). The depolarization so produced is then quickly reversed by a rapid
efflux of potassium ions, which restores the resting potential. After a refractory
period during which no action potential can be propagated, the axon is again
prepared to conduct another impulse.
Neurons in the brain conduct electrical impulses at a velocity ranging from
1 to 120 meters per second (Kandel et al., 2000). This variability is in part due
to differences in axon diameter, because smaller fibers conduct action poten-
tials more slowly than larger ones. Very small axons, therefore, have very slow
+40
−70
Figure 2-3. Action potential. The “spike” represents a brief depolarization of the axonal
membrane. Ordinate is in units of millivolts. (Reprinted with permission from Smith
CUM. Elements of molecular neurobiology. 2nd ed. Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons,
1996.)
conduction velocity. Myelination allows a dramatic increase in the conduction

velocity of axons, particularly those of large diameter, and this phenomenon
has facilitated the evolution of human cerebral function (Nave, 2010).
Saltatory Conduction
An increase of neuronal conduction velocity is also conferred by the phenom-

enon of saltatory conduction. The myelin sheath is interrupted every 1–2
millimeters by unmyelinated segments of the axon called nodes of Ranvier,
which are themselves about 2 micrometers in length (Kandel et al., 2000). The
nodal axon membrane contains a higher density of sodium channels than
the membrane of the internodal axon (Waxman and Ritchie, 1993). This
arrangement permits the action potential to jump from one node to the next
without the need for the entire axonal membrane to be depolarized. Conduction
so organized is known as saltatory, from the Latin verb saltare, meaning “to
leap” (Figure 2-4).
It is estimated that large myelinated fibers conduct impulses as much as 100
times faster than small unmyelinated fibers (Nave, 2010), an increase due largely
to myelination and saltatory conduction. In addition, because the ionic current
in myelinated axons flows only at the nodes of Ranvier, saltatory conduction
reduces the energy expenditure required for restoring the sodium–potassium
concentration gradient necessary for another action potential to follow (Nave,
2010).
Direction of impulse
propagation
Figure 2-4. Saltatory conduction. The impulse is generated at the node on the left and
then propagated within the axon to the node on the right. A local (eddy) current then
flows back to the active node outside the myelin sheath. (Reprinted with permission
from Smith CUM. Elements of molecular neurobiology. 2nd ed. Chichester, UK: John
Wiley and Sons, 1996.)
Clinical Neurophysiology
The function of white matter tracts in the brain can be clinically assessed to
some extent with the use of in vivo neurophysiologic techniques. In contrast to
electroencephalography (EEG), which yields primarily an index of cortical
function, evoked potentials (EPs) can offer insights into the integrity of white
matter tracts.
The most familiar EPs are the conventional visual (VEP), auditory (AEP) or
brain stem auditory (BAEP), and somatosensory (SEP) evoked potentials
(Chiappa, 1980). These potentials are recorded at the scalp and assess the func-
tion of primary sensory pathways as they traverse the CNS. EPs initially found
the most utility in patients suspected of having MS, but their usefulness for this
purpose has been considerably diminished by MRI, which by improving the
depiction of normal and pathologic neuroanatomy has facilitated diagnosis of
this and other white matter disorders. The application of conventional EPs to
behavioral neurology has not proven feasible, because of the complex representa-
tion of cognition and emotion in comparison with elemental sensory function.
Cognition is engaged, however, in the generation of the electrophysiologic
response in a special variety of EP, the event-related potential (ERP) (Knight,
1997). ERPs are also known as “endogenous” potentials to distinguish them
from “exogenous’’ conventional EPs, and their promise for the study of behav-
ior is considerable. In general, ERPs are long-latency waves related to the cogni-
tive processing of stimuli (Hillyard and Kutas, 1983). The most familiar ERP is
the P300 or P3, and this and other ERPs have been studied in neurologic (Puce
et al., 1991; Daffner et al., 2003; Leocani et al., 2010) and psychiatric disorders
(Egan et al., 1994), as well as in normal aging (Oken and Kaye, 1992). Because
of the multiple neuroanatomic levels of processing that are involved, both gray
and white matter structures are presumed to contribute to the generation of
ERPs. Thus whereas ERP abnormalities may reflect disturbances in neural
systems relevant to behavior, these potentials are limited in the degree to which
they can localize specific areas of dysfunction. In an interesting ERP study of
patients with focal cerebral lesions, for example, a frontal–parietal network was
found to mediate attention to novel events, but more specificity regarding
the tracts interconnecting this network could not be determined (Daffner
et al., 2003). Similarly, prolonged P300 latencies can be found in a variety of
dementing diseases, including AD, vascular dementia, and Parkinson’s disease
(Ito, 1994), but the wide extent of neuropathology in these diseases precludes
identification of the implicated tracts. In addition, controversy has surrounded
the ERP technique because of technical difficulties that can complicate inter-
pretation. Thus the P300 and other ERPs are of research interest but have no
routine clinical applications as yet.
Studies of ERPs have been performed in patients with white matter disor-
ders. In MS, for example, several groups found that P300 abnormalities corre-
late with cognitive dysfunction and MRI lesion burden (Newton et al., 1989;
Giesser et al., 1992; Honig et al., 1992), although there has been some evidence
to the contrary (van Dijk et al., 1992). In children with cancer who developed
treatment-related white matter changes, prolonged P300 latency was correlated
with cognitive impairment (Moore et al., 1992). Prolonged P300 latency has
also been found to reflect slowed processing speed in patients with traumatic
brain injury (TBI) (Dockree and Robertson, 2011). Another cognitive evoked
potential, the P50 (Freedman et al., 1996), has been found to be abnormal in
TBI (Arciniegas and Topkoff, 2004) and may prove particularly reflective of
attentional dysfunction (Cullum et al., 1993; Erwin et al., 1998). Thus although
it remains difficult to establish the neuroanatomy responsible for the generation
of ERP data, the technique may add to to the study of cognitive function in
patients with white matter dysfunction.
The problems interpreting EP and ERP data stem mainly from the neuroana-
tomic diversity of the regions activated by these procedures. It is difficult to
assess the integrity of cerebral white matter tracts specifically when the electro-
physiologic technique used may also implicate the operations of peripheral
receptors, central gray matter relay stations, and motor effector systems. This
conundrum, along with the elegance of advanced neuroradiologic techniques
such as DTI that can evaluate details of CNS white matter tracts with ever
increasing accuracy, has led to neuroimaging emerging as a widely used method
to study human white matter neurophysiology. As will be considered at many
points throughout this book, the most salient finding, one that seems almost
disarmingly simple, is that white matter in the brain functions mainly to

enhance the speed of information transfer by accelerating axonal conduction
velocity.
White Matter and Neural Networks
Consideration of axonal transmission makes it clear that white matter plays a

central role in efficient interneuronal communication. Neurons can signal to
each other without normal myelin, but the speed with which this process
occurs is greatly reduced. With neither normal myelin nor axons, signaling
effectively ceases. In the brain, where the operations of many distributed
neural networks depend critically on normal communication between widely
dispersed regions, integrity of the white matter tracts is a necessary condition
for normal function. Although the idea of neural networks has assumed
a prominent position in thinking about brain–behavior relationships, the
cortical and subcortical gray matter nodes of these networks are often empha-
sized without mention of the white matter systems by which they are connected.
To restate a major theme, myelinated tracts subserving information transfer
via the macroconnectivity of white matter should be considered in concert
with gray matter mediating information processing by means of synaptic
microconnectivity (Filley, 2005, 2010). These topics will be discussed at more
length later on, as will the distributed neural networks that are currently
believed to form the foundation of neurobehavioral domains such as attention,
memory, language, and emotional competence (Mesulam, 1990, 1998, 2000).
In terms of both structure and function, the cerebral white matter provides an
essential component of these networks.
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3
Neuroimaging
Since the emergence of neurology as a clinical discipline in the 19th century, no

more revolutionary development has occurred than the advance of neuro-
imaging in the past three decades. The classic clinical techniques of neurology
have been greatly augmented by the capacity to view the brain directly during
life with the use of noninvasive, safe, and readily available instruments. In addi-
tion, a host of new techniques currently evolving promise to enhance research
on the structure and function of the brain in health and disease (Mazziotta,
2000; Bandettini, 2009). One area that has witnessed particularly impressive
advances is the understanding of white matter, as modern techniques have
allowed for increasingly detailed and precise imaging of this component of the
brain (Grossman, 1998; Barkovich, 2000; Bandettini, 2009). This chapter
reviews the contemporary status of white matter neuroimaging as well as new
directions in which this fast-moving field is proceeding.
COM PU TED T O MOGRAPHY
Computed tomography (CT) was introduced in the 1970s and immediately

altered the practice of neurology. Based on a three-dimensional reconstruction
of thousands of x-ray images, the typical CT scan is able to show clear distinc-
tions between brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and bone (Figure 3-1).
The white matter, however, is not well demarcated from the gray matter, and
only a rough estimate of its integrity can be made. Moreover, the detection of
white matter lesions, while possible in many cases, is not ideal. In multiple
sclerosis (MS), for example, CT is clearly inferior to magnetic resonance imag-
ing (MRI) in detecting demyelinative plaques (Simon, 1993). The value of CT is
somewhat enhanced with the use of iodinated contrast material, which discloses
Figure 3-1. CT scan of a normal 65-year-old man. The scan shows appropriate
age-related cerebral volume loss, but the white matter is not well seen.
more lesions than plain CT (Simon, 1993). However, the CT scan cannot be
considered particularly sensitive to either normal or abnormal white matter
(Bradley, 1986). CT may well appear normal in patients with substantial white
matter pathology, and if the clinical setting suggests the presence of lesions of
this type, MRI is usually the more useful neuroimaging procedure.
M A GNET IC R ESONANCE IMAGING
The appearance of MRI in the early 1980s radically changed the field of
neuroimaging (Grossman, 1998). While CT remains useful for such purposes
as detecting acute intracranial hemorrhage and the imaging of calcified struc-
tures (Bradley, 1986), MRI is now the preferred method for the imaging of most
brain lesions, because it does not expose the patient to ionizing radiation and
offers much-improved sensitivity to the majority of neuropathological condi-
tions. As it became widely used in general neurology because of its safety and
efficacy, MRI was also quickly recognized as having a major impact on behav-
ioral neurology by proving superior to CT for the detection and localization of
focal cerebral lesions affecting behavior (Tanridag and Kirshner, 1987).
MRI is clearly useful in enhancing the visualization of gray matter, a feature
readily apparent when viewing the gray–white matter differentiation of
a routine axial brain image. Both cortical and subcortical gray matter can be
3. Neuroimaging 45
easily identified with MRI, and considerable effort is being devoted to quantifi-
cation of these structures. A popular research technique to quantitate the
volume of gray matter regions is voxel-based morphometry (VBM), which was
introduced about a decade ago (Ashburner and Friston, 2000) and is steadily
gaining in popularity. Applied to the study of an impressive range of neurologic
and psychiatric disorders, VBM is still most applicable to the investigation of
gray matter (Bandettini, 2009).
One of the most impressive aspects of MRI, however, is its capacity to reveal
the cerebral white matter, which can now be seen in unprecedented detail
(Bandettini, 2009; Haller et al., 2009). Both the understanding of known white
matter disorders and the discovery of new ones were rapidly propelled by
this technology, and, new insights into the development and aging of normal
white matter were made possible (Chapter 4). Indeed, MRI was and remains
the primary investigative technique on which this book is founded. Most of the
neuroimaging scans to be shown in later chapters are conventional MRI scans,
which are in regular clinical use and provide a continuing source of insight into
the cerebral white matter in health and disease.
The extraordinary growth of neuroradiology continues to produce new
techniques that improve the visualization of white matter. An often bewildering
array of MRI methods is available at varying stages of development, as is
expected with the torrid pace of advances in the technology of neuroimaging.
These advances have had a major impact on both the differential diagnosis
(Grossman et al., 2000) and neurobehavioral impact of white matter disorders
(Comi et al., 2000; Catani, 2006; White et al., 2008). For clinicians dealing with
cognitive and emotional aspects of these disorders, some familiarity with
emerging new techniques is indispensable.
A complete account of the physical basis of MRI is beyond the scope of this
book, but a brief review of elementary principles will be helpful (see Jackson
et al., 1997, for more detail). MRI is based on the fact that protons—the nuclei
of hydrogen atoms—can be induced to emit electrical signals that give informa-
tion about the structure and function of the living brain. Protons normally
rotate around their axes in a random fashion. When individuals to be scanned
are placed in the powerful magnetic field of an MRI machine, the protons in the
brain are initially aligned so as to create a net vertical magnetic field. A second
magnetic field is then formed by the application of a radiofrequency pulse,
which causes the protons to begin “wobbling” around their axes, a process
called precession. When this radiofrequency pulse is turned off, the protons
“relax,” precession decreases, and the axes of the protons become realigned with
the original magnetic field. MRI measures the rates of two relaxation processes
that occur as the excited protons return to their lower-energy state after the
removal of the radiofrequency pulse; these changes are characterized by time
constants known as T1 and T2. From this point, axial, sagittal, or coronal brain
images are generated that provide detailed information about normal and
abnormal brain tissue. The use of contrast enhancement with gadolinium
enables additional visualization of regions where the neuropathological process
involves breakdown of the blood–brain barrier. Blood vessels can also be
imaged with the use of magnetic resonance angiography (Jackson et al., 1997).
The types of MRI images generated for routine clinical purposes are deter-
mined by the selection of several pulse sequences, depending on the neurologic
setting (Jackson et al., 1997). Most often used is the spin echo sequence, which
is characterized by two parameters: the repetition time (TR) and the echo time
(TE). The choice of TR and TE determines the degree of T1 weighting, T2
weighting, or proton density weighting in the images produced. T1-weighted
images have a short TR (500–700 ms) and a short TE (15–25 ms), T2-weighted
images have a long TR (2500–3500 ms) and long TE (80-100 ms), and proton
density images have a long TR (2500–3500 ms) but a short TE (15–25 ms).
These various images reveal aspects of normal and pathological neuroanatomy
by providing unmatched tissue contrast; T1-weighted images (Figure 3-2) are
especially useful for study of neuroanatomic detail, whereas T2-weighted
images are usually superior for visualizing neuropathological conditions.
White matter disorders of the hemispheres, brain stem, and cerebellum are
best seen on moderately to heavily T2-weighted images, which provide good
discrimination between gray and white matter areas because of their long TR
(Figure 3-3). This degree of T2 weighting, however, causes the CSF to appear as
bright, and in some patients with periventricular white matter disease, the high
signal in the adjacent CSF obscures the visualization of hyperintense lesions.
Figure 3-2. T1-weighted MRI scan of a normal 60-year-old man. Mild age-related
volume loss is apparent, and there is good resolution of neuroanatomic detail.
3. Neuroimaging 47
Figure 3-3. T2-weighted MRI scan of a normal 30-year-old man. The brain has no
volume loss, and the white matter is well demarcated from the gray matter.
Thus proton density images, also known as mildly T2-weighted images

(Figure 3-4), are often useful because their short TE assures that the CSF is dark
(Jackson et al., 1997).
Another approach to the problem of high CSF signal within the ventricular
system is fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) imaging. The development
Figure 3-4. Proton density MRI scan of patient with MS. Visualization of periventricular
white matter lesions is facilitated because the CSF appears dark. (Reprinted with
permission from Miller DH, Kesselring J, McDonald WI, et al. Magnetic resonance in
multiple sclerosis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997.)
Figure 3-5. FLAIR MRI scan of a patient with MS. The excellent visualization of
periventricular plaques is a result of suppression of the ventricular CSF signal.
(Reprinted with permission from Miller DH, Kesselring J, McDonald WI, et al. Magnetic
resonance in multiple sclerosis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997.)
of FLAIR allowed for improved imaging of the periventricular white matter

by suppressing the signal from the ventricular CSF while preserving the T2
weighting of the brain parenchyma (De Coene et al., 1992). With this
technique, white matter lesions can be seen with still more clarity, and FLAIR
imaging is routinely performed with this objective in mind (Figure 3-5).
Other innovations recently introduced are gradient echo (GRE) and suscep-
tibility-weighted imaging (SWI) (Haller et al., 2009). These images are sensitive
to blood products and microhemorrhages in the white matter and therefore
assist in identifying a variety of neuropathologies. One area of particular
interest is traumatic brain injury (TBI), in which microhemorrhages can be
seen as a surrogate marker of adjacent diffuse axonal injury (DAI). While help-
ful, GRE images and SWI do not disclose information about DAI specifically,
and the visualization of DAI, particularly in mild cases, remains an ongoing
challenge. Nevertheless, GRE or SWI images are being increasingly incorpo-
rated into the routine MRI clinical evaluation of white matter (Haller et al.,
2009).
In the three decades since the advent of MRI, enormous strides have been
taken in the understanding of white matter and its disorders. The best example
of this phenomenon is MS, the clinical approach to which has been fundamen-
tally altered by MRI. MRI has become the most important diagnostic test
3. Neuroimaging 49
for MS, usually obviating the need for lumbar puncture and evoked potential
testing, and it plays an increasingly prominent role in the treatment and follow-
up of affected individuals (Simon, 1993). Even the intracortical lesions of MS
may soon be well visualized by MRI using higher magnet strengths of 3.0 and
even 7.0 T (Tallantyre et al., 2010). As will be apparent throughout this book,
the clinical assessment of other white matter disorders has become equally
dependent on MRI scanning. An increasingly sophisticated understanding
of the various MRI features of white matter disorders is rapidly developing.
To illustrate, Table 3-1 provides a summary of MRI features of selected white
matter disorders representing all 10 categories to be discussed in Part II.
Table 3-1. MRI Features of Selected White Matter Disorders
Category Disorder MRI features

Genetic Metachromatic Confluent dysmyelination, often
leukodystrophy frontally predominant
Adrenoleukodystrophy Confluent posterior hemispheric
dysmyelination
Demyelinative Multiple sclerosis Multifocal periventricular and
callosal demyelinative plaques
Infectious HIV-associated dementia Scattered or multifocal hemispheric
lesions
Progressive multifocal Multiple nonenhancing hemispheric
leukoencephalopathy lesions
Inflammatory Systemic lupus Scattered hemispheric
erythematosus hyperintensities
Toxic Toluene Confluent cerebral and cerebellar
leukoencephalopathy hyperintensity
Metabolic Cobalamin deficiency Diffuse or multifocal
leukoencephalopathy
Vascular Leukoaraiosis Scattered hemispheric
hyperintensities
Binswanger’s disease Extensive or confluent hemispheric
ischemic lesions
Traumatic Traumatic brain injury Brain stem, corpus callosum, and
juxtacortical lesions
Neoplastic Glioma White matter mass lesion with
dissemination along tracts
Hydrocephalic Normal pressure Periventricular hyperintensity with
hydrocephalus ventriculomegaly
M A GNET IC R ESONANCE SPECTROSCOP Y
In the 1990s, additional MRI techniques were developed that have further
refined the detection of white matter damage (Wozniak and Lim, 2006;
Bandettini, 2009). One of these is magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS),
which can be used to identify and quantify chemicals in the living brain (Rudkin
and Arnold, 1999). Founded on the principles of nuclear magnetic resonance,
MRS yields findings displayed in spectra of peaks that represent the
chemical structures and concentrations of metabolites in the tissue of interest
(Figure 3-6). This technique has been used to detect axonal damage, by identi-
fying a decrease in N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), an amino acid regarded as a
marker of neuronal integrity (Simmons et al., 1991), and myelin injury, as
reflected in increased choline, a marker most often interpreted as reflecting
demyelination and inflammation (Narayana, 2005). The capacity to measure
specific compounds in the brain with the use of a neuroimaging procedure has
led to MRS being termed a “noninvasive biopsy.” MRS may be particularly
useful in white matter disorders. In MS, for example, reductions in NAA are
found not only within plaques but in the normal-appearing white matter
(NAWM; Grossman et al., 2000). Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients
NAA
Cr
Cho
2 38 34 30 26 22 18 14 10 0
Chemical shift pp
Figure 3-6. Normal MRS spectrum. Elevation of choline (Cho) in white matter would
indicate damage to myelin, and reduced NAA would reflect axonal damage. Cr (creatine)
is a reference peak. (Reprinted with permission from Filley CM. Neurobehavioral
Aspects of Cerebral White Matter Disorders. In: Fogel BS, Schiffer RB, Rao SM, eds.
Neuropsychiatry. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1996.)
3. Neuroimaging 51
with no other white or gray matter involvement have been found to have
elevated choline in frontal NAWM that correlates with impaired processing
speed, attention, and executive function (Filley et al., 2009). Thus MRS may
enable more sensitive detection of early abnormalities in white matter disorders
that can be correlated with a variety of neurologic and neurobehavioral
measures.
M A GN ETIZATIO N TRANSF ER IMAGING
Neuroradiologists have also adopted the technique of magnetization transfer

imaging (MTI). Another derivative of MRI, this modality is based on interac-
tions between protons in water and macromolecules in the brain. When a
radiofrequency saturation pulse is combined with an imaging sequence, it is
possible to derive a quantity known as a magnetization transfer ratio (MTR),
the most popular MTI parameter (Wozniak and Lim, 2006). In white matter, a
low MTR reflects damage to myelin and axons from a wide variety of disorders,
including MS (Cercignani et al., 2000) and white matter ischemia (Tanabe
et al., 1997), and as with MRS abnormalities, a low MTR may be seen in the
NAWM before conventional MRI shows any change (Loevner et al., 1995).
The MTR also correlates with the degree of normal myelination, rendering
MTI applicable to the study of development and aging (Rademacher et al.,
1999). In addition to the use of the MTR in specific regions of interest, which
has enabled study of the evolution of individual white matter lesions, whole
brain histograms derived from MTI also permit quantification of total disease
burden (van Buchem, 1999). Useful in disorders such as MS, SLE, human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and TBI, MTI can offer a measure of
the entire range of white matter neuropathology, macrostructural and micro-
structural, providing a basis for improved correlations with neurobehavioral
data (van Buchem, 1999; Wozniak and Lim, 2006). However, recent compari-
son of MTI with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI; see below) has suggested that
while both techniques are superior to MRI for detecting age-related and demy-
elinative white matter changes, DTI may be more sensitive than MTI (Schiavone
et al., 2009).
DI FFUSIO N TENSOR IMAGING
Among the new MRI innovations, DTI has most thoroughly expanded the
neuroradiologic study of brain white matter (Wozniak and Lim, 2006; Assaf
and Pasternak, 2008; Mukherjee et al., 2008; Bandettini, 2009; Chanraud et al.,
2010). Not only does this elegant noninvasive technique permit the assessment
of white matter integrity at the microstructural level; it introduces the opportu-
nity to use tractography and with it the prospect of mapping out the connectiv-
ity of the brain (Lazar, 2010). For these reasons DTI has witnessed a rapid
increase in its popularity. White matter atlases of brain connectivity are being
developed (Catani and Thiebaut de Schotten, 2008; Mori et al., 2009), and
preliminary data have demonstrated that DTI-derived maps are generally
consistent with known neuroanatomic aspects of white matter tracts (Thiebaut
de Schotten et al., 2011). Clinically, DTI has come to be extensively applied to
the evaluation of both cognitive (Catani, 2006; Chanraud et al., 2010) and
psychiatric (White et al., 2008) disorders. In both normal and clinical popula-
tions, DTI represents a major step forward.
Our discussion of DTI begins with considering a key development in MRI:
the emergence of the technique of diffusion weighting (Rowley et al., 1999).
Diffusion-weighted MRI (DWMRI) enables the measurement of the diffusional
motion of water molecules in the brain, quantified by a parameter known as the
apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC; Neumann-Haftelin et al., 2000). When
water diffusion is restricted by a neuropathological process, the ADC declines,
and a hyperintense area appears on the reconstructed image (Figure 3-7).
Figure 3-7. DWMRI scan showing a small infarct in the right centrum semiovale. A
lesion isuch as this s typically seen earlier after its onset with DWMRI than with
conventional MRI. (Reprinted with permission from Baird AE, Benfield A, Schlaug G,
et al. Enlargement of human cerebral ischemic lesion volumes measured by diffusion-
weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Ann Neurol 1997; 41: 581–589.)
3. Neuroimaging 53
DWMRI has come to be extensively used in the setting of acute stroke, where it
can identify ischemic tissue sooner after the onset than conventional MRI or
CT (Neumann-Haefelin et al., 2000).
As experience with DWMRI accumulated, the growth of DTI was a natural
development, and this technique was seen to offer information particularly
relevant to the study of higher function (Peled et al., 1998; Jones et al., 1999a;
Shimony et al., 1999). The chief advantage of DTI over DWMRI is its capability
of measuring the directionality as well as the magnitude of water diffusion
(Neumann-Haefelin et al., 2000). An MRI image is in essence a map of water
protons, and their diffusion in the brain, quantified by application of the
tensor, is the basis for DTI (Chanraud et al., 2010). Diffusion in white matter
is anisotropic or directional, meaning that diffusion of water molecules
normally occurs in parallel with the direction of a given tract. (Isotropic
diffusion, in contrast, takes place in a random manner.) The property of
anisotropic diffusion permits the visualization of fiber tracts on a DTI image.
Reduced anisotropy as evaluated by DTI has been interpreted as the common
denominator of structural white matter lesions due to a variety of disorders,
including stroke, leukoaraiosis, TBI, neoplasms, and MS (Jones et al., 1999b;
Weishmann et al., 1999; Mukherjee et al., 2000). Like other techniques
discussed above, DTI was also found to detect abnormalities in the NAWM,
and even to do so within specific white matter tracts (Neumann-Haefelin
et al., 2000). Thus DTI became known for imaging specific white matter tracts,
permitting preliminary analysis of normal and disrupted cerebral connectivity
(Makris et al., 1997). Figure 3-8 depicts an early DTI study showing a variety of
cerebral white matter tracts.
DTI thus was poised to facilitate the in vivo identification of all the white
matter tracts in the brain and so address a major deficiency of neuroanatomy,
which has to date been unable to provide a completely detailed map of the
origin, course, and termination of these pathways (Chapter 2). The results of
this investigation have been nothing less than spectacular. Figure 3-9 shows a
virtual reconstruction of major association pathways as assessed by DTI. It is
clear that the schematic approach to white matter neuroanatomy depicted in
Figure 2-2 is being complemented by far more detail, and the complexity of
tracts and their course in the brain is being gradually illuminated by advanced
neuroimaging.
For purposes of quantitating aspects of fiber tract microstructure, improved
standardization of DTI measures and their interpretation has also emerged.
Fractional anisotropy (FA) is the most common measure in current use; in
healthy white matter FA approaches 1.0, signifying normal water diffusion
along the direction of a tract (Alexander et al., 2007). FA is about 0.9 in the
corpus callosum, for example, where fibers are highly organized and parallel to
Figure 3-8. Early DTI scan of a normal individual showing numerous white matter
tracts. (Reprinted with permission from Werring DJ, Clark CA, Barker GJ, et al. The
structural and functional mechanisms of motor recovery: complementary use of
diffusion tensor and functional magnetic resonance imaging in a traumatic injury of the
internal capsule. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1998; 65: 863–869.)
one another, whereas FA in the ventricular system is near zero (Chanraud et al.,
2010). Another measure, mean diffusivity (MD), which is equivalent to the
ADC, is low in healthy white matter, again consistent with directional water
diffusion in health (Alexander et al., 2007). FA and MD within white matter
tracts are now being correlated with cognitive functions in normal subjects
(Kantarci et al., 2011). The presence of white matter disorders typically causes
FA to decrease and MD to increase, but while sensitive, these changes are
nonspecific to the type of neuropathology (Alexander et al., 2007). More speci-
ficity can be gained by assessing two varieties of diffusivity: axial or longitudinal
(λL), parallel to the direction of the tract and reflecting axonal integrity,
and radial or transverse (λR), perpendicular to the tract and reflecting myelin
integrity (Alexander et al., 2007; Chanraud et al., 2010).
However, none of these measures is ideal for understanding microstructural
changes within white matter, which is complicated by many factors, among
them the crossing fibers that are so common within the considerable interdigi-
tation of white matter tracts (Alexander et al., 2007). Crossing fibers are nearly
ubiquitous in the cerebral white matter (Schmahmann et al., 2007). Myelinated
systems do not connect brain areas in a linear fashion, as an interstate highway
joins two cities; rather, substantial intersecting trajectories are typical as fiber
3. Neuroimaging 55
Figure 3-9. DTI of the normal cerebrum showing six association tracts: (A) arcuate
fasciculus, (B) inferior longitudinal fasciculus, (C) superior occipitofrontal fasciculus, (D)
inferior occipitofrontal fasciculus, (E) uncinate fasciculus, and (F) cingulum. (Reprinted
from Jones DK. Diffusion MRI. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011, page 15.)
tracts traverse the brain. DTI relies on analysis of MRI voxels containing
many such fibers, and the limited resolution of this approach results in
partial volume averaging that impedes precise understanding of tract micro-
structure (Schmahmann et al., 2007). Diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) is an
experimental technique that enables a more focused analysis of white matter
microstructure (Schmahmann et al., 2007). In studies with rhesus monkeys

(Schmahmann et al., 2007), DSI identified tracts that corresponded with the
same tracts identified by autoradiographic tracing and histologic analysis
(Schmahmann and Pandya, 2006). The virtual dissection of tracts offered by
DSI may have relevance in humans with regard to both normal and abnormal
white matter (Schmahmann et al., 2007).
While problems such as the presence of crossing fibers continue to pose
major challenges, DTI has without doubt invigorated the field of white matter
neuroimaging to a degree no other technique can claim. Hundreds of research
articles using DTI in studying a host of healthy and disease populations appear
every year. Higher resolution with more powerful magnets is sure to aid in this
process, and although both the shallow depth of the normal cortex and partial
volume averaging with adjacent CSF pose major challenges, it may even become
possible to interrogate intracortical white matter (Jaermann et al., 2008).
A new initiative into studying an aspect of white matter that has previously
been impenetrable to in vivo visualization has now been launched. As promis-
ing as this prospect appears, enthusiasm should be tempered by the incomplete
understanding of white matter microstructure as visualized by MRS, MTI, and
DTI. Much needs to be learned about what these techniques can or cannot
reveal about the fine details of myelin, oligodendrocytes, and axons across a
range of healthy and disordered conditions. Acknowledging these areas of
uncertainty, the discussions to follow in this book will focus on the neurobe-
havioral implications of white matter microstructural investigations, which
complement studies of macrostructure enabled by conventional MRI.
FUNCTIO NAL NEUROIMAGING
Conventional CT and MRI both provide static information about the structure
of the brain. As such, they are unable to illuminate its function other than by
indirect means. Functional neuroimaging techniques provide the opportunity
to observe the metabolic activity of the brain as it is engaged in the perfor-
mance of elemental or higher neurologic functions. Whereas these techniques
are more relevant to gray matter areas, where metabolic activity is higher than
in white matter, they are complementary in the investigation of distributed
neural networks in which white matter tracts play a vital role.
Functional neuroimaging techniques can be divided into those that involve
radioisotopes as labels for metabolic activity and those that use MRI principles.
Radioisotopes are used to tag molecules of biological interest that are injected
into the bloodstream, and their emissions can then be measured outside the
body to reflect metabolism in the brain. The most readily obtainable of this
3. Neuroimaging 57
group of techniques is single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT),

which makes use of radioisotopes that emit single-photon radiation, typically
in the form of gamma rays (Alavi and Hirsch, 1991). SPECT is widely available
and inexpensive and can often identify areas of cortical dysfunction. However,
this technique is compromised to some extent by low spatial resolution.
A recent review of SPECT in mild TBI, for example, concluded that results of
this technique could not be used as a stand-alone diagnostic test for individuals
in whom the existence of TBI is at issue (Wortzel et al., 2008).
More elegant than SPECT is positron emission tomography (PET), which
uses short-lived radioisotopes attached to a variety of compounds involved in
brain metabolism (Roland, 1993; Figure 3-10). These isotopes decay by emit-
ting a positron, and this property allows the localization of metabolically active
regions within gray matter. PET scans reveal greater detail about brain activity
than SPECT, and the procedure has made possible the collection of impressive
data on the localization of higher functions in the cerebral cortex (Nadeau and
Crosson, 1995; Cabeza and Nyberg, 1997). Whereas PET scanning has been
useful in research settings, its application to clinical diagnosis is limited by lack
of standardization and high cost.
Functional MRI (fMRI) presents an attractive alternative to SPECT and PET,
because it provides superior spatial resolution and offers an extension of the
unquestioned success of MRI in neurologic diagnosis (Prichard and Cummings,
Figure 3-10. PET images of a normal individual showing activation of left hemisphere
cortical regions with various cognitive operations. (Reprinted with permission from
Pechura CM, Martin JB, eds. Mapping the brain and its functions: integrating enabling
technologies into neuroscience research. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1991.)
Figure 3-11. fMRI scan of a normal individual using the BOLD technique to demonstrate
activation of the lateral geniculate nuclei (small arrows) and the visual cortices (large
arrows) during a visual task. (Reprinted with permission from Saper C. Iversen S,
Frakowiak R. Integration of Sensory and Motor Function: The Association Areas of the
Cerebral Cortex and the Cognitive Capabilities of the Brain. In: Kandel ER, Schwartz JH,
Jessell TM, eds. Principles of neural science. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000.)
1997; Figure 3-11). fMRI is founded on the idea that brain activity can be
indexed by means of a method known as blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD).
The BOLD technique exploits the fact that in metabolically active regions of the
brain, neuronal activity is associated with a greater supply of oxygenated
blood than is required, resulting in a higher-than-normal ratio of oxygenated to
deoxygenated blood. Technical problems such as a low signal-to-noise ratio
have hampered fMRI to some extent, but the field has advanced the under-
standing of brain–behavior relationships at the level of the cerebral cortex
(Nadeau and Crosson, 1995; Cabeza and Nyberg, 2000). As experience has
accumulated, fMRI has become the functional imaging tool of choice for the
cognitive neuroscience community (Bandettini, 2009).
M A P PING NEU R AL NETWORKS
Connectivity has become a major theme in cognitive neuroscience, and its

implications for the functional architecture and operational principles of the
3. Neuroimaging 59
brain are profound (Friston, 2011). Much work is focused on functional

connectivity, or the statistical dependence of neurophysiologic events occur-
ring in different regions (Friston, 2011), but structural connectivity between
gray matter regions is at least as relevant to behavioral neurology. Contemporary
neurologic thinking holds that neurobehavioral functions are represented in
the brain by a collection of distributed neural networks that are evident in
both health and disease (Mesulam, 2000; Seeley et al., 2009). These networks
comprise multiple cortical and subcortical structures linked into coherent
assemblies that are dedicated to specific aspects of cognition and emotion.
White matter tracts are essential components of these networks, connecting the
gray matter areas into functional ensembles (Wozniak and Lim, 2006; Greicius
et al., 2009); indeed, without the white matter, neural networks could not exist.
Reference to distributed neural networks will be made throughout this book,
and a detailed discussion of their structure, function, and disruption appears in
Chapter 20.
The neuroradiologic methods discussed above will permit an integrative
synthesis of the structure of white matter tracts and the functions of the
cortical areas they interconnect. A combination of connectional and functional
assessment is now being applied to the study of the brain, with DTI and fMRI
offering complementary views of white and gray matter (Conturo et al., 1999;
Werring et al., 1999; Andrews-Hanna et al., 2007; Staempfli et al., 2008). As is
clear from the history of behavioral neurology (Chapter 1), a given neuro-
behavioral function cannot be assigned to a single cerebral area, and consider-
ing the complex circuitry underlying the behavior is more appropriate.
Understanding the role of white matter connectivity of the brain in neuro-
behavioral function thus becomes as important as understanding gray matter
function. The conjoint use of structural and functional MRI to identify both
white matter and gray matter components of these distributed neural networks
has become feasible. Despite formidable methodological obstacles, the inte-
grated combination of these techniques promises to yield unique insights into
the structure and function of white matter in the living brain.
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4
Development and Aging
The human brain is a dynamic organ that undergoes a constant process of

structural change during the life span. As early development, maturity, and
aging occur, the brain continually remodels both its fine and gross structure.
Microscopically, this remodeling occurs in the gray matter at the level of the
synapse, where constant coupling and uncoupling of dendrites takes place in
parallel with the processes of learning and other aspects of cognition. At the
macroscopic level, the changes in the brain appear to be most evident in the
white matter. Whereas the gray matter remains relatively constant in volume
throughout life, white matter volume fluctuates more notably at different stages.
Details of this process were first disclosed by neuroanatomic study, and more
recent investigation has relied heavily on neuroimaging techniques employed
in normal subjects at all ages. This chapter reviews the development and aging
of white matter from a neurobiological perspective, with an emphasis on the
potential clinical relevance of the phenomena.
DE V ELO PMENT OF W HITE MATTER
Most axons in the adult brain are myelinated. The process by which this is
accomplished, however, requires a prolonged period that begins in utero and
continues for many years thereafter. The first information on this topic was
derived from classic neuroanatomic studies on the sequence of myelination
(Flechsig, 1901; Yakovlev and Lecours, 1967), followed by more recent neuro-
anatomic (Benes et al., 1994) and neuroradiologic investigations (Barkovich
et al., 1988; Sullivan and Pfefferbaum, 2006). The magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) era added substantially to this field by enabling the noninvasive and
sensitive in vivo brain imaging of normal neonates, infants, and children
(Byrd et al., 1993), and MRI became a powerful tool for the assessment of the
myelination—and hence maturation—of the young brain (Barkovich et al.,
1988). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has extended this work, contributing to
the understanding of white matter loss in aging (Sullivan and Pfefferbaum,
2006). The findings of neuroanatomy and neuroradiology have been largely
consistent in describing an orderly progression of brain myelination.
Gray matter and white matter differ significantly in their patterns of develop-
ment. Nerve cells begin to develop early in gestation, and the entire comple-
ment of central nervous system neurons is formed before birth (Kandel et al.,
2000; Stiles and Jernigan, 2010). The embryonic development of gray matter
involves continual pruning of inessential neurons by programmed cell death
and the simultaneous establishment of synaptic contacts between the neurons
that remain (Stiles and Jernigan, 2010). In contrast, the white matter does not
begin to form until the middle trimester of gestation (Yakovlev and Lecours,
1967). Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells start to develop into myelinating
oligodendrocytes prenatally, but effective myelination is largely a postnatal
process (Stiles and Jernigan 2010). Thus myelination has only begun at birth,
and even by two years of age, it is perhaps just 90% complete (Byrd et al., 1993).
The remainder of myelination then requires many years (Yakovlev and Lecours,
1967; Klingberg et al., 1999; Stiles and Jernigan, 2010; Figure 4-1). The exact
duration of this process is unclear, but recent evidence from a series of normal
brains studied postmortem suggests that myelination proceeds through the end
of the sixth decade (Benes et al., 1994).
As a general rule, myelination begins in more caudal brain regions and
advances to more rostral structures (Yakovlev and Lecours, 1967; Barkovich
et al., 1988; Nomura et al., 1994; Klingberg et al., 1999; Bartzokis, 2005). As
myelination progresses, the water content of white matter decreases and the
MRI appearance of the brain approaches that of the normal adult (Bird et al.,
1989). Thus the brain stem and cerebellum are myelinated first, followed by the
diencephalon and the cerebral hemispheres. This ontogenetic sequence mirrors
the phylogenetic background of the brain, as more recently acquired brain
structures require a longer time to myelinate than more ancient ones. In keep-
ing with this principle, the frontal and temporal lobes are among the last to
manifest complete myelination, whereas the occipital and parietal lobes mature
sooner (Byrd et al., 1993; Klingberg et al., 1999). Among the major white matter
tracts, the major association and commissural fibers are the last to myelinate
(Yakovlev and Lecours, 1967; Figure 4-1).
The clinical significance of the sequence of brain myelination has long been
debated. Flechsig (1901) first speculated that myelination reflected functional
maturity of the cerebral areas involved, and the observations of Yakovlev and
Lecours (1967) supported this idea. However, the relative importance of white
FETAL MONTHS FIRST YEAR, MONTHS

2 yrs 3 yrs 4 yrs 7 yrs 10 yrs 2nd DECADE 3rd DECADE OLDER
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 MOTOR ROOTS
2 SENSORY ROOTS
3 STATO ACOUSTIC TECTUM & TEGM
4 MEDIAL LEMNISCUS
5 IAK INNER DIV INF CEREB PED
6 AAK OUTER DIV INF CEREB PED
7 SUP. CEREBELLAR PED.
8 MID. CEREBELLAR PED.
RETICULAR FORMATION –?
9
10 BR. INF. COL.
11 BR SUP COL & OPTIC NERVE & TRACT
12 H1 and VICO d’ AZYR
13 ANSA and P.L
14 H2 and P.E.
15 OPTIC RAD
16 SOMESTHETIC RAD.
17 ACOUSTIC RAD.
18 NON-SPECIFIC THALAMIC RAD.
19 STRIATUM –?
20 PYRAMIDAL TRACTS
21 FRONTO-PONTINE TRACT
22 FORNIX –?
23 CINGULUM
24 GREAT CEREBRAL COMMISSURES
25 INTRA-CORTIC, NEUROPIL, ASSOC, AREAS –?
Figure 4-1. The sequence of myelination in the human brain. (Reprinted with
permission from Yakovlev and Lecours, 1967.)
matter versus gray matter development has not been entirely clear. More
recently, neuroradiologists have found abnormal myelination on MRI as
evidence of delayed development from a host of dysmyelinative, demyelinative,
and other neurologic disorders (Byrd et al., 1993; Barkovich, 2000). MRI studies
of children with congenital hydrocephalus found that cognitive impairment
correlated with delayed myelination (van der Knaap et al., 1991) and with
reduced size of the corpus callosum and other cerebral white matter tracts
(Fletcher et al., 1992). Many reports have also shown that intact white matter
contributes to cognitive development. DTI studies of normal children have
advanced this area; recent investigations have shown that integrity of white
matter in children correlates with the development of working memory (Nagy
et al., 2004), reading ability (Nagy et al., 2004), visuospatial function (Mabbott
et al., 2006), information processing efficiency (Deary et al., 2006), and response
inhibition (Madsen et al., 2010). Combined DTI and functional MRI (fMRI)
investigation in children has also been revealing. Olesen and colleagues (2003)
found that frontoparietal white matter tracts matured jointly with related fron-
tal and parietal cortical regions to support working memory. More recently,
DTI and fMRI analyses in children have shown the importance of white matter
in the default mode network - a group of cerebral regions thought to subserve

normal resting state activity - demonstrating the connectivity of the cingulum
as it courses between the medial prefrontal and the posterior cingulate cortices
(Gordon et al., 2011).
One of the more intriguing notions to arise from these findings is the possi-
bility that the acquisition of the mature personality in young adulthood depends
to a substantial extent on frontal lobe myelination (Bartzokis, 2005; Filley,
2011). Normal personality development requires the acquisition of traits such
as comportment, impulse control, and judgment, which are traditionally asso-
ciated with frontal lobe function. Because myelination of the frontal lobes
occurs late in development and requires many years—all at a time when gray
matter is relatively stable—the arrival of the adult personality may require the
successful completion of this myelogenetic phase. It has been postulated, for
example, that inadequate myelination may account for the impaired impulse
control that leads to addiction because it results in inadequate inhibition of the
normal dopaminergic reward circuitry (Bartzokis, 2005). Indeed, the high
prevalence of addiction and other neuropsychiatric disorders beginning in
adolescence—including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and
schizophrenia—has been theoretically linked to uniquely vulnerable white
matter in the protracted process of myelination (Bartzokis, 2005). Understanding
these potential correlations could help establish a foundation for considering
the neural organization of personality not only in adolescence but throughout
the life span.
W HI T E MAT T ER CHANGES IN AGING
Until recently, it was widely held that aging in the brain was characterized
by the extensive and inevitable death of neurons in the neocortex and hip-
pocampus (Morrison and Hof, 1997). In recent years, however, improvements
in estimating neuron number have led to a reconsideration of this view (Turlejski
and Djavadian, 2002; Peters, 2002; Hinman and Abraham, 2007). Newer data
increasingly indicate that cortical gray matter loss in aging is less pronounced
than previously thought, and this insight has helped stimulate a search for other
neuroanatomic changes in aging. Several lines of evidence now support the
idea that cerebral white matter undergoes significant alterations in aging and
that these changes have important functional consequences.
Much has been written about the possibility of brain cell loss in aging and
its potential impact on cognition in older people. The issue of age-related
cognitive changes is important because of widespread concern about the prob-
lem of dementia in the elderly. One of the crucial distinctions to be made in the
practice of behavioral neurology, for example, is whether an older individual

with memory or cognitive complaints has neurologic disease—the most famil-
iar example of which is Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)—or is simply manifesting
normal cognition that is appropriate for the person’s age (Filley, 2011). It is
generally recognized that cognitive changes occur in aging that do not meet
criteria for dementia, and this area of clinical investigation is currently receiv-
ing much attention (Chapter 15). However, the neurobiological basis for the
mental alterations of normal aging remains largely obscure.
A natural point from which to begin studying this question is the gross struc-
ture of the brain, and postmortem studies generally leave little doubt that the
brain does indeed show reduced weight and volume with advancing years
(Creasey and Rapoport, 1985). However, the assumption that this phenome-
non, often called “cortical” atrophy, results from gray matter cell loss may be
premature (Symonds et al., 1999; Freeman et al., 2008), and white matter loss
has attracted much attention (Peters, 2002; Hinman and Abraham, 2007). One
of the first studies to support the idea that white matter declines in aging used
image analyzer techniques in post-mortem brains to demonstrate that the rela-
tive proportion of cerebral white matter to gray matter varies considerably with
age: In comparison with gray matter, there was an early paucity of white matter,
followed by relative parity in midlife, and then again a paucity of white matter
in old age (Miller et al., 1980; Table 4-1).
The impact of these observations was minimal, however, until more detailed
neuroimaging and postmortem studies were undertaken. Structural MRI stud-
ies, for example, led to quite similar conclusions by documenting a quadratic
age-related pattern of white matter volumetric changes (Bartzokis et al., 2001;
Figure 4-2). These findings showed that frontal and temporal white matter
steadily expands from adolescence onward, reaches peak volume at around age
45, and declines thereafter (Bartzokis et al., 2001). This pattern of volumetric
expansion followed by regression now serves to structure the consideration of
white matter in normal aging.
Table 4-1. Ratio of Cerebral Gray Matter

to White Matter Volumes at Various Ages
Age (years) Ratio

20 1.3
50 1.1
100 1.5
(from Miller et al., 1980)

55
A
50
Volume, mL
45
40
35
30
20
B
15
Volume, mL
10
5
15 25 35 45 55 65 75
Age, y
Figure 4-2. The quadratic pattern of white matter volume in development and aging.
Panel A – frontal lobe; Panel B – temporal lobe. (Reprinted with permission from
Bartzokis et al., 2001.)
Neuroimaging studies with MRI in normal aged individuals consistently

indicate a loss of white matter in the aging brain, and often this loss exceeds that
of cortical gray matter (Albert, 1993; Guttmann et al., 1998; Andrews-Hanna
et al., 2007; Hinman and Abraham, 2007). When AD is present, gray matter
loss also contributes to a decline in brain volume (Salat, Kaye, and Janowsky,
1999). This steady decline in white matter volume as humans age is particularly
evident in frontal regions (Hinman and Abraham, 2007). Other studies have
found that loss of white matter, not gray matter, predicts an increase in sulcal
fluid volume in aging (Symonds et al., 1999), supporting the notion that corti-
cal atrophy in aging may in fact relate to white matter loss alone. More sophis-
ticated neuroimaging studies using advanced MRI techniques (Chapter 3) have
supported these observations. DTI, for example, has shown altered white matter
microstructure in older adults (Chun et al., 2000; Engelter et al., 2000;

Pfefferbaum et al., 2000; Hinman and Abraham, 2007). These findings
have been interpreted as reflecting incomplete or diminished myelination.
A combined DTI and fMRI study of aging showed both reduced white matter
integrity and gray matter volume loss that were more prominent in anterior
brain regions and that correlated with cognitive slowing and executive dysfunc-
tion; this disruption of the default network was likely not due to AD, as amyloid
imaging in the study subjects was normal (Andrews-Hanna et al., 2007).
The hypothesis that neuronal loss explains cognitive changes in aging has
also been challenged by recent research at the microscopic level. For much of
the past century, it was widely believed that as many as 50% of neocortical cells
are lost over the life span (Brody, 1955). However, methodological problems
with counting neurons rendered this gloomy picture suspect (Coleman and
Flood, 1987), and studies using improved stereoscopic methods suggested a
more modest number of 10% (Pakkenberg and Gundersen, 1997). In contrast,
a substantial loss of myelinated fibers occurs (Marner et al., 2003). Several post-
mortem studies of normal older humans consistently indicate a loss of brain
white matter with aging that exceeds loss of cortical gray matter (Meier-Ruge
et al., 1992; Double et al., 1996; Pakkenberg and Gundersen, 1997; Tang et al.,
1997; Turlejski and Djavadian, 2002). More recent studies have concluded that
there may in fact be no loss of neurons with older age (Hinman and Abraham,
2007; Freeman et al., 2008). Moreover, the functional implications of the neu-
ronal cell loss that may occur are unclear in the absence of evidence supporting
a correlation between neuron number in the aging brain and results of any
cognitive test, be it of global intellectual function or a specific cognitive domain
(Uylings et al., 2000). Some studies have found changes in dendritic extent and
synaptic density in the aging neocortex (Uylings et al., 2000; Freeman et al.,
2008). Neuronal loss, however, has not been confirmed as a regular and
significant feature of normal brain aging.
The origin of white matter loss in aging is uncertain, but several possibilities
have been proposed. One immediately appealing idea is that the decline in
white matter volume is due to replacement of myelin by water, as reflected in
the virtually ubiquitous white matter hyperintensities seen on MRI scans of
older persons (Ketonen, 1998), which are well established to increase with age
(Ylikoski et al., 1995). Alternative explanations can be derived from studies of
the white matter at the molecular level. A decrease in subcortical myelin with
aging has been demonstrated in association with an increase in unsaturated
acyl chains; this relative desaturation of myelin lipid implies an instability of
the white matter in aging (Malone and Szoke, 1985). It has also been suggested
that free radicals damage aging myelin, where abundant readily peroxidizable
phospholipids are present (Weber, 1994). Recent DTI studies of autopsied older
brains have supported free radical injury in areas of white matter susceptible to
hypoperfusion and ischemia (Back et al., 2011). Other observations have
highlighted the role of inflammation in aged white matter, manifested by the
presence of activated microglia and reactive astrocytosis (Hinman and Abraham,
2007). While more work on the mechanism of white matter decline is needed,
progress is being made, and the evidence is now increasingly convincing that
loss of brain weight and volume in aging stem primarily from changes in the
white matter.
If white matter is selectively lost in the aging brain, it is possible that this
attrition has an impact on behavior. Whereas controversy exists in this area, a
meta-analysis of computed tomography and MRI studies of normal older
people concluded that cerebral white matter abnormalities are associated
specifically with attenuated performance on tasks measuring processing speed,
immediate and delayed memory, executive functions, and indices of global
cognitive function (Gunning-Dixon and Raz, 2000). It should be emphasized
that these behavioral changes in the elderly are not disabling and should be not
be considered abnormal. On the contrary, they represent normal developmen-
tal phenomena that can be distinguished from the effects of neuropathological
conditions such as AD. Seen in this light, it becomes important to characterize
the cognitive changes of normal aging as specifically as possible so that this
profile can be clearly contrasted with disease states.
The relative abundance of white matter in the frontal lobes and the right
hemisphere offers a basis for developing a hypothesis for normal aging changes
in that white matter loss might be expected to reflect specific dysfunction in
these areas (Filley, 1998). Evidence for this prediction is indeed available. Many
of the cognitive features of normal aging closely resemble changes classically
associated with frontal lobe involvement seen in clinical settings (Filley, 2011).
Aging confers many cognitive advantages, such as the broad experience and
expansive knowledge commonly known as “wisdom,” but it is also true that the
mental slowing and rambling garrulousness of some older people is reminis-
cent of the behavior of younger patients with frontal lobe dysfunction who
are inattentive, distractible, and poorly organized. Three familiar and well-
documented examples of changes with aging are cognitive slowing (Salthouse,
1996), impaired vigilance or concentration (Filley and Cullum, 1994), and
executive dysfunction (Keys and White, 2000), all of which are widely regarded
as reflecting prefrontal dysfunction. Cognitive slowing is particularly notable,
and neurophysiologic studies in aged laboratory animals have demonstrated a
slowing of conduction velocity between the basal forebrain and the neocortex,
suggesting an age-related decrement in subcortical myelin (Aston-Jones et al.,
1985). In humans, several large studies of elderly populations have found robust
correlations between cognitive changes and white matter changes on MRI
(Longstreth et al., 1996; de Groot et al., 2000; Swan et al., 2000), with cognitive
speed being the most affected domain (de Groot et al., 2000). These consider-
ations contributed to a concept known as the “frontal aging hypothesis,” which
postulates that cognitive functions dependent on the frontal lobes are selec-
tively vulnerable in aging (West, 1996). Whereas this idea is appealing, it has
been pointed out that evidence for selective frontal lobe atrophy in aging is not
convincing and that other, nonfrontal cognitive skills are also affected in aging
(Greenwood, 2000). This issue may be resolved by considering the role of white
matter. Because white matter tracts course throughout the brain, alterations in
myelinated systems in aging would be expected to affect all cognitive functions
to some extent, but because the frontal lobes have the largest concentration of
white matter, this effect would be most apparent in the performance of frontally
mediated tasks. This explanation is consistent with the notion of a “myelin-
based theory of aging” (Greenwood, 2000), which necessarily includes the con-
cept of distributed neural networks as proposed by Mesulam (2000). Stated
alternatively, this idea posits that normal aging involves widespread structural
changes in cerebral white matter that alter the function of distributed neural
networks in which the frontal lobes play a prominent but not exclusive role.
Evidence also exists for a selective decline in right hemisphere function in
aging, which may in part reflect loss of cerebral white matter. The “classical”
aging pattern has long been recognized by neuropsychologists as relative stabil-
ity of the verbal intelligence quotient (IQ) on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence
Scale with a decline in the performance IQ (PIQ; Weintraub, 2000). Whereas
the PIQ is only roughly a measure of right hemisphere function, it is more
securely thought to reflect so-called fluid abilities that are largely nonverbal
(Weintraub, 2000). In this light, it is of interest that a recent study of healthy
octogenarians found a selective decline in the PIQ that correlated with
increasing severity of white matter hyperintensities on MRI (Garde et al., 2000).
More data are clearly needed, but existing information is consistent with
the conclusion that some aspects of normal aging changes may result from a
selective loss of right hemisphere white matter.
To summarize, the recent emphasis on white matter loss in aging is an
important development in neuroscience that is sure to stimulate further infor-
mative study. However, loss of gray matter cannot yet be conclusively ruled out,
and it may still be appropriate to inquire about the relative importance of each
process. The late development of the human brain may include a number of
structural changes that interact to produce the complex behavioral profile of
normal aging. Still, considering the role of the white matter in aging has gained
increasing support in recent years. Further investigation of this issue will
produce important insights into the origin of age-related cognitive changes and
perhaps suggest strategies aimed at their prevention.
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PART TWO
Disorders of White Matter

5
Genetic Disorders
The category of genetic disorders serves as an appropriate departure to begin a

survey of white matter disorders of the brain. These disorders fall largely
within the province of child neurology, but in some cases they come to the
attention of the adult neurologist as well. At any age, however, neurobehavioral
manifestations are prominent. Genetic white matter disorders highlight
the importance of myelinated tracts in the ontogeny of behavior because they
demonstrate how defective white matter can profoundly disrupt the develop-
ment of cognition and emotion. This chapter considers this group of disorders,
with special attention to the neurobehavioral syndromes that are regularly
encountered.
The understanding of inherited neurologic disorders continues to evolve,
and many unanswered questions remain about their classification. Among the
white matter disorders, a number of leukoencephalopathies are defined by their
genetic origin, whereas many others have unknown etiologies. Magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) has facilitated the identification of these diseases in
life, as demonstrated by the discovery of leukoencephalopathy with vanishing
white matter (van der Knaap et al., 1997a). Although a genetic cause can
generally be assumed in these diseases, it has been estimated that at least half of
the childhood leukoencephalopathies seen clinically remain idiopathic and
unclassified (van der Knaap et al., 1999). The diseases discussed in this chapter
are those leukoencephalopathies due to a known or presumed genetic abnor-
mality that are relatively well characterized. The primary goal is to consider the
impact of genetic white matter disease on behavior and in so doing provide a
framework for neurobehavioral analysis of new entities that will doubtless be
better understood as knowledge accumulates.
LE UKO D YSTRO PH IES
Traditional neurologic teaching has emphasized a distinction between the

neuropathologic categories of dysmyelination and demyelination. As reviewed
in Chapter 4, myelin is laid down in an orderly sequence that begins in utero
and continues until decades later. Dysmyelination, which is closely allied with
hypomyelination (Schiffmann and van der Knaap, 2009), implies the abnormal
development of myelin because of a metabolic error that prevents the normal
sequence of events in the establishment and maintenance of the myelin sheath.
The leukodystrophies provide the most familiar examples of dysmyelination.
Although some abnormalities of white matter can also be observed in primary
neuronal diseases such as Tay-Sachs disease and Niemann-Pick disease, these
effects occur secondarily because of neuronal dysfunction and metabolic
effects on oligodendrocytes (Folkerth, 2000). In contrast, the dysmyelinative
diseases represent valuable opportunities to examine altered brain function in
white matter disorders resulting from a primary defect in myelin formation.
Demyelination, meanwhile, alternatively known as myelinoclasis, refers to the
loss of previously acquired normal myelin through some superimposed neuro-
pathological process. Multiple sclerosis (MS) remains the most familiar exam-
ple of demyelination and will be discussed in Chapter 6. The contrast between
dysmyelination and demyelination provides a useful framework within which
to consider genetic disorders of white matter.
The leukodystrophies typically begin in early life and are caused by gene
defects inherited as autosomal recessive traits. The interference with normal
myelination caused by inborn errors of metabolism causes significant neuro-
logic dysfunction in these diseases. These single gene defects, while at present
clinically devastating, offer the promise of understanding the events leading to
normal myelination and eventually of effective therapies. Such therapies are
being developed (Gieselmann and Krägeloh-Mann, 2010; Köhler, 2010; Orchard
and Tolar, 2010), although the treatment of patients at any age remains primar-
ily supportive. For the purposes of this book, the possibility of improved treat-
ment bears upon how the potential reversibility of dysmyelinative disease
supports the role of white matter in normal cognition. Both myelin and axons
contribute to normal function, and it has become clear that while normal
myelin is important, the presence of intact axons is still more critical (Mar and
Noetzel, 2010).
Metachromatic Leukodystrophy
Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is the most common of the leukodystro-

phies. The usual age of onset is in the second or third year of life, but the disease
may present at any time up to and including adulthood. Common initial mani-
festations include developmental delay, intellectual deterioration, gait disorder,
strabismus, and spasticity, and dysmyelination in peripheral nerves also pro-
duces neuropathy with hyporeflexia. Steady deterioration progresses inexora-
bly toward a vegetative state and death within a few years. Cases with a later age
of onset have a somewhat less severe course.
MLD is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme arylsulfatase A, which converts
sulfatide to cerebroside, a major component of myelin (Austin et al., 1968). The
resulting sulfatide accumulation in myelin and the lysosomes of oligodendro-
cytes is visible microscopically as metachromatically staining granules, the char-
acteristic neuropathologic feature of MLD. There is also diffuse dysmyelination
in the cerebrum, cerebellum, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. In the central
nervous system (CNS), the eventual death of oligodendrocytes precludes the pos-
sibility of any remyelination as the disease worsens. The clinical diagnosis is con-
firmed by the demonstration of reduced arylsulfatase A activity in leukocytes.
Neuroimaging studies are useful in demonstrating the dysmyelination
associated with MLD. Computed tomography (CT) shows symmetric low-
density white matter lesions and ventriculomegaly (Skomer et al., 1983). MRI,
particularly with the use of T2-weighted images, provides a more detailed view
of diffuse and symmetric cerebral white matter involvement (Filley and Gross,
1992, 1993; Figure 5-1).
Figure 5-1. Mildly T2-weighted MRI scan of a patient with metachromatic

leukodystrophy. Diffuse cerebral white matter dysmyelination is apparent. (Reprinted
with permission from Filley and Gross, 1993.)
In older children and adults, the more protracted disease course has
permitted some study of the neurobehavioral features of MLD. Dementia
is the major syndrome, often dominated by features of frontal lobe dysfunction
with disinhibition, impulsivity, and poor attention span; neuropsychological
testing discloses a pattern of deficits including inattention, poor vigilance,
impaired memory, relatively intact language, impaired visuospatial function,
and executive dysfunction (Shapiro et al., 1994). Consistent with these observa-
tions, a frontal predominance of dysmyelination may be apparent (Shapiro
et al., 1994; Schiffmann and van der Knaap, 2009). In addition, a frequent
tendency for psychosis to herald the onset of the disease has been noted
(Filley and Gross, 1992). In a thorough review, Hyde and colleagues (1992)
reported that 53% of published cases of adolescent- and early-adult-onset
MLD had psychosis as an early clinical feature. It has been postulated that
psychosis occurs because of disrupted corticocortical connections between the
frontal and temporal lobes (Hyde et al., 1992) and that dementia follows as
more extensive dysmyelination proceeds to disrupt other connections and
produce more widespread cerebral dysfunction (Filley and Gross, 1992,
1993). More recent studies have examined genotypic differences in adult
MLD and found that the genotype associated with psychosis and dementia
tended to manifest as frontally predominant leukodystrophy (Rauschka et al.,
2006).
Treatment of MLD has been limited to supportive therapy, but research is
proceeding on enzyme replacement, stem cell transplantation, and gene
therapy (Gieselmann and Krägeloh-Mann, 2010). The study of bone marrow
transplantation has been instructive regarding whether restoration of normal
arylsulfatase A activity can lead to clinical benefit (Krivit et al., 1990). This pro-
cedure entails the engraftment of hematopoietic stem cells from healthy
donors, which results in normal monocytes entering the brain of the recipient
to correct the deficient enzymatic activity associated with the disease (Krivit
et al., 1999). Treatment early in the disease course presumably takes advantage
of still viable oligodendrocytes to normalize myelination. The procedure can
restore the activity of the enzyme and also stabilize cognitive deterioration in
MLD, both in children (Shapiro et al., 1992) and in adults (Navarro et al., 1996).
The beneficial effects on cognition may be exerted by improvement in the
structure of cerebral white matter, as shown on MRI (Krivit et al., 1990). While
the phenotypic variability of MLD patients and the severity of the disease both
affect treatment efficacy (Orchard and Tolar, 2010), bone marrow transplanta-
tion offers some evidence for the neurobehavioral importance of white matter
in that cognitive improvement occurs in parallel with restoration of myelinated
tracts.
Globoid Cell Leukodystrophy (Krabbe’s Disease)
Globoid cell leukodystrophy (GCL) differs little from MLD in its clinical
features, although it is not as common (Menkes, 1990). GCL is an autosomal
recessive disease due to a deficiency of the enzyme galactocerebrosidase, which
can be assayed in leukocytes for diagnostic purposes. Onset is usually in early
infancy, and there is both central and peripheral dysmyelination. Intellectual
decline and dementia are the most prominent features, and as in MLD,
later-onset cases with a more prolonged course are known to occur.
Neuropathologically, there is dysmyelination in the brain, spinal cord, and
peripheral nerves, and accumulations of galactocerebroside are found in the
characteristic globoid cells. CT scans show ventricular enlargement consistent
with reduced white matter volume (Ieshima et al., 1983), and MRI reveals
diffuse white matter hyperintensity that tends to involve more posterior
brain regions (Kapoor et al., 1992; Schiffmann and van der Knaap, 2009).
Neuroradiologic white matter abnormalities correlate with the absence of
normal myelination throughout the cerebrum (Percy et al., 1994).
As in MLD, bone marrow transplantation has been used to treat selected
cases of GCL, and similar favorable results have been observed (Krivit et al.,
1999). Transplantation restores normal galactocerebroside activity in the
brain, and reversal or prevention of neurologic dysfunction has been shown in
individuals with the disease (Krivit et al., 1998). As is the case with MLD,
treatment of CGL enhances neurobehavioral function at the same time that
improvement is demonstrable in the MRI appearance of the cerebral white
matter (Krivit et al., 1998). However, challenges similar to those in MLD impede
rapid progress on treatment of GCL (Köhler, 2010; Orchard and Tolar, 2010).
Adrenoleukodystrophy
Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is an X-linked disease of males characterized by

neurologic dysfunction and adrenal insufficiency (Moser, 1997). The disease
usually becomes manifest between the ages of 3 and 10 years with behavioral
disturbances, visual loss, and intellectual decline. Gait disorder and spastic quad-
riparesis follow, and a rapidly progressive course is typical, with death occurring
in two to three years from neurologic deterioration. The adrenal manifestations,
if treated with hormone replacement, do not significantly affect longevity.
ALD results from defective beta-oxidation of very long-chain fatty acids
(VLCFAs), the accumulation of which leads to dysmyelination in the CNS and
peripheral nervous system as well as damage to adrenocortical cells. In the
brain, the effect of VLCFAs is speculated to be a destabilization of the myelin

membrane, and in severe cases inflammation is also thought to contribute to
white matter damage (Moser, 1997).
CT scans show low-density lesions in the hemispheric white matter (Patel
et al., 1995). MRI discloses symmetric white matter hyperintensity that is most
prominent in parietooccipital regions (Loes et al., 1994; Schiffmann and van
der Knaap, 2009; Figure 5-2). Although ALD is a disease of males, female
heterozygotes may have neurologic signs and symptoms suggesting MS, and
MRI findings resembling those of MS may be present (van Geel et al., 1997).
ALD has several phenotypic variants, including ones associated with a later
age of onset (Weller et al., 1992; van Geel et al., 1997). In later-onset cases, neu-
robehavioral implications have been more amenable to detailed study. Cognitive
decline and progressive dementia occur, often heralded by neuropsychiatric
dysfunction manifesting as personality change, mania, or psychosis (Rosebush
et al., 1999). In a neuropsychological study of ALD children, Riva and col-
leagues (2000) found a pattern of deficits in nonverbal intelligence, memory,
and executive function, with relative sparing of language, that was closely rem-
iniscent of cognitive impairment seen in adults with white matter disorders
(Filley, 1998). Moreover, the cognitive loss in these children correlated signifi-
cantly with posterior hemispheric dysmyelination on MRI (Riva et al., 2000).
Figure 5-2. T2-weighted MRI scan of a patient with adrenoleukodystrophy. The

dysmyelination has a predilection for the posterior hemispheric white matter. (Reprinted
with permission from Atlas SW, ed. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and spine.
2nd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven, 1996.)
Treatment of ALD has been extensively investigated. The use of corticoster-

oids for adrenal insufficiency is uncontroversial (Berger et al., 2010), but treat-
ment of neurologic dysfunction is more difficult. Initial attempts at dietary
treatment by reducing the intake of VLCFAs were ineffective, but a formulation
known as “Lorenzo’s oil” became popular in the 1980s (Odone and Odone,
1994). Lorenzo’s oil is a 4:1 combination of oleic acid and erucic acid intended
to decrease the production of VLCFAs, but despite demonstrated reductions
in VLCFAs this treatment has not clearly been shown effective after more
than 20 years of study (Berger et al., 2010). The use of immunosuppressive
drugs, suggested on the basis of inflammatory mechanisms postulated to
contribute to dysmyelination, has also proven ineffective (Berger et al., 2010).
Bone marrow transplantation appears to have the most promise in treating
ALD, as sustained clinical, biochemical, and MRI improvement has been
documented in several cases so treated (Shapiro et al., 2000; Berger et al., 2010).
This procedure is most suitable for those patients who are very young and have
an early form of the disease (Shapiro et al., 2000).
Adrenomyeloneuropathy
Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) was described by Griffin and colleagues

(1977) as a variant of ALD in which myelopathy and neuropathy dominate the
clinical course. Typically beginning in the third or fourth decade, AMN has a
more benign course than ALD, with near-normal life expectancy despite slowly
progressive spastic quadriparesis and peripheral neuropathy (van Geel et al.,
1997). Treatment of AMN is supportive, as advances in ALD have not trans-
lated to this disease (Berger et al., 2010).
The brain was initially believed to be spared in AMN, but later studies sug-
gested that cognition may be affected. MRI scans show white matter abnor-
malities in 45% of affected patients (A. J. Kumar et al., 1995). Moreover,
neuropsychological studies of individuals with cerebral AMN indicate cogni-
tive loss consistent with white matter involvement, and severe MRI lesion
burden is associated with more pronounced impairment (Edwin et al., 1996).
Canavan’s Disease
Canavan’s disease is an autosomal recessive disease that presents in early

infancy with intellectual decline, macrocephaly, optic atrophy, and hypotonia
(Menkes, 1990). The course is rapidly progressive and a fatal outcome soon
ensues. There is a mutation in the gene coding for the enzyme aspartoacylase
that leads to an accumulation of the amino acid N-acetyl-aspartic acid (NAA);
diagnosis is based on the demonstration of NAA in the urine. In the brain, a

spongiform leukodystrophy develops, which appears on MRI as increased
signal throughout the white matter (Brismar et al., 1990a); often a subcortical
pattern is evident (Schiffmann and van der Knaap, 2009). Aspartoacylase is
restricted to oligodendrocytes, and mutations in the aspartoacylase gene result
in the primary pathology of dysmyelination (Kumar et al., 2006).
Canavan’s disease is the first leukodystrophy for which gene therapy has been
attempted, and an early report was encouraging. Using adeno-associated
virus as a vector in two affected children, Leone and colleagues (2000) showed
that intraventricular administration of the virus-aspartoacylase gene could
normalize NAA levels, improve the appearance of the white matter on MRI,
and produce clinical improvement. The investigators also demonstrated
widespread gene expression in astrocytes, neurons, and oligodendrocytes
within the deep white matter (Leone et al., 2000). This study, the first to report
on gene therapy for a neurologic disease, was a notable event in neurologic
therapeutics, but further success in treating the disease was unfortunately not
realized in other patients. Efforts continue to develop other approaches to
implement gene therapy in Canavan’s disease (S. Kumar et al., 2006), and
further study of this approach as it relates to correction of leukodystrophy and
neurobehavioral impairment will be informative.
Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease
An X-linked dysmyelinative disease of the CNS, Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease

usually presents in infancy with intellectual delay but may also appear in later life.
This progressive disorder of myelin formation has been linked to a mutation in the
gene on chromosome 22 coding for proteolipid protein, one of the major protein
constituents of myelin (Koeppen and Robitaille, 2002). Dementia and psychiatric
dysfunction can occur in adult-onset cases (Nance et al., 1996). Neuropathologically,
patchy areas of myelin loss combined with preserved myelin islets in the brain
produce the so-called tigroid pattern of dysmyelination that is considered charac-
teristic. On MRI, there is diffusely increased signal suggesting hypomyelination
(van der Knaap and Valk, 1989; Schiffmann and van der Knaap, 2009), and occa-
sionally evidence of the tigroid pattern can be found (Sasaki et al., 2000).
Cockayne’s Syndrome
Cockayne’s syndrome is a clinically diverse autosomal recessive disorder at the

origin of which is a disorder of DNA repair (Rapin et al., 2006). The syndrome
features a host of clinical manifestations centering on brain and somatic growth

failure that lead to mental retardation, cachexia, premature aging, and demen-
tia (Rapin et al., 2006). The disease usually presents in late infancy and includes
progressive mental retardation, dwarfism, deafness, retinal degeneration, and
dysmorphic facial features. Mental retardation is related to developmental
microcephaly, and later on dementia results from progressive brain volume
loss. Although essentially all patients go on to develop dementia, some vari-
ability in the course has been noted, and preservation of personality has been
noted (Rapin et al., 2006). The salient neuropathologic feature of Cockayne’s
syndrome is marked loss of both central and peripheral myelin, along with
cerebral and cerebellar atrophy and basal ganglia calcifications; a “tigroid leu-
koencephalopathy” has been observed similar to the pattern seen in Pelizaeus-
Merzbacher disease (Rapin et al., 2006). Spasticity, ataxia, gait disorder, and
demyelinative neuropathy are all attributable to this myelin loss; movement
disorders are rare, and progressive leukoencephalopathy accounts for much of
the cerebral atrophy (Rapin et al., 2006). White matter lesions are common on
MRI and are often patchy and incomplete (Schiffmann and van der Knaap,
2009). In childhood cases, these abnormalities have been associated with neu-
ropsychological impairment (Sugita et al., 1992). Many adult cases have had
clinical presentations identical to that of normal pressure hydrocephalus (Rapin
et al., 2006; Chapter 14).
Alexander’s Disease
While the genetic basis of Alexander’s disease has recently been identified
as mutation in the gene for glial fibrillary acidic protein (Pareyson et al.,
2008), its best-known features are neuropathologic: Rosenthal fibers and
diffuse myelin loss in the brain. This disease typically presents in early life
with psychomotor retardation, macrocephaly, and spasticity and pursues
a rapidly fatal course. Cases appearing in adolescence and adulthood are also
described, and in these individuals the clinical picture may resemble MS
because of prominent motor system involvement (Russo et al., 1976). Cognition
is not significantly affected in most adult cases, because dysmyelination occurs
mostly in the lower brain stem (Pareyson et al., 2008). Dementia has been
noted, however, as the core feature of a very late-onset case (Murphy et al.,
1990). In younger patients, CT scans reveal low attenuation of the periventricu-
lar and centrum semiovale white matter (Hess et al., 1990), and MRI scans
demonstrate diffusely increased white matter signal (Takanashi et al., 1998);
these changes are most prominent in the frontal lobes (Schiffmann and van der
Knaap, 2009).
Cerebrotendinous Xanthomatosis
An autosomal recessive disease of bile acid synthesis, cerebrotendinous

xanthomatosis is characterized by loss of myelinated fibers in the brain and
deposition of cholestanol xanthomas in the peripheral nerves, lungs, and
tendons. The disease is very rare, with just over 300 patients identified (Gallus
et al., 2006). White matter throughout the brain, especially the cerebellum, is
severely affected (Soffer et al., 1995). In adulthood, the disease presents with
gait disorder and dementia, and MRI scans reveal diffuse white matter abnor-
mality and cerebral atrophy (Swanson and Cromwell, 1986; Schiffmann and
van der Knaap, 2009). In one series, 66% of affected individuals had cognitive
impairment (Verrips et al., 2000). Diagnosis is established by the finding of
elevated plasma cholestanol, and treatment to lower cholestanol with chenode-
oxycholic acid can be effective (Pedley et al., 1985).
Membranous Lipodystrophy
Membranous lipodystrophy is a very rare disease affecting the brain and the
skeletal system (Tanaka, 1980). Appearing in mid-adulthood, the disease
manifests with dementia and neuropsychiatric changes, accompanied at some
point by parallel features of bone pain and pathologic fractures (Tanaka, 1980;
Minagawa et al., 1985; Hakola and Puranen, 1993). The course is invariably
progressive. An inherited disorder of lipid metabolism affecting both cerebral
myelin and adipose tissue is suspected, but the etiology is unknown. In the
brain, there is diffuse and symmetric myelin degeneration, particularly in the
frontal and temporal lobes, sparing the U fibers (Tanaka, 1980). MRI scans
show increased white matter signal on T2-weighted images and dilated ventri-
cles (Araki et al., 1991).
Vanishing White Matter Disease
Vanishing white matter disease, also known as leukoencephalopathy with

vanishing white matter (van der Knaap et al., 1997a) exhibits a striking
predilection for white matter, producing progressive cystic degeneration with
preservation of neurons (Bugiani et al., 2010). Vanishing white matter disease
mostly affects children, but an adult presentation with early-onset dementia has
also been reported (Prass et al., 2001). The inheritance pattern is autosomal
recessive, and mutations in any of five “housekeeping” genes are responsible
(van der Knapp et al., 2006). Cerebellar ataxia is the most prominent symptom,
but cognitive dysfunction, psychosis, dementia, and coma can develop, particu-
larly in association with stressors such as febrile illness, traumatic brain injury,
and even acute fright (van der Knapp et al., 2006; Bugiani et al., 2010). MRI
discloses a remarkable pattern of progressive disappearance of white matter,
leading ultimately to the replacement of myelinated regions between lateral
ventricles and the cortex with cerebrospinal fluid (van der Knapp et al., 2006).
Figure 5-3 shows the MRI scan of a patient with vanishing white matter
disease.
Leukoencephalopathy with Neuroaxonal Spheroids
Leukoencephalopathy with neuroaxonal spheroids is a rare autosomal domi-

nant disease that can begin in childhood or in adults and presents with a range
of neuropsychiatric syndromes including rapidly progressive dementia
(Axelsson et al., 1984; van der Knaap et al., 2000; Keegan et al., 2008). Associated
features include motor impairment, often asymmetric and including both
spasticity and rigidity, seizures, and nonenhancing confluent MRI white matter
hyperintensities that tend to be frontally predominant (Schiffmann and van der
Knaap, 2009). Autopsy shows frontal and parietal leukoencephalopathy with
neuroaxonal spheroids (van der Knaap et al., 2000). The disease mimics MS
Figure 5-3. Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery MRI scan of an adult with vanishing
white matter disease. The white matter shows diffuse hyperintensity, cystic degeneration,
and atrophy. (Reprinted with permission from van der Knapp et al., 2006, Figure 5.)
and other white matter disorders, and brain biopsy can provide a definitive
diagnosis (Keegan et al., 2008). The pattern of cognitive impairment has not
been systematically studied, but a frontal syndrome with depression, anxiety,
irritability, aggressiveness, memory dysfunction, and severe dementia is typical
(Axelsson et al., 1984; van der Knaap et al., 2000; Keegan et al., 2008).
Leukoencephalopathy with Intracranial Calcifications and Cysts
In 1996, a childhood disease involving diffuse MRI white matter involvement,

cerebral and cerebellar calcifications, and space-occupying cyst in the brain was
first described (Labrune et al., 1996). Initially termed Labrune’s syndrome,
subsequent recognition of adult cases of the same disease led to the adoption of
the now preferred term leukoencephalopathy with intracranial calcifications
and cysts (Corboy et al., 2006; Kleinschmidt-DeMasters et al., 2009). At any age
the disease is rare, and the clinical syndrome is similar in adults and children,
involving headache, ataxia, and seizures in association with what has been
termed mild cognitive dysfunction (Corboy et al., 2006; Kleinschmidt-
DeMasters et al., 2009). Seizures likely result from cystic involvement of the
cerebral cortex. Leukoencephalopathy on MRI is impressive and thought
to be due to diffuse microangiopathy (Kleinschmidt-DeMasters et al., 2009).
The etiology of the disease is unknown, but a genetic cause has been suspected
(Kleinschmidt-DeMasters et al., 2009), prompting its inclusion in this section.
FRA G ILE X T R EMOR/ATAXIA SYNDROME
The last decade has witnessed rapid accumulation of knowledge about the
inherited neurodegenerative disease fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS),
which is due to a CGG repeat expansion in the premutation range of the fragile
X mental retardation 1 gene (Leehey, 2009). Most common in older men,
FXTAS is caused by repeat expansion in the 55–200 range and is related to the
fragile X syndrome, the most common heritable form of mental retardation
and autism, in which repeats of >200 occur in the same gene (Leehey, 2009). In
addition to intention tremor and gait ataxia, individuals with FXTAS develop
dementia, characterized by executive dysfunction and slowed processing speed
with sparing of language (Grigsby et al., 2008). MRI scans typically disclose
scattered cerebral white matter hyperintensities and atrophy and the curious
finding of hyperintensity in the middle cerebellar peduncle—the “MCP sign”
(Leehey, 2009). The combination of cognitive deficits and MRI findings quali-
fies FXTAS for inclusion in this book, although widespread neuronal pathology
is found (Hagerman and Hagerman, 2004) and indicates the likely complex
origin of cognitive dysfunction in FXTAS. Studies are under way to assess the
role of white matter neuropathology in the dementia associated with FXTAS.
A M I NO ACID U RIAS
Among the many inborn errors of metabolism, several affect amino acid meta-
bolism. Of these autosomal recessive aminoacidurias, two—phenylketonuria
(PKU) and maple syrup urine disease (MSUD)—are known to disturb normal
myelination. These diseases highlight the potential for salutary effects of dietary
treatment in genetic disorders of white matter.
Phenylketonuria
PKU is one of the most common disorders associated with mental retardation,
and its recognition and treatment have led to significant reduction of neurologic
disability. The disease appears in newborns as an autosomal recessive trait and
involves a deficiency of hepatic phenylalanine hydroxylase that prevents the
conversion of phenylalanine to tyrosine (Pietz, 1998). The resulting hyper-
phenylalaninemia is associated with mental retardation and motor dysfunction.
Neuropathologically, it has long been recognized that myelin is prominently
affected by PKU (Malamud, 1966; Pietz, 1998; Huttenlocher, 2000). The most
frequent brain abnormality in untreated patients is a reduction is total white
matter (Pietz, 1998), and microscopic findings include delayed myelination,
fibrillary gliosis, excess white matter water, and low concentrations of cerebro-
sides, sulfatides, and cholesterol (Martin and Schlote, 1972). These observations
have prompted suggestions that dys- or hypomyelination likely explains the white
matter changes in PKU (Hommes and Matsuo, 1987; Pietz, 1998), which take the
form of hyperintensities in the periventricular white matter on MRI (Shaw
et al., 1991). More recently, advanced neuroimaging with magnetic resonance
spectroscopy (MRS) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has disclosed changes
consistent with intramyelinic edema (Vermathen et al., 2007). Anderson and
Leuzzi (2010) concluded in a recent review of neuropathologic and neuroimag-
ing studies that untreated patients likely have hypomyelination while early-
treated patients have intramyelinic edema. A leukotoxic effect of phenylalanine
has been presumed (Huttenlocher, 2000), and elevated phenylalanine levels may
induce oligodendrocytes to adopt a nonmyelinating phenotype (Dyer et al.,
1996). The biochemical complexity of PKU suggests, however, that a multifacto-
rial process may best explain neurobehavioral manifestations (Pietz, 1998).
Neuropsychological studies of PKU patients have documented a variety of

deficits that increasingly appear to reflect white matter involvement. These
impairments are present in both treated and untreated individuals, although
dietary restriction of phenylalanine clearly improves cognitive function (Ris
et al., 1994). While memory and language are relatively preserved (Pennington
et al., 1985), a pattern of deficits in sustained attention (Schmidt et al., 1994),
executive function (Welch et al., 1990), and visuospatial skills (Fishler et al.,
1987) has emerged, and a recent meta-analysis of neuropsychological data
noted the prominence of deficits in processing speed and attention (Moyle
et al., 2007). These deficits, consistent with those of white matter dementia
(Filley, 1998), have now been correlated with white matter abnormalities. MRI
studies demonstrate that impairments in reaction time and sustained attention
correlate with white matter lesion burden (Pietz et al., 1996). Further evidence
can be found from observations of the reversibility of MRI findings with con-
trol of phenylalanine levels (Shaw et al., 1991; Cleary et al., 1995) and from
occasional reports of clinical exacerbations being closely associated with MRI
worsening (Thompson et al., 1990). Most recently, MRI and neuropsychologi-
cal study in early-treated PKU children documented that frontal and subcorti-
cal white matter lesions were robustly correlated with impaired processing
speed, executive function, and attention (Anderson et al., 2004, 2007).
Maple Syrup Urine Disease
Formerly rapidly fatal in infancy, MSUD can now be effectively treated with
dietary measures so that affected children can be expected to survive indefi-
nitely. The disease is due to a defect in the enzyme branched-chain alpha-keto
acid dehydrogenase that results in excessive urinary levels of leucine, isoleu-
cine, and valine. In untreated cases, severe mental and motor decline is observed
along with the characteristic odor of the urine. The neuropathology is confined
to the brain white matter, where myelin formation is defective (Silberman et al.,
1961). CT and MRI scans show variable white matter changes consistent with
these observations (Brismar et al., 1990b; Schiffmann and van der Knaap, 2009).
MRS may show axonal dysfunction, and DTI has disclosed evidence of
intramyelinic edema (Sener, 2007)
Neuropsychological studies of treated MSUD children reveal that cognition
and learning are typically affected, although a gratifyingly good outcome can be
expected in many cases (Nord et al., 1991). Much as in PKU, the pattern of
cognitive deficits in MSUD shows relative sparing of verbal functions and
prominent visuospatial impairment (Nord et al., 1991). Improved cognition
after dietary treatment has been shown with concomitant improvement in CT
white matter changes (Taccone et al., 1992) and in MRS and DTI findings
(Sener, 2007), supporting a role of myelin disturbance in the neurobehavioral
profile of MSUD.
P HA KO MAT O SES
The phakomatoses, or neurocutaneous syndromes, are diseases of known or

suspected genetic etiology in which the skin and the nervous system are
involved. At least 20 different phakomatoses are recognized, the three most
common being neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, and Sturge-Weber syn-
drome (Roach, 1992). These diseases are best known for their propensity to
produce benign and malignant tumors, but the range of neuropathologic lesions
is broad. MRI and neuropathologic studies of patients with these diseases have
brought to light various abnormalities of the cerebral white matter (Pont and
Elster, 1992; Roach, 1992). Intriguing suggestions have appeared that white
matter lesions in these diseases may contribute to neurobehavioral decline,
although the presence of other abnormalities needs also to be considered. This
section discusses the phakomatoses characterized by documented cerebral
white matter changes as well as the evidence that these changes contribute to
neurobehavioral impairment.
Neurofibromatosis
The most common on the phakomatoses, neurofibromatosis has been estab-

lished to manifest as two main clinical varieties, both transmitted in an
autosomal dominant pattern (Roach, 1992; Ferner, 2007). Neurofibromatosis-1
(NF-1), the classic von Recklinghausen’s disease with café au lait spots,
axillary freckling, Lisch nodules, multiple neurofibromas, and a tendency for
the development of optic glioma and other malignancies, is far more common
that NF-2, which essentially features bilateral acoustic neuromas (Roach, 1992;
Ferner, 2007). Gene defects have been identified on chromosomes 17 and 22 for
NF-1 and NF-2, respectively (Roach, 1992; Ferner, 2007).
Cognitive impairment is the most common complication of NF-1, occurring
in over 80% of children with the disease (Hyman et al., 2005). A clinical clue to
the origin of this problem is the characteristic feature of large head size
(Greenwood et al., 2005). Increased cerebral white matter volume is in part
responsible for this macrocephaly (Said et al., 1996; Moore et al., 2000). Cortical
gray matter volume is also increased, particularly in posterior cerebral regions,
while white matter expansion is most evident in the frontal lobes (Greenwood
et al., 2005). These changes have been interpreted as reflecting insufficient

growth control (Said et al., 1996), perhaps through delayed developmental
apoptosis (Moore et al., 2000). White matter changes on MRI are also common
in patients with NF-1, and these high signal abnormalities also occur in the
basal ganglia, cerebellum, and brain stem (Pont and Elster, 1992). The origin
of these alterations is unknown, although it has been speculated that they
represent dysmyelination, hamartomas, heterotopias, or edema (Denckla et al.,
1996).
The neurobehavioral consequences of white matter changes in neurofibro-
matosis have been increasingly investigated. Early investigations found variably
that children with MRI hyperintensities had impaired cognition (North et al.,
1994; Denckla et al., 1996) or did not (Ferner et al., 1993). More recent studies
have concluded that the best predictor of cognitive dysfunction in adulthood is
the presence of MRI hyperintensities in childhood (Hyman et al., 2003), but
many of these MRI lesions were found within gray matter. The neuropathology
of NF-1 clearly involves both white and gray matter, but neuropsychological
studies tend to support a profile of deficits consistent with white matter demen-
tia (Filley, 1998). In children, deficits in sustained attention (often fulfilling cri-
teria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), executive function, and
visuospatial ability have been found (Hyman et al., 2005), and in adults, a pat-
tern of impairment in cognitive speed, attention, memory retrieval, visuospa-
tial function, and problem solving has been demonstrated (Zöller et al., 1997).
These observations suggest that white matter changes in NF-1 may have impor-
tant cognitive sequelae. Recent MRS studies of the normal-appearing white
matter showing widespread microstructural changes in NF-1 (Alkan et al.,
2003) support further study of this question, as do DTI data documenting
microstructural alterations in NF-1 consistent with dysmyelination (Zamboni
et al., 2007).
Tuberous Sclerosis
Tuberous sclerosis consists of a combination of skin lesions, including facial

angiofibroma (adenoma sebaceum), hypomelanotic macules (ash leaf spots),
ungual fibromas, and shagreen patches, and neurologic features including sei-
zure disorders and mental retardation (Roach, 1992; Orlova and Crino, 2010).
Systemic manifestations are also common in the kidney, heart, and other
organs. The disease is transmitted as an autosomal dominant, and two gene
loci, on chromosomes 9 and 16, have recently been identified (Hyman and
Whittemore, 2000; Orlova and Crino, 2010).
In the brain, a complex pattern of neuropathology is found, including

cortical tubers, subependymal nodules, giant cell astrocytomas, and white
matter heterotopias (Scheithauer, 1992). Despite the name of the disease deriv-
ing from the tubers in the cortex, all the other lesions are found in the white
matter, as is well demonstrated by MRI (Braffman et al., 1992). Disordered
migration of dysgenetic cells has been postulated as important in the pathogen-
esis (Braffman et al., 1992).
Patients with tuberous sclerosis may have severe mental retardation, mild
cognitive impairment, neuropsychiatric abnormalities, or normal neurobehav-
ioral function (Harrison et al., 1999). However, it is difficult to tease apart the
contribution of specific white matter lesions to mental status abnormalities. In
one study of tuberous sclerosis patients with normal intelligence quotient (IQ),
neuropsychological deficits were found on tests reflecting frontal lobe function
(Harrison et al., 1999). This result is of interest in view of the fact that white
matter lesions are most commonly found in the frontal lobes (Braffman et al.,
1992). However, cortical tubers are also most often found in the frontal lobes
(Braffman et al., 1992), confounding the clinical–pathologic correlation. Recent
studies with DTI have illuminated this issue by disclosing that the normal-
appearing white matter may harbor microstructural abnormalities (Arulrajah
et al., 2009) and that these changes may have adverse cognitive effects (Krishnan
et al., 2010).
Sturge-Weber Syndrome
Although not known to be a genetic disease, Sturge-Weber syndrome is

congenital and bears sufficient similarity to other disorders in this section to
merit inclusion here (Comi, 2006). This is a disease of children who have
a port wine nevus in the distribution of the trigeminal nerve and an ipsilateral
leptomeningeal angioma (Roach, 1992). Bilateral angiomas can occur and
cause more severe neurologic morbidity. Cortical calcifications, classically in a
“tram track” configuration, are also encountered. Seizure disorders, often
refractory, are the most common neurologic manifestation, and cognitive
impairment, which may be severe, occurs in about 50% of patients (Roach,
1992). White matter changes have been identified on MRI and attributed to
ischemia from the hypoperfusion associated with the angiomas or to dysmyeli-
nation (Marti-Bonmati et al., 1992). The neurobehavioral significance of these
changes has recently been investigated. In one of the few studies directly com-
paring the relative contributions of white and gray matter to cognitive function,
Juhasz and colleagues (2007) found that white matter volume reduction strongly
predicted cognitive impairment, while neither gray matter volume reduction

nor seizure variables were correlated with cognition.
Hypomelanosis of Ito
Also known as incontinentia pigmenti achromiens, hypomelanosis of Ito is the

fourth most common phakomatosis (Ruggieri et al., 1996). The characteristic
hypopigmented skin lesions are accompanied by neurologic features in more
than 60% of cases, typically including cognitive deterioration and seizures
(Pascual-Castroviejo et al., 1988). MRI changes including periventricular white
matter hyperintensity (Ruggieri et al., 1996) and absent delineation between
cortical gray matter and white matter (Malherbe et al., 1993) have been noted,
explained alternatively by Wallerian degeneration or altered myelination. The
significance of the white matter changes is unclear, but in a small series of
affected children, those with the most extensive changes had the most severe
psychomotor delay and the lowest IQ scores (Ruggieri et al., 1996).
Fabry’s Disease
Fabry’s disease (angiokerotoma corporis diffusum) is an X-linked disease char-

acterized by deficiency of alpha-galactosidase (Mitsias and Levine, 1996).
Cerebrovascular involvement is a major feature of this disease (Mitsias and
Levine, 1996), with both cortical and subcortical strokes that accumulate with
increasing age (Crutchfield et al., 1998). MRI often discloses multifocal white
matter involvement (Schiffmann and van der Knaap, 2009). Early in the course,
which typically begins in young adulthood, white matter lesions may predomi-
nate because of the initial involvement of long penetrating arterioles in the
cerebrum, and later, cortical strokes also occur (Crutchfield et al., 1998). Studies
with MRS indicate that white matter damage may extend beyond the areas of
damage visible with conventional MRI (Tedeschi et al., 1999). The neurobehav-
ioral correlates of white matter involvement are not well defined, but vascular
dementia has been described in Fabry’s disease (Mendez et al., 1997), and a
recent well-studied autopsy case interpreted ischemic leukoencephalopathy as
the likely cause of dementia (Okeda and Nisihara, 2008).
M UCO PO LYSACCHARIDOSES
The mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) are a group of lysosomal storage

diseases in which an enzyme defect prevents the metabolic degradation of
mucopolysaccharides (Walsh and Moran, 1993). Systemic morphologic abnor-

malities are apparent in all these diseases, and nervous system involvement
occurs in most. The two most familiar of these diseases, Hurler’s and Hunter’s
syndrome, both feature prominent white matter involvement and are appropri-
ate to consider at this point. In neither syndrome have precise correlations
between white matter changes and cognitive loss been made, but similarities to
other genetic leukoencephalopathies suggest that such relationships may exist.
Hurler’s Syndrome
Also known as MPS I, Hurler’s syndrome is the prototype for this family of
diseases. Developmental slowing appears in the first year of life, and dementia
progresses over the few years that the child can be expected to live. MPS I is an
autosomal recessive disease due to a deficiency of the enzyme alpha-l-iduroni-
dase. Neuropathology shows white matter involvement from disordered myelin
and from associated hydrocephalus that seems to result from mucopolysaccha-
ride accumulations in the arachnoid villi (Walsh and Moran, 1993). MRI find-
ings of diffusely delayed myelination have been reported (Johnson et al., 1984),
often in a multifocal pattern (Schiffmann and van der Knaap, 2009). Treatment
with bone marrow transplantation has extended life expectancy in some affected
individuals (Krivit et al., 1999).
Hunter’s Syndrome
Hunter’s syndrome, or MPS II, can be considered a milder form of MPS I. This
is an X-linked disease that appears in young boys, and the deficient enzyme is
iduronate sulfatase (Walsh and Moran, 1993). The neuropathology affecting
white matter structures is similar to that of MPS I but less severe, and mental
function is variably preserved. MRI scans reveal diffuse or multifocal white
matter abnormalities (Shinomiya et al., 1996; Schiffmann and van der Knaap,
2009).
M US C U LAR D YSTROPHY
Until recently, the muscular dystrophies were considered to be strictly diseases

of muscle. However, neurobehavioral impairment has been noted in a number
of these diseases, and attention has thus been directed to the brain. Although
cognitive loss has been found in the most common of this group, Duchenne
muscular dystrophy (Bresolin et al., 1994), and in its milder relative, Becker
muscular dystrophy (North et al., 1996), white matter lesions are not promi-
nent, and the defect in these diseases appears to stem from a lack of dystrophin
in gray matter structures (Blake and Kroger, 2000). White matter is affected,
however, in two of the other muscular dystrophies, and evidence pertaining to
the neurobehavioral importance of this feature is accumulating.
Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
The term congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD) encompasses a heterogeneous

group of congenital muscle diseases that typically show an autosomal recessive
pattern of inheritance (Sparks and Escolar, 2011). The classification of CMD is
in progress, but several types are generally accepted: “pure” CMD, Fukuyama-
type CMD, Walker-Warburg syndrome, muscle-eye-brain disease, and merosin-
deficient CMD (van der Knaap et al., 1997b). All of these variants may have
cerebral white matter changes on MRI, including the pure form of CMD, which
was formerly thought to feature no brain involvement (Mackay et al., 1998).
These changes may be striking in their extent (Reed, 2009). CMD types also
include a variety of gray matter abnormalities, however, so that interpretation
of the white matter changes is complex. Mental retardation has been found in
occasional cases (Reed, 2009), however, and one study concluded that CMD
children with white matter changes had more perceptuomotor difficulties and
soft neurologic signs than those who did not (Mercuri et al., 1995). The often
dramatic cerebral white matter abnormalities of CMD may thus be associated
with neurobehavioral dysfunction, but white matter–behavior correlations
remain to be firmly established.
Myotonic Dystrophy
Myotonic dystrophy is an autosomal dominant neuromuscular disease

characterized by distal myopathy, cataracts, cardiac conduction defects, and
hypogonadism. Cognitive impairment in myotonic dystrophy may take the
form of mental retardation, mild cognitive loss, or progressive dementia (Huber
et al., 1989; Abe et al., 1994). Neuropsychiatric impairment in the form of
depression (Huber et al., 1989) and attention deficit disorder (Steyaert et al.,
1997) may also be prominent. The pathogenesis of neurobehavioral dysfunc-
tion in myotonic dystrophy is not understood, but autopsy study has shown
myelin pallor and an increased interfascicular space with relative sparing of
axons, cortical gray matter, and subcortical gray matter (Abe et al., 1994).
Conventional MRI has revealed T2 hyperintensities in the cerebral white matter
of these patients, and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequences demon-

strate these lesions more clearly (Abe et al., 1998). DTI has recently shown
microstructural abnormalities involving widespread areas of cerebral white
matter (Wozniak et al., 2011).
Neuropsychological studies of myotonic dystrophy patients have docu-
mented deficits in attention, memory, visuospatial function, and cognitive
speed, with relative sparing of language (Woodward et al., 1982; Huber et al.,
1989; Malloy et al., 1990). One study compared patients with myotonic dystro-
phy and MS and concluded that white matter lesions in the former that were
immediately subjacent to the cortex disrupted cognition more than the periven-
tricular lesions found in the latter (Damian et al., 1994). Huber and colleagues
(1989) observed that white matter lesions, particularly in the anterior temporal
lobe, correlated with severe cognitive impairment. Abe and colleagues (1994)
found that compared with control subjects, myotonic dystrophy patients had
cognitive dysfunction and depression in association with white matter lesions,
and that cognitive loss worsened as white matter lesion burden increased. The
study of Wozniak and colleagues (2011) found that DTI abnormalities in white
matter strongly correlated with impaired general intelligence and executive
function. Despite limited knowledge of their origin, white matter abnormalities
in myotonic dystrophy increasingly appear to be implicated in neurobehavioral
impairments.
CA LLO SAL AG ENESIS
Incomplete development of the corpus callosum is an idiopathic developmental

anomaly but will be considered at this point because it is a congenital disorder
frequently associated with a wide variety of chromosomal and single-gene
defects (Lassonde and Jeeves, 1994). Callosal agenesis may in fact be seen in a
number of white matter disorders described elsewhere in this book, including
fetal alcohol syndrome, Krabbe’s disease, Hurler’s syndrome, neurofibromato-
sis, tuberous sclerosis, cytomegalovirus encephalitis, rubella encephalitis, and
hydrocephalus (Lassonde and Jeeves, 1994). Various forms of partial agenesis
are encountered more often than complete agenesis. MRI is the preferred neu-
roimaging procedure for this disorder, as the optimal midsagittal view cannot
be achieved on routine CT scans (Figure 5-4). Other developmental problems
frequently exist in these patients, including seizure disorders, Dandy-Walker
cysts, and corpus callosum lipomas (Lassonde and Jeeves, 1994). Males tend to
be more affected (Shevell, 2002).
The neurobehavioral consequences of callosal agenesis are difficult to ascer-
tain because of the frequency with which other developmental abnormalities
Figure 5-4. Midsagittal T1-weighted MRI scan of a patient with callosal agenesis. The
corpus callosum is absent. (Reprinted with permission from Lassonde and Jeeves, 1994.)
are present. Many children with this disorder suffer with mental retardation
or various degrees of learning disability, and it is generally thought that
associated cerebral anomalies in large part account for these problems (Lassonde
and Jeeves, 1994; Shevell, 2002). Moderate to severe developmental delay
has been found in 71% of children with callosal agenesis, although a good
outcome can occur in those without microcephaly, epilepsy, cerebral palsy,
or cerebral dysgenesis (Shevell, 2002). Indeed, the frequent normalcy of
cognition in persons whose only abnormality is a callosal defect has contrib-
uted to doubt about the neurobehavioral importance of the corpus callosum
(Bogen, 1993).
As a general rule, individuals with isolated callosal agenesis are frequently
free of major neurobehavioral disturbances, but intellectually they tend to func-
tion at the lower end of the normal range (Chiarello, 1980; Lassonde and Jeeves,
1994; Sauerwein and Lassonde, 1994). Whereas no typical pattern of cognitive
dysfunction has been detected (Lassonde and Jeeves, 1993), disconnection
effects have been observed (Hannay, 2000), but these are relatively subtle com-
pared with those seen in individuals who have undergone corpus callosotomy
(Chapter 12). This discrepancy has been explained as a result of compensatory
mechanisms that allow for near-normal interhemispheric transfer. Other intact
connecting tracts between the hemispheres, most notably the anterior commis-
sure, can probably compensate for the callosal disconnection (Fischer et al.,
1992). In addition, it has been speculated that acallosal patients make use of the
Probst bundles—longitudinal fibers that run along the medial aspect of each
hemisphere—to convey information from the posterior hemispheres for trans-
fer across the anterior commissure (Bogen, 1993). Some suggestions exist that
developmental callosal abnormalities may be associated with major psychiatric
disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Asperger’s syndrome,

anxiety, and depression (David et al., 1993). These speculations are of interest in
view of callosal abnormalities in schizophrenia (David, 1994). Most recently,
impaired theory of mind and emotional processing deficits have been found in
some patients with callosal agenesis, implying that disrupted connectivity may
interfere with bihemispheric networks subserving social cognition (Booth
et al., 2011)
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6
Demyelinative Diseases
In contrast to dysmyelination, demyelination refers to a stripping away of

myelin from the axon. The demyelinative diseases target the normal myelin
after it is fully formed, and these diseases are characterized by an inflammatory
attack on the myelin sheath. The most familiar demyelinative disease is multiple
sclerosis (MS), and several related disorders with similar clinical and neuro-
pathologic features are recognized. This category of white matter disorder has
received intensive investigation. MS is the most common nontraumatic
disabling neurologic disease of young adults, and the processes of inflamma-
tory demyelination have generated much interest as a key to understanding
basic pathophysiologic mechanisms that could apply to many other neurologic
disorders. The demyelinative diseases will now be discussed, with an emphasis
on their many neurobehavioral manifestations.
M ULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
Despite more than a century of study, MS remains a perplexing disease whose

clinical variability, etiology, and therapy continue to preoccupy neurologists
(Noseworthy, 1999; Hauser and Oksenberg, 2006). Among the many issues
with MS that require further elucidation are the characterization, significance,
and treatment of neurobehavioral dysfunction. As recognized by Charcot in
the 19th century (Charcot, 1877), both cognitive and emotional disturbances
occur in MS, but many details of these aspects of the disease remain to be more
fully understood. The wide range of neurobehavioral disturbances that afflict
individuals with MS presents a challenge to clinicians and an opportunity for
researchers.
Cognitive impairment affects many patients with MS (Rao, 1986; Feinstein,

2007; Langdon, 2011). This syndrome ranges from subtle cognitive loss that can
easily escape clinical detection to severe dementia that necessitates total care.
Cognitive impairment can be an issue at all stages of the disease, potentially
threatening physical independence, coping, driving, employment, medication
compliance, and rehabilitation potential (Langdon, 2011). A generally recog-
nized figure for the prevalence of this problem in MS is 40–70% (Langdon,
2011), and dementia, although less common, has been reported in as many as
23% of patients (Boerner and Kapfhammer, 1999). For much of the history of
MS, however, the high prevalence of cognitive impairment was not fully appre-
ciated. As late as 1970, for example, the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction of
any degree in MS was estimated to be in the vicinity of 5% (Kurtzke, 1970).
Using more sensitive neuropsychological tests and improved research designs,
subsequent studies put this figure much higher. Peyser and colleagues (1980),
for example, found a prevalence of 55% in their series of hospitalized MS
patients. Heaton and colleagues (1985) considered the two major subtypes of
relapsing-remitting and chronic-progressive MS and found that 46% and 72%
of patients, respectively, were cognitively impaired. Moreover, cognitive distur-
bances are not confined to MS patients referred to university hospital clinics, as
Rao and colleagues (1991) found a prevalence of 43% in a community-based
sample. It is generally thought that more severe forms of the disease are accom-
panied by more significant cognitive loss.
Cognitive dysfunction in MS may not be associated with more obvious
features of neurologic disease. Whereas memory and other disturbances often
appear in parallel with elemental neurologic dysfunction in MS, cognitive loss
may by itself constitute the major source of disability. Clinicians working with
MS patients should be aware of this possibility, as it is often overlooked in those
who appear intact because of the absence of major motor and sensory findings
on examination. Franklin and colleagues (1989) presented 12 patients in whom
cognitive dysfunction was limiting but physical disability, as measured by the
Extended Disability Status Scale (EDSS; Kurtzke, 1983) was minimal. This
report highlights the important point that the EDSS, which remains the most
widely used clinical measure of overall disability in MS, is generally insensitive
to neurobehavioral dysfunction in this disease (Franklin et al., 1990).
Clinicians can also be misled by the relative subtlety of the cognitive impair-
ment of MS compared with that of more familiar dementia syndromes such as
that caused by Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The typical pattern of cognitive defi-
cits in AD, for example, features prominent amnesia and aphasia, whereas MS
patients are likely to manifest impairment in processing speed and sustained
attention (Filley et al., 1989). These distinctions mean that the use of routine
cognitive screening instruments may be inadequate. Because the dementia of
MS, like many other white matter disorders, does not significantly disrupt lan-
guage function, heavily language-weighted tests such as the Mini-Mental State
Examination (MMSE; Folstein et al., 1975) are not well suited to detecting cog-
nitive loss in the disease (Franklin et al., 1988; Beatty and Goodkin, 1990;
Swirsky-Sacchetti et al., 1992a).
In view of the limitations of both the EDSS and the MMSE, neuropsycho-
logical evaluation or more detailed office testing may be required to confirm a
clinical suspicion of cognitive dysfunction. For example, neuropsychological
assessment is ideally suited to document progressive cognitive decline with
prominent executive dysfunction in MS patients who may otherwise have a
benign clinical course (Filley, 2000). To assist in routine clinical settings, inves-
tigators seeking brief cognitive screening batteries have developed other
approaches to this problem. The Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological
Tests for MS (Rao et al., 1991), the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite
(Fischer et al., 1999), and the Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function in MS
(Benedict et al., 2002) all offer more sensitive methods to detect cognitive dys-
function in MS.
The understanding the origin of cognitive impairment in MS begins with the
neuropathology of the disease. Whereas some patients have predominantly
spinal cord disease, essentially all individuals experience some degree of demy-
elinative plaque burden in the brain. Brownell and Hughes (1962) studied the
distribution of cerebral plaques in patients with MS and found that periven-
tricular sites were the most common, that the left and right hemispheres were
equally affected, and that plaques were distributed proportionately throughout
the white matter. Some plaques were also noted in cortical and subcortical gray
matter regions. The classic pattern of white matter disease is well known to
neurologists, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of MS typically
show periventricular and callosal hyperintensities on T2-weighted and fluid-
attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images consistent with the neuropatho-
logic observations (Figure 6-1).
Recent neuropathologic and neuroimaging advances have clarified the sig-
nificance of white matter lesions in MS (Trapp et al., 1998; Simon, 2005). MS
has been considered fundamentally an inflammatory disease, and the first sign
of an acute MS lesion is an area of gadolinium enhancement within the white
matter, best seen in T2-weighted or FLAIR axial images (Simon, 2005). The
enhancement reflects inflammatory demyelination and lasts for several weeks
before it subsides and the lesion becomes either a T2 white matter hyperinten-
sity or, if more extensive damage has occurred, a T1 “black hole” (Adams et al.,
1999). Because T2 hyperintensities reflect an increase in the water content of
the affected white matter region, they are nonspecific and can result from other
processes. T1 lesions in MS, however, imply demyelination and additional
Figure 6-1. T2-weighted MRI scan of a patient with MS showing typical periventricular
demyelinative plaques. (Reprinted with permission from Atlas SW, ed. Magnetic
resonance imaging of the brain and spine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven, 1996.)
axonal destruction. An important discovery in MS was the finding of axonal

transection in many MS lesions, which reflects the intensity of inflammation in
affected areas (Trapp et al., 1998). Axonal loss has in fact become widely recog-
nized as a sign of a less favorable prognosis in patients with many white matter
disorders (Medana and Esiri, 2003). Axonal transection in MS is one of the
features contributing to brain atrophy, which results from both myelin and
axonal loss and is most prominent around the third ventricle (Simon, 2005).
Atrophy has come to be seen as an important aspect of MS because it occurs
even early in the disease, can be measured over intervals as short as one year,
and increasingly appears to be a major determinant of disease disability (Trapp
et al., 1998; Simon, 2005). The notion that MS involves neurodegeneration,
quite apart from its inflammatory component, has thus been raised (Hauser
and Oksenberg, 2006). However the understanding of its pathogenesis evolves,
MS is increasingly understood as a progressive brain disease affecting myelin,
axons, and brain volume even in patients with a presumably more benign
course.
Brain atrophy in MS has neurobehavioral implications in itself, but more
specific white matter involvement is also important. Atrophy implies diffuse
volume loss, but in attempting to define the specific cognitive profile of MS, the
regional distribution of lesions assumes more significance. In the study of
Brownell and Hughes (1962), the subfrontal white matter had the heaviest
plaque burden in the brain. This predilection presumably reflects the fact that
the frontal lobe is the largest of the brain, and because demyelinative lesions
occur randomly in the cerebral white matter, the subfrontal white matter stands
to be the most heavily targeted of the four lobes. Indeed, observations that
many cognitive deficits of MS resemble those of frontal lobe diseases (Filley,
2000) suggest that whereas MS is usually a diffuse brain disease, its neuro-
behavioral effects may reflect selective interference with the operations of
frontal systems.
The neuroanatomic basis of cognitive dysfunction in MS has been often
investigated with neuroimaging, and substantial evidence exists that the burden
of white matter disease correlates with cognitive dysfunction. More than 20
MRI studies have found that total lesion burden predicts cognitive impairment
as assessed neuropsychologically (Medaer et al., 1987; Franklin et al., 1988;
Reischies et al., 1988; Callanan et al., 1989; Rao et al., 1989a; Anzola et al., 1990;
Pozzilli et al., 1991; Feinstein et al., 1992; Huber et al., 1992; Maurelli et al.,
1992; Swirsky-Sacchetti et al., 1992b; Comi et al., 1993; Feinstein et al., 1993;
Pugnetti et al., 1993; Arnett et al., 1994; Möller et al., 1994; Tsolaki et al., 1994;
Patti et al., 1995; Ryan et al., 1996; Hohol et al., 1997; Sperling et al., 2001; Penny
et al., 2010). As a general rule, cognitive loss becomes more severe as plaques
assume a more confluent appearance in the periventricular white matter and
cerebral atrophy develops (Figure 6-2). These often replicated findings leave
Figure 6-2. Proton density MRI scan of a patient with long-standing MS showing
widespread periventricular white matter disease and ventricular enlargement.
(Reprinted with permission from Filley and Gross, 1992.)
little doubt that cerebral white matter lesions in MS have important neuro-
behavioral implications.
However, correlations between neuropsychological test performance and
white matter lesion burden have generally been modest, suggesting that cogni-
tive impairment involves more than these easily identifiable lesions (Filippi
et al., 2010). Use of higher magnet strengths such as 3.0 T improves the detec-
tion of MS neuropathology, but conventional MRI is still thought to be unable
to detect some of the tissue damage in MS relevant to cognition (Stankiewicz
et al., 2011) Early proposals suggesting a threshold cerebral white matter
disease burden of around 30 cm2 as the cutoff area above which cognitive
impairment is likely (Swirsky-Sacchetti et al., 1992b) were soon superseded by
the realization from more advanced MRI techniques that even the normal-
appearing white matter (NAWM) was not invariably normal. Such advanced
neuroimaging helps explain why the correlations of lesion volume with cogni-
tive dysfunction in MS have not been more robust. Studies of MS with mag-
netic resonance spectroscopy (MRS; Sarchielli et al., 1999), magnetization
transfer imaging (MTI; Filippi et al., 2000), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI;
Filippi et al., 2010) all revealed abnormalities in NAWM that correlated with
clinical dysfunction. These observations have been confirmed by postmortem
studies of MS brains detecting axonal loss in areas of white matter that appear
to be normal (Evangelou et al., 2000). DTI has attracted the most attention by
virtue of its unequalled capacity to image the details of white matter, including
its individual tracts (Chapter 3). Studies have used DTI in MS to identify areas
of NAWM at risk for degeneration (Simon et al., 2006) or correlated with cogni-
tive dysfunction (Roca et al., 2008; Rovaris et al., 2008; Dineen et al., 2009;
Hecke et al., 2010). These studies all support a role of white matter damage in
cognitive impairment that goes beyond that expected with white matter hyper-
intensities alone.
Thus MRS, MTI, and especially DTI can find more subtle white matter neu-
ropathology that may add to the clinical assessment and treatment of cogni-
tively impaired MS patients. As in many other disorders discussed in this book,
examination of the microstructure of white matter in MS reveals that the
NAWM is often not normal and that important details of both pathogenesis
and neurobehavioral impact center on white matter areas that appear unaf-
fected on conventional MRI.
Notwithstanding the evidence that white matter neuropathology, both from
routinely visible plaques and in the NAWM, contributes to cognitive impair-
ment, in recent years the potential contribution of gray matter disease in
MS has received much attention (Feinstein, 2007; Stadelmann et al., 2008).
This possibility naturally arises because of the presence of white matter fascicles
in both the cerebral cortex and subcortical gray matter. Most of the attention
has been devoted to cortical plaques, raising the notion of “cortical MS”
(Stadelmann et al., 2008). Indeed, early neuropathologic studies observed that
MS plaques could occur in the cortex; Brownell and Hughes (1962) judged
these plaques to form 5% of the total. Such a modest disease burden would not
be expected to exert a strong effect on cognition, and initial studies of cortical
plaques with conventional MRI showed that they accounted for only 6% of the
total lesion volume and did not correlate with neurocognitive test results
(Catalaa et al., 1999). Study of the question has continued, however, as neuro-
logists are attracted to the notion that the effects of MS on cognition may
originate in gray matter lesions (Chapter 1). Such investigations are hindered
by the difficulty of visualizing cortical plaques with standard MRI field strengths
(Filippi et al., 2010), and studies with 3.0- and 7.0-T MRI scanners are under
way. As this work proceeds, it is worth noting that not all MS patients have
cortical plaques, many of the plaques that do occur also involve some adjacent
white matter, and inflammation is generally less extensive in gray matter
than in white matter (Stadelmann et al., 2008). Nevertheless it may be found
that cortical demyelination does indeed contribute to cognitive dysfunction.
Hippocampal atrophy in MS, for example, was found to be associated with
deficits in both memory encoding and retrieval (Sicotte et al., 2008), and other
studies showed that hippocampal demyelination causes synaptic alterations
(Dutta et al., 2011). Still other investigations are demonstrating correlations of
cortical demyelination with cognitive dysfunction (Stadelmann et al., 2008),
and cortical plaques and brain atrophy have been shown to be independent
predictors of cognitive dysfunction (Langdon, 2011). These results suggest that
a combination of neuropathologies and resultant cognitive deficits may appear
as the complex pathogenesis of the disease is further clarified.
A key variable in this discussion may be the timing of neuropathology,
as cortical lesions may postdate white matter lesions in the disease course.
In the study of Dutta and colleagues (2011), the synaptic alterations in the
hippocampus were seen only after a mean of 26 years of disease. Moreover, a
study of pediatric MS showed that cortical lesions were rare in comparison
with white matter plaques (Absinta et al., 2011), implying that the disease
begins in white matter. In general, MS is still considered a disease that
predominantly affects white matter, especially early in the course (Simon, 2005;
Hauser and Oksenberg, 2006). Although gray matter lesions clearly occur and
may contribute to cognitive dysfunction in later stages, MS merits inclusion on
the list of diseases that can impair cognition through damage to the brain’s
white matter. Furthermore, as will be discussed below, a cognitive perspective
clearly supports the idea that the neuropsychological profile of MS resembles
that of other white matter diseases far more than it does that of any cortical
dementia.
Interest has also developed in the use of event-related potentials (ERPs) to

assess cognitive function in MS (Comi et al., 1999). Studies of the auditory and
visual P300 in patients with MS have found that an increase in P300 latency
correlates with both the degree of cognitive impairment and the MRI white
matter disease burden (Newton et al., 1989; Giesser et al., 1992; Honig et al.,
1992). Because it is generally accepted that ERPs measure information process-
ing speed (Comi et al., 1999), these data were found to be consistent with the
propensity of MS to produce slowed cognition (Litvan et al., 1988). However,
even though a delayed P300 latency probably reflects the inter- and intrahemi-
spheric disconnection of areas concerned with cognitive efficiency, ERPs in
general do not offer good neuroanatomic localization.
Attempts to characterize the pattern of cognitive deficits in MS have been
made, and in an influential review Rao (1986) concluded that MS has neurop-
sychological features that qualify it as one of the subcortical dementias. In his
view, the prominence of deficits in attention, concentration, memory, executive
function, and neuropsychiatric status combined with the absence of significant
language disturbance or other cortical deficits compelled this conclusion. Soon
thereafter, others concurred with his opinion (Cummings, 1990). Subsequently,
however, additional data appeared that invited the possibility that MS has
unique neuropsychological features that separate it not only from cortical
diseases but also from subcortical gray matter diseases. First, the memory
disturbance in MS was reported to involve a retrieval rather than an encoding
deficit (Rao et al., 1989b), and despite some evidence suggesting that memory
encoding may be primarily affected (DeLuca et al., 1994, 1998), many studies
have supported this claim (Brassington and Marsh, 1998; Feinstein, 2007).
Later, another feature that seemed to characterize MS was the sparing of
procedural memory, which is known to be affected in subcortical gray matter
diseases (Rao et al., 1993; Feinstein, 2007). These characteristics were thus
postulated to distinguish MS from both the cortical dementias, which involve
an encoding deficit, and the traditional subcortical dementias, in which proce-
dural memory is affected; moreover, they suggest that MS may be a prototype
for all the white matter dementias (Rao, 1996; Filley, 1998). Most recently,
slowed information processing became apparent, and for many this has become
a dominant feature of MS-related cognitive impairment (Feinstein, 2007;
Chiaravalloti and DeLuca, 2008; Langdon, 2011). A further analysis of these
considerations appears in Chapter 15, where it will be seen that other white
matter disorders manifest the same pattern.
An intriguing new development in MS has been the idea that cognitive
reserve can influence neuropsychological status (Langdon, 2011). MS patients
display considerable variability in their cognitive impairment that may be
due in part individuals’ premorbid intellectual ability, which in turn relates to
educational and occupational enrichment that may mitigate the impact of the
neuropathology (Stern, 2009). Experimental animal evidence consistently
supports the notion that synaptic density mediates cognitive reserve (Petrosini
et al., 2009), and the concept of cognitive reserve is relevant to many human
disorders, including AD, traumatic brain injury, and schizophrenia (Stern,
2009). In MS, functional MRI studies have shown that cognitive reserve may
rely on the activity of the default mode network, which includes the anterior
and posterior cingulate cortices, medial frontal regions, precuneus, and medial
and lateral temporal lobes (Sumowski et al., 2010). Thus evidence is accumulat-
ing that an increase in the number of synapses in the cerebral cortex may help
compensate for the cognitive burden imposed by white matter pathology.
Treatment of cognitive dysfunction in MS offers further insight into white
matter–behavior relationships. Corticosteroid treatment of acute exacerbations
remains the mainstay of conventional treatment, and it is plausible that cogni-
tive decline in the context of an acute exacerbation might respond to this inter-
vention. More pertinent is the use of immunomodulatory drugs, four of
which—interferon β-1b, glatiramer, interferon β-1a, and natalizumab—have
come to dominate MS therapeutics The rationale for these drugs in relapsing
MS is persuasive: This form of the disease, if untreated, is associated with pro-
gressive brain atrophy (Simon et al., 1999), and treatment can reduce the relapse
rate as well as lower the MRI white matter disease burden (Rudick et al., 1997).
Therapy of this kind could thus plausibly improve or stabilize cognitive function
because of a disease-modifying effect. Early studies of interferon β-1b in MS
found improvement in a visual reproduction test after four years of therapy
(Pliskin et al., 1996), whereas glatiramer did not affect cognitive function
(Weinstein et al., 1999). A pivotal study was a prospective placebo-controlled
trial of interferon β-1a in MS that showed significant benefits in information
processing, memory, visuospatial ability, and executive function (Fischer et al.,
2000). Postmarketing studies of all four immunomodulatory drugs have revealed
evidence of positive effects on MS cognition (Comi, 2010). Despite the need for
more study, these agents are generally thought to show promise for improving
cognition by reducing the accumulation of white matter lesions and brain atro-
phy (Comi, 2010). Thus a positive effect on cognitive dysfunction may be an as
yet underappreciated benefit of immunomodulatory drugs in MS, and inclusion
of cognitive measures in future clinical trials has been advocated (Comi, 2010).
As reviewed above, MS is a diffuse demyelinative disease that typically
disturbs the function of multiple cerebral regions simultaneously. For this
reason, the most common neurobehavioral syndrome thus far identified is
cognitive dysfunction or dementia. In relatively few situations can a single
plaque or region of white matter involvement be securely correlated with a focal
neurobehavioral syndrome. To illustrate, a large multicenter study of 2700 MS
Table 6-1. Focal Neurobehavioral Syndromes in Multiple Sclerosis
Syndrome White Matter Lesion(s)

Amnesia Left temporal
Broca’s aphasia Left frontal
Transcortical motor aphasia Left frontal
Conduction aphasia Left arcuate fasciculus
Global aphasia Left periventricular
Mixed transcortical aphasia Left frontal and diffuse
Pure alexia Left occipital, splenium of corpus callosum
Alexia with agraphia Left temporoparietal
Left hemineglect Right hemispheric
Visual agnosia Bilateral occipitotemporal
Left tactile anomia, agraphia, and apraxia Corpus callosum and bihemispheric
Executive dysfunction Bifrontal
patients over six years found that acute aphasia occurred in only 22, or 0.81%
(Lacour et al., 2004). However, convincing case reports have demonstrated that
isolated cognitive syndromes may occur in MS (Table 6-1).
Observed focal neurobehavioral syndromes include amnesia (Pozzilli et al.,
1991; Thomas et al., 2011), Broca’s aphasia (Achiron et al., 1992), transcortical
motor aphasia (Devere et al., 2000), conduction aphasia (Arnett et al., 1996),
global aphasia (Friedman et al., 1983), mixed transcortical aphasia (Devere
et al., 2000), pure alexia (Doğulu et al., 1996), alexia with agraphia (Day et al.,
1987), left hemineglect (Graff-Radford and Rizzo, 1987), visual agnosia (Okuda
et al., 1996), left tactile anomia, agraphia, and apraxia (Schnider et al., 1993),
and executive dysfunction (Arnett et al., 1994). From Table 6-1, it is apparent
that the site(s) of the lesions responsible for the appearance of these familiar
neurobehavioral syndromes are consistent with what would be expected on the
basis of classic teachings on localization in behavioral neurology. Therapy
of these syndromes should be individualized, although the comments made
above concerning immunomodulatory agents may equally apply to the preven-
tion and treatment of these focal disturbances. Further discussion of focal syn-
dromes in MS and other white matter disorders can be found in Chapter 16.
Finally, a number of neuropsychiatric syndromes have been described in
patients with MS (Feinstein, 2007). This broad category includes a variety of
emotional disorders that may come to the attention of psychiatrists and neu-
rologists alike. Depression, mania, psychosis, personality changes, and fatigue
are most often encountered. As might be expected, the sites of white matter
involvement producing these syndromes are usually unknown, and other
factors in addition to structural brain disease are likely to play a role in their
pathogenesis (Feinstein, 2007). MS, like other chronic neurologic diseases,
frequently produces disturbances that can be ascribed to psychological factors.

However, white matter lesions probably also contribute to the development of
neuropsychiatric distress.
Depression is the most significant neuropsychiatric syndrome, arising
in 50% of MS patients at some point in the disease course (Feinstein, 2007).
A sobering statistic for clinicians to keep in mind is that MS patients have been
found to be seven times as likely to commit suicide as age-matched control
subjects (Sadovnick et al., 1991). Assiduous follow-up to ensure the recognition
and treatment of this problem is crucial. Mania is much less common than
depression in MS, but more common than would be expected as compared
with the normal population (Schiffer et al., 1986). A small case series suggested
that temporal lobe demyelination could be pathogenetic in bipolar disorder
(Honer et al., 1987), but little formal study of its etiology in MS has been con-
ducted. Standard treatment as indicated for bipolar disorder in a psychiatric
setting is appropriate. Psychosis is rarer still, but its prevalence is thought to
exceed chance expectation (Feinstein, 2007). The pathogenesis of psychosis
may involve frontal–limbic disconnection or temporal lobe demyelination
(Filley and Gross, 1992). Neuroleptic drugs are often used for MS patients with
psychosis, although it is intriguing to speculate that corticosteroids—in doses
low enough to prevent mania—might be more appropriate if psychosis is related
to acute demyelination. Personality changes include pathological laughter and
crying, also known as pseudobulbar affect or emotional incontinence, and
euphoria. Pathological laughter and crying may occur in 10% of MS patients
(Minden and Schiffer, 1990). This syndrome has traditionally been associated
with disease of the corticobulbar tracts originating in the frontal lobes, but
recent evidence has found that a variety of frontal, parietal, and brain stem
lesions account for most cases (Feinstein, 2007). Euphoria—a state of sustained
and undue cheerfulness—has often been described and has been estimated
to occur in 25% of MS patients (Rabins, 1990). CT studies documented enlarged
ventricles and brain atrophy in such patients, implying bifrontal demyelination
as the cause of euphoria (Rabins et al., 1986), and MRI studies found an
association with frontal lobe demyelination (Reischies et al., 1988). Extensive
frontal demyelination is generally regarded as the pathogenetic basis of eupho-
ria (Feinstein, 2007). Fatigue is a major problem for many patients with MS
(Krupp et al., 1988) and may relate to motor, cognitive, or emotional factors
(Feinstein, 2007). These problems are discussed in more detail in Chapter 18.
NE UR O MYELITIS OPTICA
Long considered by many to be a variant of MS, neuromyelitis optica (NMO)

is now known to be a distinct autoimmune disease in which a specific
immunoglobulin G autoantibody (NMO-IgG) binds to the aquaporin-4 water

channel on astrocytic foot processes and thereby directly contributes to central
nervous system pathology (Bennett et al., 2009). Also known as Devic’s
syndrome, NMO is a demyelinative disease mainly confined to the optic nerves
and spinal cord. However, NMO may display cerebral white matter lesions on
MRI scans (Arnold and Myers, 1987; O’Riordan et al., 1996; Wingerchuk et al.,
1999) and at autopsy (Filley et al., 1984), raising the possibility that neuro-
behavioral dysfunction may attend this disorder. A recent case of fulminant
cerebral demyelination producing somnolence and rapid progression to brain
death despite vigorous therapy illustrates the potential of NMO to affect cere-
bral white matter (Newey and Bermel, 2011). In more typical NMO, neuro-
psychological studies have found cognitive loss similar in pattern and severity
to that seen in MS (Blanc et al., 2008). Although a correlation of cognitive loss
with MRI lesion burden has not been found (Blanc et al., 2008) and preliminary
MRS studies found no abnormalities in cerebral white matter (Aboul-Enein
et al., 2010), DTI studies demonstrated correlation of microstructural injury
and cognitive dysfunction (He et al., 2011). Selective involvement of cerebral
white matter in NMO seems likely given that neuropathologic study found no
evidence of cortical demyelination (Popescu et al., 2010). Thus the available
data suggest that white matter demyelinative changes deserve more study as a
cause of cognitive dysfunction in NMO.
A CUTE D ISSEMINATED ENCEPHAL OMYE LI TI S
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a rapidly evolving, mono-

phasic demyelinative disease of the brain and spinal cord that follows an ante-
cedent infection or vaccination in about 75% of patients (Tenembaum et al.,
2007). The disease may occur at any age but is more common in pediatric
patients (Tenembaum et al., 2007). ADEM has long interested neurologists
because of its similarity to experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, an animal
model extensively studied because of its relevance to some aspects of human
demyelinative disease (Tselis and Lisak, 1995). The neurobehavioral features of
ADEM have also recently attracted attention, because mental status is invari-
ably affected in the disease (Tenembaum et al., 2007). In contrast to the usually
gradual onset of MS, ADEM often presents as a fulminant encephalopathy
characterized by a prominent acute confusional state. A wide range of associ-
ated neurobehavioral and neurologic manifestations may occur as well, as
would be expected with such a multifocal cerebral disease (Kesselring et al.,
1990). Common neurobehavioral features include confusion, irritability, and
frontal lobe dysfunction (Patel and Friedman, 1997). Acute psychosis has also
been observed as the presenting syndrome of ADEM (Nasr et al., 2000). MRI
shows multifocal white matter lesions, many with gadolinium enhancement con-
sistent with acute demyelination and breakdown of the blood–brain barrier.
Brain biopsy may be necessary for definitive diagnosis (Paskavitz et al., 1995).
Treatment with corticosteroids has been most commonly attempted, and other
immunosuppressive treatments such as intravenous immunoglobulin and plasma
exchange are often used (Tenembaum et al., 2007). The outcome is variable, rang-
ing from full recovery to death; many individuals experience lasting cognitive
deficits, including attentional and executive dysfunction, and persistent behav-
ioral problems (Patel and Friedman, 1997; Tenembaum et al., 2007). A study of
neuropsychological outcome in children who survived ADEM disclosed deficits
in attention, executive function, and visuospatial skills with relative preservation
of language, a pattern similar to that of MS (Hahn et al., 2003).
Acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis (AHL) is a very rare and severe
demyelinative disorder with many clinical and neuropathologic features in
common with ADEM. First described in by Hurst in 1941, AHL is a fulminant
cerebral demyelinative disease that typically follows an upper respiratory or
other minor infection. Initial confusion and focal signs rapidly give way to
coma, and a progressive course and fatal outcome usually ensue, typically
associated with severe brain edema, although occasional patients survive with
vigorous therapy (Tenembaum et al., 2007). Neuropathologically, there is severe
bilateral hemispheric demyelination with perivascular hemorrhage and necro-
sis (Vartanian and de la Monte, 1999). Current opinion regards this disease as a
hyperacute form of ADEM (Tenembaum et al., 2007).
S CHI LD ER ’S D ISEASE
Schilder’s disease has caused considerable confusion in the neurologic litera-

ture. In 1912, the Austrian neuropathologist Paul Schilder described a cerebral
demyelinative disease in a 14-year-old girl that bore a close resemblance to MS
(Schilder, 1912). Over the next few decades, he reported similar cases under the
name “encephalitis periaxialis diffusa” (Schilder, 1913, 1924), and the term
Schilder’s disease came to be applied to all of these. In retrospect, however,
these cases were probably not all the same disease; it is likely that the 1913 case
was an instance of adrenoleukodystrophy, and the 1924 case one of subacute
sclerosing panencephalitis (Poser et al., 1986). Nevertheless, Schilder’s initial
case does appear to represent a distinct entity, and Schilder’s disease is consid-
ered a very rare and severe variant of MS that occurs mainly in children (Poser
et al., 1986). A variety of neurobehavioral deficits can be seen, in keeping with
the presence of large demyelinative lesions in the centrum semiovale of both
hemispheres (Poser et al., 1986; Eblen et al., 1991; Obara et al., 2003). Schilder’s
disease differs from ADEM in that there is typically no antecedent infection or
vaccination and no spinal cord involvement.
M A RB U RG ’S D ISEASE
Marburg’s disease was first described as a fulminant, monophasic demyelina-

tive disease leading to death in a few weeks (Marburg, 1906). Similar cases have
since been reported, and Marburg’s disease is now considered an acute and
severe variant of MS (Hu and Lucchinetti, 2009). Although resembling Schilder’s
disease, Marburg’s disease affects adults rather than children, involves the brain
stem in addition to the cerebral hemispheres, and has a more rapid and lethal
course (Mendez and Pogacar, 1988; Johnson et al., 1990; Poser et al., 1992).
Severe demyelination with variable axonal loss and necrosis is seen at autopsy
and has been attributed to brain stem involvement affecting bulbar function. A
confusional state can be seen admixed with many other neurologic and neu-
robehavioral features (Mendez and Pogacar, 1988).
BA LÒ ’S CO NCENTRIC SCL EROSIS
Balò’s concentric sclerosis is probably another rare variant of MS (Hu and

Lucchinetti, 2009). First described by Balò in 1928, the defining feature of this
disease is concentric rings in the cerebral white matter that represent alternat-
ing areas of demyelinated and relatively normal tissue (Yao et al., 1994). In
addition to elemental neurologic findings, cognitive deficits including confu-
sion and memory loss have been noted (Chen et al., 1999). Fewer than 100
cases have been reported, most with autopsy verification (Chen et al., 1996).
The disease can now be better recognized in life with conventional MRI, which
may show the concentric rings of demyelination developing in a centrifugal
direction (Chen et al., 1999). MRS has shown changes in the affected white
matter similar to those seen in MS (Kim et al., 1997).
TUM EFACT IVE MULTIPL E SCL EROSIS
Tumefactive MS is the most recent variant to attract attention, and a large

review of biopsy-confirmed cases has been published (Lucchinetti et al.,
2008). This form of MS features a solitary, large, demyelinative cerebral white
matter lesion with associated edema that may mimic a tumor, abscess, or other
cerebral mass lesion. The demyelination tends to occur in the frontal and
parietal lobes, and its appearance may be dramatic on MRI (Yamashita et al.,
2009; Zhang and Metz, 2010). Cognitive dysfunction is common, occurring in
43% of patients, and may manifest as confusion, memory disturbance, stupor,
or coma (Lucchinetti et al., 2008). Focal neurobehavioral syndromes including
aphasia, apraxia, agnosia, and Gertsmann’s syndrome have also been described,
possibly reflecting cortical involvement (Lucchinetti et al., 2008). The most
common clinical outcome of this disease is the development of typical MS
(Lucchinetti et al., 2008).
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7
Infectious Diseases
The white matter of the brain can be affected by a number of infectious

diseases. The majority of these infections are caused by viruses, and the frequent
involvement of myelin in pathogenesis has invited comparison with multiple
sclerosis (MS) and related disorders. As is often the case with white matter dis-
orders, infectious diseases may also involve gray matter regions, and the selec-
tivity for white matter may only be relative. Nevertheless, consideration of these
diseases will serve to point out that infection prominently affecting the white
matter can have important neurobehavioral consequences. Although a wide
range of infectious processes could be included in this discussion (Vargas et al.,
2009), the entities chosen feature more selective white matter involvement.
Diseases excluded are those in which cortical neuropathology is prominent,
such as herpes encephalitis and brain abscess (in which seizures are common),
and those in which the neuropathology can take many forms, such as neuro-
syphilis, tuberculosis, and neurocysticercosis.
HUM AN IMMU NODEF ICIENCY VIRUS INF E C TI O N
Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), commonly

known as HIV, has come to be one of the most publicized medical problems
of the last three decades. Since its recognition in 1981, the acquired immuno-
deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other forms of HIV infection have become a
major public health problem worldwide. Despite rapid progress in determining
its etiology, prevention, and ever improving treatment, HIV infection contin-
ues to be an incurable disease.
One of the more ominous manifestations of this systemic retroviral

infection is involvement of the brain, which was recognized soon after the AIDS
epidemic was identified (Price et al., 1988). The term first used for this disorder
was the AIDS dementia complex (ADC), which emphasized the constellation
of cognitive, motor, and behavioral changes that occur (Navia et al., 1986a);
other names have been subacute HIV encephalitis, AIDS-related dementia, and
AIDS encephalopathy. As experience with AIDS grew, a spectrum of cognitive
impairment was appreciated, from mild cognitive dysfunction detected on
neuropsychological testing (Wilkie et al., 1990) to dementia as the presenting
syndrome that portended a very poor prognosis (Navia and Price, 1987; Brew,
1999). At any stage, however, the neurobehavioral effects of HIV infection were
found to contribute importantly to overall disease impact (Heaton et al., 1995).
The current terminology of cognitive impairment, recognizing the wide range
of dysfunction that can occur (Antinori et al., 2007), employs the overarching
term HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND), within which are
included asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment, HIV-associated mild
neurocognitive disorder (MND), and HIV-associated dementia (HAD).
In early studies, ADC was found to affect approximately 30% of AIDS patients
at some point in the disease course (McArthur et al., 1999). With the arrival of
antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the 1990s, impressive advances in treating cog-
nitive dysfunction were gradually achieved, so that currently the prevalence of
HAD is just 2% (Heaton et al., 2010). Optimism must be tempered, however, by
the continued high prevalence of HAND, which is now slightly over 50% of
HIV-infected individuals (Heaton et al., 2010). Thus whereas much progress
has been achieved, HIV infection of the brain often persists to cause some form
of cognitive impairment (Gannon et al., 2011).
At the time of its identification in the 1980s, the most common neuropatho-
logic feature of ADC was diffuse myelin pallor in the cerebral white matter
(Navia et al., 1986b). White matter may be severely and selectively involved in
HIV infection, as documented by cases in which fulminant fatal leukoenceph-
alopathy was the only clinical manifestation (Jones et al., 1988; Silver et al.,
1997). As is now recognized, HIV acts as a “Trojan horse” and enters the central
nervous system (CNS) from the bloodstream via infected monocytes to infect
glial cells but not neurons (Anthony and Bell, 2008; Gannon et al., 2011); after
arriving in the brain, the virus is more concentrated in the white matter and
basal ganglia than in the cortex (McArthur et al., 1999; Anthony and Bell, 2008).
In typical cases of ADC, pallor of the white matter was noted to be accompa-
nied by gliosis, multinucleated giant cells, microglial nodules, and increased
numbers of perivascular macrophages (Sharer, 1992). Demyelination was not
seen, and white matter pallor was thought due to a breakdown of the blood–
brain barrier and development of vasogenic edema (Power et al., 1993) or to an
indirect effect of the immune response to the virus (Anthony and Bell, 2008).
Investigations of the cortex in HIV infection have found either no cortical neu-
ronal loss in patients with ADC (Seilhean et al., 1993) or that the loss of cortical
neurons does not correlate with dementia severity (Weis et al., 1993; Everall
et al., 1994). Cortical cell loss may be a late event in the course of the disease,
with white matter pallor and gliosis as more prominent initial events (Gray
et al., 1996; Anthony and Bell, 2008). In the ART era, white matter continues to
attract attention neuropathologically (Everall et al., 2005), and a recent post-
mortem study of HIV-infected brains showed decreased corpus callosum
volume (Wohlschlaeger et al., 2009).
Neuroimaging studies also support the prominence of white matter changes
in HIV infection. Conventional computed tomography (CT) shows some white
matter involvement, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can disclose patchy
or diffuse hyperintensity on T2-weighted images (Figure 7-1) combined with
cerebral atrophy (Bencherif and Rottenberg, 1998). The subcortical and cortical
gray matter are not affected as early or as significantly as the white matter on
neuroimaging scans. Subcortical gray matter involvement has been recognized
along with white matter changes (Navia et al., 1986a). However, magnetic
Figure 7-1. T2-weighted MRI scan of a patient with AIDS dementia complex. White
matter hyperintensities are most apparent in the frontal lobes (arrows). (Reprinted with
permission from Osborn AG. Diagnostic neuroradiology. St. Louis: Mosby-Year Book,
1994.)
resonance spectroscopy (MRS) studies of patients with ADC suggested that

frontal white matter is affected earliest, followed by the basal ganglia and then
the frontal gray matter (Chang et al., 1999). Moreover, subsequent investigation
in HIV patients found that neuropsychological dysfunction was associated with
abnormal MRS parameters only within the white matter and not the deep gray
matter (Mohamed et al., 2010).
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies in HIV have extended these findings.
Early studies disclosed abnormalities in normal-appearing white matter
(NAWM) of HIV patients that correlated with disease severity as measured by
viral load (Filippi et al., 2001). Later, microstructural damage in association
tracts was found in HIV patients without dementia (Pfefferbaum et al., 2009),
and DTI changes in the corpus callosum were found to correlate with cognitive
dysfunction (Wu et al., 2006). Most recently, DTI NAWM abnormalities were
found to be more severe in patients with HAD than in nondemented HIV
patients (Chen et al., 2009), and DTI global tractography metrics correlated
with processing speed and executive function (Tate et al., 2010).
The cognitive profile of HIV brain infection has been steadily developed.
ADC was initially characterized as a subcortical dementia (Navia et al., 1986a;
Tross et al., 1988). Supporting this characterization were observations that
patients typically present with impairments in attention, concentration,
memory, and personality; the loss of cognitive speed and mental flexibility were
often striking (Grant et al., 1987). Tests of choice reaction time showed marked
impairment in studies of AIDS patients (Perdices and Cooper, 1989).
Visuospatial function was impaired (Tross et al., 1988), while language was
usually normal (McArthur et al., 1999). Memory was uniformly affected, and
the pattern of memory dysfunction rendered ADC a close fit with the hypoth-
esized profile of white matter dementia (Filley, 1998) in that a retrieval deficit in
declarative memory was found (White et al., 1997) but procedural memory was
spared (Jones and Tranel, 1991; Gonzalez et al., 2008). Psychomotor slowing,
apathy, and withdrawal were also seen to be common (Navia et al., 1986a).
An overall relationship between white matter pallor and degree of cognitive
impairment was observed in early studies (Navia et al., 1986b; Grant et al., 1987;
Price et al., 1988; Bencherif and Rottenberg, 1998). This association was most
apparent in ADC with severe dementia, but milder cognitive impairment was
also associated with white matter changes (Post et al., 1991). Early and selective
involvement of frontal white matter was suggested by a pattern of neuropsycho-
logical deficits implicating prominent attentional impairment and executive
dysfunction in mildly affected ADC patients (Krikorian and Wrobel, 1991).
These observations indicated a trend for early white matter involvement
producing subtle neurobehavioral features to precede more obvious dysfunc-
tion in later stages. Subsequent studies came to focus on cognitive slowing as a
hallmark feature of HIV cognitive impairment, and white matter involvement

was postulated as a basis for this problem (Woods et al., 2009). These findings
parallel simultaneous developments in the investigation of cognition in MS
(Chapter 6).
However, the neuropathology of ADC also includes the subcortical gray
matter (Navia et al., 1986b), and some investigators have regarded changes in
the gray matter of the basal ganglia, thalamus, and brain stem as equal to or
more prominent than those in the cerebral white matter (McArthur et al., 1999;
Brew, 1999). In light of this complexity, it is difficult to determine what propor-
tion of the neurobehavioral syndrome of ADC can be attributed to white matter
versus subcortical gray matter involvement. This confusion is illustrated by
neuropsychological studies of HIV-infected individuals that have attributed
prominent deficits suggesting subcortical dysfunction to “frontodiencephalic”
(Perdices and Cooper, 1990) and “frontostriatal” dysfunction (Sahakian et al.,
1995). Researchers have also suggested cortical involvement in HIV, implicat-
ing the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) neuropathology as a cause of
neurobehavioral decline (Everall et al., 2005) even though as HIV-infected per-
sons survive longer with ART, the appearance of AD in some individuals would
not be unexpected on epidemiologic grounds. In view of the neuropathologic
heterogeneity of HIV infection, the need exists for careful studies correlating
clinical features with neuroimaging and neuropathologic data to define with
greater precision the origin of neurobehavioral dysfunction in these patients.
This principle applies as well to most other white matter disorders, in which
there is also some neuropathologic overlap with gray matter structures.
Despite the uncertainty of clinical–pathologic correlation in HIV infection,
further indirect evidence of white matter dysfunction comes from studies of
ART and its effects. As discussed above, a gratifying development beginning in
the 1990s was the marked reduction in the incidence of ADC that accompanied
the widespread use of ART (Clifford, 2000). In part this benefit may have
occurred through its prevention of initial cerebral white matter involvement.
Zidovudine (AZT), for example, an antiretroviral drug that was an early main-
stay of AIDS pharmacotherapy, was shown to improve cognitive function in
ADC (Sidtis et al., 1993), an improvement accompanied by reduction in white
matter lesion burden on MRI (Tozzi et al., 1993). Similarly, the use of protease
inhibitors in ADC was associated with improvement in both cognitive function
and extent of white matter involvement on MRI (Filippi et al., 1998; Thurnher
et al., 2000). More recently, a case of acutely altered mental status with pontine
demyelination in HIV infection was reported to have improved both clinically
and radiologically after treatment with ART (Tanioka et al., 2007). This field,
however, has become complicated because of emerging concerns that newer
forms of ART may be toxic to white matter (Langford, et al., 2002; Gannon
et al., 2011), so the reduction of white matter disease by ART may be counter-
balanced by potential leukotoxicity.
In summary, available observations provide some support for the hypothesis
that the neurobehavioral features of HAND, MND, and particularly HAD may
be substantially related to involvement of cerebral white matter. This conclu-
sion does not preclude a contribution of changes in gray matter, subcortical and
perhaps even cortical, to the clinical picture. In addition, the complexity of dif-
fuse metabolic dysfunction in HIV infection, most likely involving a variety of
neurotoxic inflammatory mediators (McArthur et al., 1999; Gannon et al.,
2011), should also be considered. In determining the relative importance of the
many factors involved in the pathogenesis of cognitive dysfunction in HIV
brain infection, however, white matter dysfunction must be included.
P ROGRESSIVE MULTIF OCAL L EUKOENC EPH ALO PATH Y
HIV infection is a disease of the immune system, and the vulnerability of the
CNS to a variety of opportunistic infections and neoplasms in AIDS patients
was recognized early in the course of the epidemic (Snider et al., 1983). These
disorders are frequently superimposed on preexisting cognitive dysfunction
and often complicate the diagnosis and treatment of AIDS patients. In general,
these diseases add to the neurobehavioral disability of HIV infection and sig-
nificantly worsen overall prognosis.
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is an infection of the
white matter, and to some extent gray matter as well, due to a polyomavirus
called the JC virus (Tan and Koralnik, 2010). The specific target of this virus,
named after the initials of the first patient in whom it was identified, is the oli-
godendrocyte, and oligodendroglial involvement by the JC virus results in dis-
rupted myelin synthesis (Gilden, 1983). An infectious disease that occurs in the
setting of severe immunosuppression, PML was rare before the AIDS epidemic,
but its prevalence rapidly rose to 5% in AIDS patients (Berger and Concha,
1995). More recently, the disease has appeared in individuals receiving mono-
clonal antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including patients
with MS being treated with natalizumab (Tan and Koralnik, 2010). This com-
plication of MS therapy is fortunately rare, and the prognosis is far better than
in AIDS patients with PML. PML manifests clinically with focal neurologic
signs including paresis and visual loss; subtle neurobehavioral signs may also
be presenting features. Some patients have seizures, consistent with the
increased recognition of gray matter involvement with JC virus (Tan and
Koralnik, 2010). The course is rapidly progressive, and no specific antiviral
agent or pharmacologic treatment has been found effective (Berger and
Concha, 1995; Tan and Koralnik, 2010). However, improved treatments for
Figure 7-2. T2-weighted MRI scan of a patient with PML. Multifocal white matter
lesions are scattered throughout the cerebral hemispheres. (Reprinted with permission
from Atlas SW, ed. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and spine. 2nd ed.
Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven, 1996.)
HIV infection have led to longer survival times for patients with PML (Tan and
Koralnik, 2010). In contrast to HIV infection, the hallmark neuropathologic
feature of PML is leukoencephalopathy, which may occur anywhere in the
CNS but has a predilection for the parietooccipital white matter (Berger and
Concha, 1995). CT reveals nonenhancing focal white matter lesions, and these
are particularly well visualized on MRI (Berger and Concha, 1995; Figure 7-2).
The lesions differ from those seen in HIV infection in that they tend to be less
diffuse and more rapidly progressive.
Although no studies have correlated white matter disease burden and
cognitive impairment in PML, it is likely that the leukoencephalopathy contrib-
utes importantly to the clinical picture. Neurobehavioral features of PML
include personality and behavioral changes, inattention, and memory loss, with
relatively little language impairment (Berger and Concha, 1995), all consistent
with the pattern of white matter dementia (Filley, 1998). Parietooccipital
involvement has produced higher visual dysfunction in the form of visual
agnosia, pure alexia, and Balint’s syndrome (Berger and Concha, 1995).
S UBACU TE SCLEROSING PANENCEPHAL I TI S
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a demyelinative disease due to

persistence and reactivation of the measles (rubella) virus in the brain. SSPE
mainly affects children and adolescents, usually presenting between the ages of
14 and 20 (Gilden, 1983). An initial personality change with irritability and
apathy evolves to progressive dementia, and myoclonus, seizures, corticospinal
dysfunction, coma, and death follow over a period of months to years. Although
the name implies diffuse cerebral involvement, SSPE may involve the white
matter selectively and produce fulminant demyelination as a predominant
feature (Poser, 1990). A predilection for white matter is also suggested by
MRI studies, in which high-signal lesions on T2-weighted images in the
periventricular or subcortical white matter are the most common findings
(Anlar et al., 1996).
P ROGRESSIVE R UBEL L A PANENCEPHALI TI S
In a manner reminiscent of SSPE, persistent rubella infection of the brain can

involve the cerebral white matter. Progressive rubella panencephalitis (PRP)
usually occurs in the second decade of life, about a decade after primary rubella
infection (Gilden, 1983). The disease is characterized by dementia, spasticity,
and ataxia that culminate in coma and death. Widespread inflammatory demy-
elination with vasculitis has been observed neuropathologically (Townsend
et al., 1982). MRI studies have disclosed that children with congenital rubella
also have white matter lesions (Lane et al., 1996), implying that the later devel-
opment of PRP involves an exacerbation of preexisting white matter neuropa-
thology. As with SSPE, the prognosis of PRP is very poor, and no effective
treatment has been found.
VA RI CELLA ZO STER VASCUL OPATHY
Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is a human herpesvirus that typically causes chick-
enpox in childhood, remains latent in cranial and dorsal root ganglia, and may
reactivate many years later to cause shingles and postherpetic neuralgia (Gilden
et al., 2000). VZV can also affect the CNS, and the most common manifestation
in the brain has been described as a small-vessel encephalitis (Gilden et al.,
2000). In fact, however, the likely neuropathology involves infection of small
and large cerebral arteries, and this vasculopathy leads to stroke in most cases
(Gilden et al., 2009). VZV encephalitis probably does exist as an infection of the
brain causing encephalopathy but is considered far less common (Gilden et al.,
2009). VZV vasculopathy typically follows a premonitory herpes zoster skin
rash and then presents with mental status changes, headache, fever, seizures,
and focal neurologic signs (Amlie-Lefond et al., 1995). The neuropathology
features vasculopathy involving both gray and white matter, but white matter
lesions may predominate; a combination of ischemic and demyelinative lesions
is encountered in this multifocal leukoencephalopathy (Amlie-Lefond et al.,
1995). Consistent with this picture are MRI studies showing multiple subcorti-
cal white matter lesions that may enhance with contrast administration (Lentz
et al., 1993). Lesions at the gray–white junction may be particularly common
(Gilden et al., 2009). Neuropsychological studies of affected patients have found
a pattern of cognitive slowing, mild memory dysfunction, and emotional
changes that is consistent with a subcortical process (Hokkanen et al., 1997).
CY TO MEG ALO VIRUS ENCEPHAL ITIS
The AIDS era has also witnessed an increase in the incidence of infection with
cytomegalovirus (CMV). This pathogen rarely infects immunocompetent indi-
viduals, but CMV encephalitis has been diagnosed retrospectively in up to 40%
of individuals with AIDS (Holland et al., 1994). Clinical features of CMV
encephalitis are predominantly neurobehavioral: A subacute encephalopathy
with confusion, disorientation, apathy, withdrawal, and impaired memory
dominates the presentation (Holland et al., 1994). CMV can induce inflamma-
tory demyelination throughout the CNS (Moskowitz et al., 1984), but it has a
predilection for the subependymal white matter (Holland et al., 1994). An
autopsy study of AIDS patients showed that CMV encephalitis manifests as
leukoencephalopathy that can be detected during life with MRI scanning
(Miller et al., 1997). The incidence of CMV encephalitis declined considerably
after the use of more effective drug treatments for patients with AIDS (McArthur
et al., 1999).
LY M E ENCEPHAL OPATHY
Patients with Lyme disease, an infection of the skin, heart, joints, and nervous
system caused by a recently recognized tick-borne spirochete known as Borrelia
burgdorferi (Burgdorfer et al., 1982), can experience a syndrome of cognitive
and emotional dysfunction in the chronic phase of the disease following the
initial infection. After injection by the tick, the spirochete produces the charac-
teristic rash erythema migrans, which resolves within three to four weeks
(Steere, 1989). Acute neurologic manifestations may then develop, and the
meninges, spinal nerve roots, and cranial nerves are commonly involved (Oksi
et al., 1996). Encephalopathy can also appear within weeks of the initial inocu-
lation, or months to years later (Reik et al., 1986; Ackermann et al., 1988;
Halperin et al., 1989). Patients may develop similar symptoms even after
antibiotic treatment (Hurley and Taber, 2008).
This syndrome has engendered considerable debate, because some patients
manifest no evidence of active infection yet still have symptoms. Because of the
high rate of seropositivity for Borrelia burgdorferi among the healthy popula-
tion living in endemic areas and the wide variety of neurologic and psychiatric
syndromes that have been reported, caution in diagnosis has been advised
(Kristoferitsch, 1991). Controversy has persisted regarding whether Lyme dis-
ease is overdiagnosed in patients whose symptoms actually reflect chronic
fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, or depression (Steere et al., 1993; Hurley and
Taber, 2008).
A tentative summary of the impact of the disease on cognition can be offered
as follows. Among individuals with prior Lyme disease who have symptoms of
cognitive impairment, a small number may have an infectious leukoencephal-
opathy with focal inflammatory white matter lesions on MRI in association
with lymphocytic pleocytosis in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and intrathecal
production of antibody against Borrelia burgdorferi (Halperin, 1997). A larger
number, however, have less severe encephalopathy, characterized primarily by
a confusional state, in which CSF findings are not always found (Halperin,
1997). This group is likely heterogeneous; whereas some individuals probably
have subtle CNS infection, others may have toxic-metabolic encephalopathy
associated with systemic infection, and others appear likely to have unrelated
psychiatric disorders (Halperin, 1997; Hurley and Taber, 2008).
Some evidence points to a role of white matter involvement in late Lyme dis-
ease patients. Neuropathologic studies are limited, because few individuals suc-
cumb to the illness, but diffuse demyelination has been documented that may be
caused by vasculitis, oligodendroglial damage, or an autoimmune attack on
myelin (Oksi et al., 1996). Neuropsychological studies of mildly affected indi-
viduals have found a pattern of deficits involving memory, attention, psychomo-
tor speed, and executive function, and depression does not seem to explain all of
these deficits (Kaplan and Jones-Woodward, 1997; Hurley and Taber, 2008).
These studies have been consistent in finding a memory retrieval deficit with
spared recognition memory (Kaplan and Jones-Woodward, 1997). MRI scans in
patients with parenchymal Lyme disease commonly show focal cerebral white
matter abnormalities (Garcia-Monco and Benach, 1995). Moreover, dementia
with prominent memory loss and mood disorder has been observed as a late
complication of Lyme disease in association with white matter changes on MRI
(Reik et al., 1986; Logigian et al., 1990). Indirect support for an association comes
from cerebral blood flow studies documenting reduced perfusion of white matter
that correlates with cognitive impairment (Fallon et al., 2003). In addition, both
cognitive dysfunction and MRI white matter changes have been observed to
improve after antibiotic therapy (Garcia-Monco and Benach, 1995; Steinbach

et al., 2005; Aboul-Enein and Kristoferitsch, 2009). Clinically, however, it should
be pointed out that not all patients with posttreatment Lyme encephalopathy
have MRI white matter abnormalities and that psychiatric disturbances are often
more likely to explain cognitive complaints (Hurley and Taber, 2008). Thus the
correlation of neurobehavioral dysfunction in Lyme encephalopathy with cere-
bral white matter involvement remains to some extent conjectural.
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8
Inflammatory Diseases
A diverse group of noninfectious inflammatory diseases can affect the white

matter of the brain. These disorders, some of which are referred to as connec-
tive tissue, collagen vascular, or rheumatic diseases, share the common feature
of autoimmune pathogenesis, by which is meant that the immune system is
induced to mount an assault on various tissues of the body. Thus most of these
diseases produce systemic manifestations in addition to those in the nervous
system. In the brain, widespread lesions are typical, often related to a vasculitic
process, but careful perusal of the clinical and neuropathologic features of these
diseases reveals that prominent damage to white matter occurs and may have
significant consequences. Many neurologic and neuroradiologic similarities are
apparent between inflammatory and demyelinative diseases (Theodoridou and
Settas, 2006), and clinicians are often confronted with patients whose symp-
toms and signs invoke the possibility of differential diagnoses within both
categories. Provocative recent findings have also highlighted neuropsycho-
logical commonalities in these two categories that focus on the role of white
matter tract dysfunction as the source of cognitive impairment (Benedict et al.,
2008). Many areas of uncertainty, however, complicate the interpretation of
brain–behavior relationships in the inflammatory autoimmune brain diseases.
Although the neurobehavioral implications of white matter involvement are
not well understood, intriguing data are being steadily gathered; this chapter
reviews the available information on this topic.
S Y S TEMIC LU PU S ERYTHEMATOSUS
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the best-known systemic connective

tissue disease that affects the nervous system. SLE is an idiopathic autoimmune
disease in which the central nervous system (CNS) is affected in up to two-

thirds of patients (West, 1994, 1996). The closely related antiphospholipid syn-
drome is often present in SLE, and indeed the two disorders cannot always be
distinguished (Tincani et al., 2009). When the brain is involved in SLE, the term
lupus cerebritis has been applied or, more commonly, neuropsychiatric lupus
(West, 1994). The latter designation is intended to include the entire range of
elemental and higher neurologic deficits but suffers from being too general to
capture the individual mental status alterations to which SLE patients are
susceptible. In response to this problem, more specific nomenclature has been
proposed to clarify the neurobehavioral features of neuropsychiatric lupus
(ACR Ad Hoc Committee on Neuropsychiatric Lupus Nomenclature, 1999). A
total of 19 neuropsychiatric syndromes were established, 12 of which involve
the CNS; the most relevant for this account are acute confusional state, cogni-
tive dysfunction, anxiety disorder, mood disorder, psychosis, and, interestingly,
a demyelinating syndrome. Neuropsychiatric syndromes often develop when
patients are on little or no corticosteroid medication (Feinglass et al., 1976),
pointing to cerebral involvement rather than iatrogenesis in their causation.
The neuropathology of SLE has been considered on the basis of autopsy data
to be dominated by a vasculopathy with hyalinization of vessel walls and perivas-
cular inflammation; a true vasculitis is uncommon (Johnson and Richardson,
1968). Multiple ischemic and hemorrhagic lesions in both gray and white matter
are thought to result from this process (Brooks et al., 2010). However, because
postmortem findings are usually obtained from those SLE patients with severe
disease, the neuropathology of more typical SLE is not well established.
Neuroradiologic findings have thus been used to gather information on patients
with milder SLE. Findings include cerebral atrophy, seen on both computed
tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, but treatment
with corticosteroids may confound this common finding, because atrophy can be
a result of therapy (Jacobs et al., 1988). White matter abnormalities, however, are
also seen, especially on MRI (Figure 8-1), and these small, multifocal lesions are
the most common neuroradiologic finding (Kozora et al., 1998; Benedict et al.,
2008). These lesions can be distinguished from those of multiple sclerosis (MS)
in that they display no periventricular predilection and gadolinium enhance-
ment is less often evident (Miller et al., 1987; Theodoridou and Settas, 2006).
The origin of neuropsychiatric disturbances in SLE remains incompletely
understood, but a number of neuropathologic processes appear to be involved,
and it is plausible that a combination of structural injury from vascular occlu-
sion and neuronal damage from antineuronal antibodies and cytokines may
contribute (West, 1994, 1996; Kozora et al., 2008). Cognitive deficits have been
well documented in SLE patients, including both those with and those without
features of neuropsychiatric lupus (Carbotte et al., 1986). A role for white
matter involvement has substantial support. Clinical observations indicate that
Figure 8-1. T2-weighted MRI scan of a patient with SLE and cognitive impairment.
Multiple cerebral white matter hyperintensities are present. (Reprinted with permission
from Atlas SW, ed. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and spine. 2nd ed.
Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven, 1996.)
leukoencephalopathy seen on MRI can be associated with dementia (Kirk et al.,

1991), and overwhelming fatal leukoencephalopathy has been reported as the
defining feature of neuropsychiatric lupus (Prabhakaran et al., 2005).
Neuropsychological reports of the profile of cognitive dysfunction in SLE
generally suggest that despite considerable clinical heterogeneity, deficits in
attention, concentration, visuospatial skills, and cognitive speed without
major language involvement are typical (Ginsburg et al., 1992; Kozora et al.,
1996; Denburg et al., 1997a; Kozora et al., 2008). These deficits can be seen in
patients with and without other neurologic signs (Kozora et al., 1996). Fatigue,
a common complaint in many patients with white matter disorders, has been
correlated with MRI white matter lesion burden in SLE (Harboe et al., 2008).
A study of SLE patients with the lupus anticoagulant noted a profile of impair-
ment consistent with subcortical dementia, with the most robust deficit emerg-
ing in processing speed (Denburg et al., 1997b). Not surprisingly, language-based
screening measures such as the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE;
Folstein et al., 1975) are insensitive to the cognitive impairments of SLE patients
(ACR Ad Hoc Committee on Neuropsychiatric Lupus Nomenclature, 1999).
Whereas these findings are consistent with subcortical neuropathology
(Denburg et al., 1997b), the pattern is also reminiscent of that produced by
other white matter disorders (Filley, 1998). Consistent with this idea, a detailed
review found cognitive dysfunction to be remarkably similar in SLE and MS

(Benedict et al. 2008).
Whereas the presence of white matter lesions on conventional MRI is well
known in SLE, a certain threshold burden of disease may be necessary to pro-
duce cognitive impairment (Kozora et al., 1998). Thus research has turned to
examining the microstructure of white matter to assess potential damage that is
undetectable by conventional MRI. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)
and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have both offered insights. Brooks and
colleagues (1999) found that MRS measures of neuronal dysfunction in nor-
mal-appearing white matter had strong correlations with cognitive impairment:
reduced N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) implied axonal damage, and increased cho-
line suggested inflammation and demyelination. A subsequent study using SLE
patients with no known prior neuropsychiatric involvement and no MRI white
matter lesions, found that while NAA was unaffected, choline was elevated in
frontal white matter and correlated with impaired processing speed, executive
function, and sustained attention (Filley et al., 2009; Figure 8-2). These findings
Figure 8-2. MRS of frontal white matter in SLE. (A) Regions of interest. (B) Normal
choline in control subject. (C) Elevated choline in SLE. (Reprinted with permission from
Filley et al., 2009.)
suggest that subtle myelinopathy is an early component of the pathogenesis of

cognitive dysfunction in SLE, occurring before neuropsychiatric events or
white matter hyperintensities develop (Filley et al., 2009). DTI studies have
yielded findings consistent with these data, identifying microstructural
abnormalities in frontal and other white matter regions among SLE patients
with and without neuropsychiatric disturbances (Zhang et al., 2007; Jung et al.,
2010). Thus early myelinopathy, likely immune mediated, may account for
subtle neuropsychiatric dysfunction in SLE, manifested by cognitive slowing,
executive dysfunction, and impaired sustained attention (Kozora and Filley,
2011). To illustrate the complexity of this disease, however, MRS has also dis-
closed evidence of hippocampal involvement in early SLE (Kozora et al., 2011),
so cortical disease cannot be discounted. However, the opportunity to examine
the white matter before overt neurobehavioral dysfunction or MRI disease rep-
resents an important approach to the investigation of cognitive and emotional
dysfunction in SLE.
B E HÇET ’S D ISEASE
First described as a dermatologic condition with characteristic oral and genital

ulcers and intraocular inflammation, Behçet’s disease also features multisystem
involvement that may include the CNS. This disease involves an idiopathic
inflammatory process of presumed autoimmune pathogenesis. Neurologic fea-
tures are common and may include corticospinal tract dysfunction, headache,
brain stem meningoencephalitis, and venous thrombosis in addition to neu-
robehavioral changes that may evolve to progressive dementia (Akman-Demir
et al., 1999;Younger, 2004). In the brain, inflammatory lesions are found in both
white matter and subcortical gray matter regions, and the cortex is typically
spared (Akman-Demir et al., 1999). White matter hyperintensities are fre-
quently seen on MRI (Gerber et al., 1996) and may be indistinguishable from
those of MS (Coban et al., 1999; Theodoridou and Settas, 2006).
Neuropsychological deficits have been most commonly found in memory,
attention, and frontal lobe function (Oktem-Tanor et al., 1999; Akman-Demir
et al., 1999). Additional cognitive features include a suggestion of memory
retrieval deficits and sparing of language ability (Akman-Demir et al., 1999),
both of which are consistent with primary involvement of cerebral white matter
(Filley, 1998). Autopsy of a patient who displayed indifference, euphoria, disin-
hibition, dementia, and finally akinetic mutism revealed demyelination and
gliosis of the frontal white matter (Yamamori et al., 1994). A clinically studied
case had mutism from bilateral thalamocapsular lesions that were thought to
disconnect the thalamus from the frontal cortex (Park-Matsumoto et al., 1995).
Although associations between neurobehavioral manifestations and white
matter neuropathology can only be tentative, evidence exists for this possibility
in some cases of Behçet’s disease.
S JÖGR EN’S SYN DROME
Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune disease of the salivary and lacrimal

glands that may also involve the nervous system (Younger, 2004). Mood disor-
der, psychosis, and dementia have been noted, elements of which may be
present in 80% of patients with Sjögren’s syndrome affecting the CNS (Cox
and Hales, 1999). In patients with neuropsychiatric syndromes, the most
common brain MRI finding is the presence of multiple hyperintensities in
the periventricular white matter, which appear to be due to a small-vessel
vasculopathy resulting in microinfarcts and microhemorrhages (Alexander
et al., 1988). MRI changes may mimic those of MS (Theodoridou and Settas,
2006). Less pronounced degrees of white matter change on MRI can be seen in
patients who are neurologically asymptomatic (Pierot et al., 1993), implying
that mild involvement may not surpass the threshold necessary for the deve-
lopment of neurobehavioral features. In patients who are cognitively affected, a
subcortical pattern of neuropsychological impairment is found, featuring
prominent attention and concentration deficits, personality change, dysphoria,
and depression (Malinow et al., 1985). Most recently, DTI studies of
patients with Sjögren’s syndrome found correlations between microstructural
alterations in frontal white matter and cognitive impairment, while neither
brain volumetric measurements nor MRI white matter lesion load were
contributory (Segal et al., 2010). These observations suggest that subtle cerebral
white matter neuropathology in Sjögren’s syndrome may compromise cognitive
function.
W E GENER’S G R ANUL OMATOSIS
Wegener’s granulomatosis is a granulomatous vasculitis of unknown etiology

that primarily affects the upper and lower respiratory tract and kidneys.
In about 50% of cases there is CNS involvement (Drachman, 1963), resulting
from vasculitis itself or extension of the disease from the upper airway
(Younger, 2004). Vasculitis in small arteries and veins can lead to vascular
occlusion and stroke, and granuloma invasion may also produce structural
damage in the brain via direct invasion or contiguous spread (Drachman, 1963).
MRI white matter hyperintensities reflecting ischemia and infarction may be
seen in 20–30% of patients (Asmus et al., 1993; Hurst and Grossman, 1994).
Neuropsychiatric features have been noted (McKeith 1985; Nordmark et al.,
1997), for which white matter lesions may be in part responsible.
T E M PO RAL AR T ERITIS
Also known as giant cell or cranial arteritis, temporal arteritis is an inflamma-

tory disease of the aortic arch and external carotid artery system that may also
involve intracranial arteries (Caselli et al., 1988; Hurst and Grossman, 1994;
Younger, 2004). Polymyalgia rheumatica is often associated with temporal
arteritis, and both are seen mainly in older persons. Ischemic lesions may occur
in the brain, and because prompt treatment with corticosteroids is effective in
preventing stroke, early diagnosis is of paramount importance (Younger, 2004).
The abrupt onset of headache and visual symptoms together with an elevated
erythrocyte sedimentation rate in an older person is thus cause for appropriate
alarm in clinical neurology, and temporal artery biopsy can be diagnostic
(Younger, 2004). Neurobehaviorally, a range of syndromes may be encountered.
The Charles Bonnet syndrome has been described in temporal arteritis in asso-
ciation with ischemic lesions in posterior cerebral white matter, and prompt
resolution was observed with steroid therapy (Razavi et al., 2004). Cognitive
deficits and depression have also been noted that may relate in part to white
matter ischemic disease (Caselli et al., 1988).
P OLYAR T ERITIS N ODOSA
Polyarteritis (or periarteritis) nodosa is an idiopathic systemic vasculitis with a

predilection for small and medium-sized cerebral arteries. Widespread necro-
tizing arteritis is present in both the CNS and the peripheral nervous system.
Peripheral neuropathy is the most common neurologic manifestation of this
disease, typically in the form of mononeuritis multiplex, but cerebral involve-
ment occurs in a substantial percentage of patients and can produce a confu-
sional state or psychosis (Ford and Siekert, 1965; Younger, 2004). White matter
hyperintensities are common findings on MRI (Younger, 2004). These lesions,
along with infarcts in the white and gray matter, are thought likely to produce
this clinical picture (Ford and Siekert, 1965; Younger, 2004). Reichhart and col-
leagues (2000) reported that lacunes were the most common strokes observed
in polyarteritis nodosa; these lesions often affect the cerebral white matter and
can be associated with dementia.
S CLER O D ER MA
Neurologic involvement is uncommon in scleroderma (systemic sclerosis), a

disease characterized by progressive deposition of collagen in the skin,
peripheral blood vessels, and visceral organs. Encephalopathy may develop
(Younger, 2004), however, and a case of corticosteroid-responsive subacute
encephalopathy has been reported with angiographic evidence of focal cerebral
arteritis (Estey et al., 1979). The contribution of white matter disease to the
neurobehavioral picture is difficult to assess with the limited information
available, but cerebral white matter changes have been observed with both MRI
and CT (Liu et al., 1994). In a study of 27 consecutive scleroderma patients
(Nobili et al., 1997), eight had focal or diffuse MRI hemispheric white matter
changes that were more apparent with increasing disease severity, and in seven
patients cognitive impairment or dementia was found with the use of the
MMSE. Although many patients with scleroderma remain neurologically
intact, white matter involvement may be relatively common and may result in
cognitive decline.
P RI M ARY ANG IITIS OF THE CENTRAL

NE R VO U S SYST EM
In contrast to the other diseases considered in this chapter, primary CNS

angiitis (isolated CNS vasculitis or granulomatous angiitis) has no systemic
manifestations (Younger et al., 1997; Haij-Ali et al., 2011). The disease
manifests with diffuse or focal neurologic dysfunction, reflecting the
location of infarcts in both cerebral gray and white matter, and because no other
signs exist, the diagnosis is often challenging (Vollmer et al., 1993; Hajj-Ali
et al., 2011). For example, in one patient primary angiitis was initially suspected
but was found to be a case of cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy
with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL; Chapter 11)
after brain and skin biopsies were performed (Williamson et al., 1999). The
neuropathology consists of a granulomatous angiitis that affects the vessel wall
to the extent that vascular occlusion and infarction occur (Kolodny et al., 1968).
Because the disease tends to favor small blood vessels (Moore, 1989), white
matter involvement commonly develops (Hurst and Grossman, 1994), and this
aspect of the disease contributes to the cognitive dysfunction that is a promi-
nent part of the clinical picture. In the cases reviewed by Younger and colleagues
(1997), mental status change was the most common clinical feature, and high-
signal lesions in the subcortical white matter were the most commonly seen
MRI abnormality.
S A R C O ID O SIS
Sarcoidosis is a systemic inflammatory disease featuring the characteristic

pathologic finding of noncaseating granulomata. The nervous system is involved
in approximately 5% of cases, and common manifestations include cranial
neuropathy, aseptic meningitis, hydrocephalus, parenchymal brain disease,
peripheral neuropathy, and myopathy (Stern et al., 1985). Neurosarcoidosis
may develop in patients with previously known systemic disease or appear as
an initial presentation (Nikhar et al., 2000). At least 35 patients with dementia
caused by cerebral sarcoidosis have been reported (Cordingley et al., 1981),
and white matter involvement related to ependymal disease seems to be a con-
tributing factor. The neuropathology of cerebral sarcoidosis frequently includes
periventricular white matter involvement, either from subependymal granu-
lomatous disease or from infarction secondary to granulomatous angiitis in
these areas (Miller et al., 1988). Correspondingly, MRI studies have identified
the most common pattern of disease to be high-signal periventricular and
multifocal white matter lesions that may be indistinguishable from the lesions
of MS (Miller et al., 1988; Zajicek et al., 1999; Pickuth and Heywang-Köbrunner,
2000). Clinical and laboratory similarities to MS have also been noted,
potentially complicating diagnosis and management (Scott et al., 2010). The
outcome after treatment of neurosarcoidosis is often favorable (Stern et al.,
1985), suggesting that a component of the neuropathology does indeed reflect
reversible white matter dysfunction.
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9
Toxic Leukoencephalopathy
The nervous system can be damaged by a wide range of toxins, and the study of
such damage delimits the scope of neurotoxicology. Many physical and chemi-
cal toxins penetrate the brain and cause adverse effects, and the selective
vulnerability of the brain white matter allows the delineation of a division of
neurotoxicology called toxic leukoencephalopathy (Filley and Kleinschmidt-
DeMasters, 2001). Many of these intoxications have been discovered and
characterized by the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which has
the capacity to detect subtle white matter involvement that was previously
unappreciated. The four categories considered in this chapter are cranial
irradiation, therapeutic drugs, drugs of abuse, and environmental toxins (Filley
and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 2001). Figure 9-1 illustrates the sites of action
thought to account for the specific leukotoxic effects of several white matter
toxins. With the advent of new therapeutic agents for cancer and other diseases
and continuing problems associated with drugs of abuse, toxic leukoencephal-
opathies are being increasingly recognized.
R A DI ATIO N
Radiation is delivered to the brain as a therapeutic modality for neoplasia, and

its benefits for the treatment of many primary and metastatic tumors has been
well documented. However, like other modalities for treating cancer, radiation
has a substantial potential for toxicity. The problem of radiation leukoenceph-
alopathy has come to be recognized as one of the major limitations of cranial
irradiation (Dietrich et al., 2008).
Figure 9-1. Sites of cerebral white matter damage produced by various leukotoxins.
(Reprinted with permission from Filley and Kleinshmidt-DeMasters, 2001.)
The seminal work of Sheline and colleagues more than three decades
ago established that three types of radiation injury can occur in the brain, all of
which primarily affect the cerebral white matter (Sheline et al., 1980). The first
is an acute reaction that occurs during treatment and is characterized by
a confusional state or a worsening of preexisting neurologic signs. Typically
self-limited, this mild syndrome is thought to result from cerebral white matter
edema. Next in temporal order and degree of severity comes the early delayed
reaction, which manifests as a so-called somnolence syndrome weeks to months
after irradiation. This syndrome is ascribed to cerebral demyelination, and
slow recovery often takes place. The most ominous injury is the late delayed
reaction, which develops months to years after therapy and presents as
a progressive dementia with an often fatal outcome from widespread demyeli-
nation with necrosis. Most of the information on radiation leukoencephalopa-
thy comes from study of the early and late delayed effects.
The most prominent clinical effects of any degree of radiation leukoen-
cephalopathy are neurobehavioral. In adults, alterations including confusion,
personality change, memory loss, and dementia have been repeatedly noted
(Filley and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 2001), and focal neurobehavioral signs
may develop in association with focal neuroradiologic abnormalities (Valk and
Dillon, 1991). Learning disabilities have been described in children (Constine
et al., 1988), and those under five years of age may fare worse cognitively
than older individuals (Fletcher and Copeland, 1988). Reviewing 29 studies of
therapeutic cranial irradiation and 18 studies of prophylactic cranial irradia-

tion, Crossen and colleagues (1994) found that 28% of patients seen in follow-
up after radiation had encephalopathy, but the incidence reportedly ranges
from 0% to 86% depending on age, cumulative dose, concomitant chemother-
apy, and comorbid vascular risk factors such as diabetes mellitus (Dietrich et al.,
2008). Reports have described patients who had radiation-induced dementia
and prominent white matter neuropathology on neuroimaging, cerebral biopsy,
or autopsy; qualitatively, the dementia was similar to that seen with subcortical
diseases, such as Binswanger’s disease and normal pressure hydrocephalus, that
also affect white matter (DeAngelis et al., 1989; Omuro et al., 2005). In patients
irradiated for tumors at the base of the skull, neurocognitive deficits were cor-
related with total radiation dose, and the pattern of impairments in cognitive
speed, visuospatial skills, and executive function was consistent with injury to
the subcortical white matter (Meyers et al., 2000). Learning and memory are
also impaired, but memory retrieval is affected more than encoding, indicating
primary dysfunction within frontal and subcortical white matter networks
(Dietrich et al., 2008). Long-term follow-up study of glioma patients treated
with radiation has detected deficits in executive function and processing speed
in association with white matter lesions (Douw et al., 2009).
The dose of irradiation that induced radiation leukoencephalopathy has gen-
erally been in excess of 50 Gy in adults and 35 Gy in children (Schultheiss et al.,
1995). The safe lower limit of brain irradiation is not known, although a study
of healthy adults who received a dose of 1.2 Gy demonstrated no decrement in
attentional function, which is sensitive to radiation effects (Wenz et al., 1999).
It also appears that focal irradiation has a less severe neurobehavioral impact
than whole-brain irradiation (Taphoorn et al., 1994). Significant damage may
nevertheless occur with focal irradiation, as was demonstrated in patients who
received focal radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma and manifested
prominent memory and language deficits in association with bilateral temporal
lobe white matter necrosis (Cheung et al., 2000).
Neuropathologic findings in radiation leukoencephalopathy may be either
diffuse or focal, depending on the site(s) of irradiation. In general, a spectrum
of changes from edema to demyelination and ultimately necrosis reflects the
severity that can occur (Filley and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 2001). Radiation
does not produce significant damage to the cortex, and the often diagnosed
“cortical atrophy” in irradiated patients more likely reflects loss of white matter
volume (Valk and Dillon, 1991, Rogers et al., 2011). Hypothesized causes of
radiation leukoencephalopathy include direct injury to oligodendrocytes, with
a secondary disturbance in myelin metabolism, and damage to vascular
endothelium that results in a breakdown of the blood–brain barrier and subse-
quent edema and demyelination (Sheline et al., 1980); recent studies have
underscored the potential importance of damage to neural progenitor cells

(Dietrich et al., 2008).
Neuroimaging scans reflect the spectrum of neuropathologic injury from
radiation, and MRI findings become more severe with early and particularly
late delayed injury. Figure 9-2 shows the white matter effects of radiation in
a patient with a glioblastoma multiforme. This individual also received
chemotherapy (see below), which has similar neuroradiologic effects on white
matter. Studies using MRI have supported an association between greater
cognitive impairment and more extensive radiation-induced white matter
disease (Corn et al., 1994). A study of medulloblastoma survivors provided a
direct correlation between decreased white matter volume due to radiation and
a lower mean intelligence quotient (Mulhern et al., 1999). In children with
white matter damage from brain irradiation, a correlation between abnormal
P300 results on event-related potential (ERP) testing and neuropsychological
deficits further supported the notion that white matter damage underlies
cognitive dysfunction in this syndrome (Moore et al., 1992). Armstrong and
colleagues studied the effects of radiotherapy longitudinally and reported a
decline in cognitive function between 1.5 and 4.5 months after radiation,
followed first by improvement and then by a decline again at 2 years; they inter-
preted the results as consistent with the time course of early delayed and late
delayed radiation leukoencephalopathy (Armstrong et al., 1995). Memory
A B
Figure 9-2. T2-weighted MRI scans of patient with right frontal glioblastoma
multiforme (A) before and (B) after radiation and BCNU chemotherapy. Although the
size of the tumor decreased, leukoencephalopathy developed.
retrieval deficits were particularly prominent and thus were thought to

represent a potentially sensitive clinical marker of white matter neuropathology
(Armstrong et al., 1995, 2000, 2001). Memory retrieval deficits are proposed to
be a core feature of white matter dementia (Filley, 1998).
T HE RAPEU T IC D RUGS
The introduction of new drugs into clinical practice inevitably entails the advent
of new toxicities. Many agents continue to be introduced for the treatment of
cancer, and with the improved care for cancer patients that permits higher
doses of antineoplastic drugs and longer survival periods, toxic effects are often
accentuated (Gilbert, 1998). Cancer chemotherapeutic drugs constitute the
major category of medications capable of inducing drug-related leukoenceph-
alopathy, but certain immunosuppressive drugs and antimicrobials have also
been implicated. As with other white matter disorders, advances in neuroimag-
ing, especially MRI, have propelled this field forward.
Chemotherapeutic Agents
Many drugs for the treatment of cancer may produce leukoencephalopathy that
is clinically, neuropathologically, and neuroradiologically similar to that pro-
duced by radiation (Dietrich et al., 2008). The clinical effects of these drugs
closely resemble those of radiation leukoencephalopathy: lassitude, drowsiness,
confusion, memory loss, and dementia (Lee et al., 1986). In practice, radiation
and chemotherapy are often administered together, so the toxic effects on the
brain are compounded. Similarly, the neuroimaging appearance of cancer drug
neurotoxicity can closely mimic that of radiation neurotoxicity. Combined
treatment produces more severe leukoencephalopathy, particularly if the che-
motherapy is given by the intrathecal or intraventricular route (Lee et al., 1986).
However, the toxicity to myelin of chemotherapeutic drugs alone has recently
been emphasized (Dietrich et al., 2008; Meyers, 2008).
The first antineoplastic drug recognized to produce leukoencephalopathy
was methotrexate, which may be associated with the syndrome when given
intravenously or intrathecally (Gilbert, 1998) or even orally in rare cases
(Worthley and McNeil, 1995). High-dose intravenous methotrexate causes
leukoencephalopathy that is manifested clinically by personality change,
progressive dementia, and stupor (Allen et al., 1980). Leucovorin (folinic acid)
may be helpful in the prevention and treatment of this syndrome (Cohen et al.,
1990).
BCNU (1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea) is frequently used in the treat-

ment of brain tumors, because its lipid solubility promotes entry into the brain.
BCNU represents another cause of leukoencephalopathy, whether given intra-
venously (Burger et al., 1981) or intraarterially (Kleinschmidt-DeMasters and
Geier, 1989). Dementia and a fatal outcome may ensue (Kleinschmidt-
DeMasters and Geier, 1989).
A variety of other antineoplastic drugs, including cytosine arabinoside,
5-fluorouracil, levamisole, fludarabine, cisplatin, thiotepa, interleukin-2, and
interferon-alpha, have been implicated in producing this syndrome (Filley and
Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 2001). In general, these drugs produce similar
clinical features of leukoencephalopathy, which is typically well visualized on
MRI scans. The neuropathology, when available, documents variable degrees of
cerebral demyelination and necrosis. Many cases are reversible, but more
intense exposure seems to be associated with more severe leukoencephalopathy
and a less favorable prognosis (Filley and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 2001). As
with radiation, recent studies have suggested that more severe cases may involve
damage to neural progenitor cells, in particular oligodendrocyte precursor cells
(Dietrich et al., 2008).
Immunosuppressive Agents
With the increasing popularity of organ transplantation, immunosuppressive

drugs have become more frequently used in the postoperative period.
Cyclosporine is widely employed as an immunosuppressant for the prevention
of graft rejection in transplant patients, and a reversible leukoencephalopathy
has been observed with its use (Truwit et al., 1991). Another immunosuppres-
sive drug, FK-506, or tacrolimus, has been reported to cause a similar syndrome
(Tomura et al., 1998). Both drugs may cause disturbances ranging from acute
confusional state to coma in association with white matter changes; vasogenic
edema is thought to occur first, and more prolonged exposure leads to apopto-
sis and cytotoxic edema (Wijdicks, 2001). While generally reversible with
discontinuation or reduction of dose, leukoencephalopathy from these agents
is an important consideration as organ transplantation becomes increasingly
feasible.
Antimicrobials
Amphotericin B has long been employed as a mainstay in the treatment

of various fungal infections. This drug can produce a frontally predominant
leukoencephalopathy that features personality change, confusion, dementia,

and akinetic mutism and may culminate in a fatal outcome (Devinsky et al.,
1987; Walker and Rosenblum, 1992). Hexachlorophene is an antiseptic deter-
gent shown to be a cerebral white matter toxin in infants and children who had
therapeutic (Shuman et al., 1975) or accidental (Martinez et al., 1974) exposure.
More recently, parenteral therapy with herbal extracts, often used to prevent or
treat viral infections, caused a reaction resembling acute disseminated enceph-
alomyelitis in two patients (Schwartz et al., 2000). Although the many sub-
stances typically contained in herbal remedies make it impossible to know the
specific agent responsible for the clinical picture in such cases, this report
highlights the potential of “natural” and seemingly harmless medications to
have substantial untoward effects.
DRUGS O F ABU SE
Injury to the nervous system from drugs of abuse has been difficult to
characterize, because drug abusers are often exposed to more than one agent
and neuropathologic studies of individuals with single exposures are rare.
In general, brain injury from drugs of abuse produces a wide spectrum of
neuropathology, including ischemia, cerebrovascular disease, and a host of
neuronal changes implicating additional inflammatory and degenerative mech-
anisms (Büttner, 2011). However, white matter changes can also be seen that,
while not well understood, suggest a direct toxic effect (Büttner, 2011). This
section considers a group of abused drugs for which substantial neuroimaging,
and in some cases neuropathologic, evidence documents selective effects on
white matter with neurobehavioral sequelae.
Toluene
Toluene, also known as methylbenzene (Figure 9-3), is the major solvent in

spray paints and is found in many other readily obtainable household products
(Filley et al., 2004). Exposure to this organic hydrocarbon, in addition to many
other organic solvents, thus occurs in workers in many occupational settings
and in the general public (Kornfeld, 1996). Although concern exists about
low-level exposure to organic solvents including toluene in the workplace, toxic
effects have been difficult to document in this setting. In contrast, high-level
exposure to toluene has provided solid data about the neurotoxic effects of
this drug (Filley et al., 2004). Abusers of toluene intentionally inhale solvent
vapors derived from mainly from spray paint, which induces euphoria without
H H
H H
CH3
Figure 9-3. The chemistry of toluene.
a dramatic withdrawal state (Filley et al., 2004). If exposure is heavy and

prolonged, a striking neurologic syndrome appears in which dementia is
the most prominent feature of a clinical picture that also includes ataxia,
corticospinal dysfunction, and cranial nerve abnormalities (Hormes et al.,
1986). These effects may be persistent in many abusers even after abstinence is
achieved. The pattern of dementia in these individuals fits that described in
subcortical dementia (Hormes et al., 1986) and, more specifically, white matter
dementia (Filley et al., 1990; Filley, 1998).
Early MRI studies of toluene dementia proved invaluable in documenting
diffuse leukoencephalopathy in the cerebrum and cerebellum (Figure 9-4).
Early findings included diffusely increased periventricular white matter signal
on T2-weighted images, loss of differentiation between the gray and white
matter, and diffuse cerebral atrophy (Rosenberg et al., 1988a). These findings
Figure 9-4. T2-weighted MRI scan of a patient with dementia secondary to chronic
toluene inhalation. Diffuse leukoencephalopathy is present in the cerebral white matter.
have been amply confirmed by other observers (Caldemeyer et al., 1993; Xiong
et al., 1993; Yamanouchi et al., 1997). Some cases have shown additional T2
hypointensities in the thalamus and basal ganglia; initially attributed to iron
deposition, these changes may actually reflect the partitioning of toluene in
lipids within those areas (Unger et al., 1994). The white matter changes in
toluene abuse appear to account for cognitive loss, as the severity of cerebral
white matter involvement on MRI was found to be strongly correlated with the
degree of neuropsychological impairment in affected individuals (Filley et al.,
1990). A recent review of 30 studies concluded that toluene preferentially affects
cerebral white matter and that this neurotoxic predilection is consistent with
observed neuropsychological deficits in processing speed, sustained attention,
memory retrieval, and executive function (Yücel et al., 2008). Microstructural
white matter abnormalities on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have also been
detected in inhalant abusers (Yücel et al., 2010).
Neuropathologic investigation of toluene leukoencephalopathy has been
able to confirm the selectivity of white matter involvement. Initial postmortem
studies consistently disclosed widespread white matter changes in the brain,
sparing cortical and subcortical gray matter as well as axons (Rosenberg
et al., 1988b; Kornfeld et al., 1994). True demyelination was not observed;
rather, an increase in very long-chain fatty acids in the cerebral white matter
suggested a neuropathologic commonality with adrenoleukodystrophy
(Kornfeld et al., 1994). More recently, a large neuropathologic study found
selective white matter damage in 22 of 75 solvent abusers that spared gray
matter and axons within the injured white matter; the 22 affected brains were
generally from people with longer durations of abuse (Al-Hajri and Del Bigio,
2010).
Whereas the neurobehavioral sequelae of extended toluene abuse are clear,
the impact of low-level occupational exposure to toluene and other solvents
remains uncertain (Filley et al., 2004). Workers exposed in industrial settings
often have many neurobehavioral complaints that could be results of solvent
exposure (Hartman, 1988). However, these symptoms, typically including
fatigue, poor concentration, memory loss, depression, and sleep disturbance,
are nonspecific and frequently are not accompanied by neurologic findings or
evidence of neuropsychological dysfunction. Moreover, determining a cause-
and-effect relationship is very difficult, because many individuals are exposed
to multiple solvents, experience depression or anxiety, have concurrent alcohol
or other drug issues, or are involved in litigation. The issue has been controver-
sial since the 1970s, when the first description of the so-called chronic painters’
syndrome appeared from Scandinavia (Arlien-Søborg et al., 1979). Since
then, much has been written about this condition, also called chronic toxic
encephalopathy and the psychoorganic syndrome, and opinions on its existence
range from supportive (White and Feldman, 1987; Baker, 1994) to skeptical
(Rosenberg, 1995; Albers et al., 2000).
Among individuals with this problem, consistent patterns of neuropsy-
chological impairment in attention, memory, and visuospatial dysfunction
have been noted in many studies (Baker, 1994), but critics have stressed
methodological problems with this research. These include uncertainty about
the degree of exposure, dose–response relationships, and confounding prob-
lems such as alcoholism (see below), psychiatric disorders, and compensation
issues (Rosenberg, 1995). Neuropsychological testing offers a sensitive means
of detecting deficits, but whether deficits are specific for leukotoxicity is
often unclear. Neuroimaging with CT has not been helpful in detecting
low-level solvent neurotoxicity, as CT studies of solvent-exposed workers
typically fail to show cerebral atrophy (Triebig and Lang, 1993). One MRI
study showed diffuse white matter hyperintensity in individuals exposed to
industrial solvents when compared with age-matched control subjects (Thuomas
et al., 1996), but many exposed individuals have normal MRI results. The use of
ERPs may be of some use in this context, as delayed P300 latency has been
documented in individuals exposed to mixtures of solvents including toluene
(Morrow et al., 1992). Thus accurate diagnosis of individuals in this setting is
far from straightforward, and many cases of alleged cognitive impairment
after occupational solvent exposure are unconvincing after careful neuro-
behavioral evaluation.
Although the leukoencephalopathy of toluene abuse remains the best
example of solvent-induced neurobehavioral dysfunction and one of the most
instructive varieties of white matter dementia (Filley, 1998), similar effects from
low-level exposure to toluene or other solvents remain to be substantiated.
Prospective, controlled studies will be needed to establish whether toxicity
occurs in this setting and the threshold of exposure above which the toxicity
can be expected.
Ethanol
Inclusion of ethanol on a list of white matter toxins may at first glance appear
puzzling. Many of the effects of alcohol on the nervous system are widely taught
to be nutritional in origin, and a toxic effect on the white matter—indeed the
nervous system as a whole—is viewed by many as conjectural (Charness et al.,
1989). Even if there is a neurotoxic effect, the damage may well occur in gray
matter areas in addition to white matter (Charness et al., 1989). However,
considerable evidence supports the notion that ethanol is a white matter toxin
that can produce significant neurobehavioral effects.
Abusers of alcohol are vulnerable to many neurologic and systemic compli-

cations that can disturb cognition. Many individuals, for example, manifest
cognitive impairment or dementia as a result of hepatic encephalopathy,
infection, subdural hematoma, or traumatic brain injury. However, in sober
alcoholics who do not have these problems, neuropsychological deficits can still
be detected in 50–70% of cases (Charness et al., 1989). A traditional view
maintains that the cognitive dysfunction in these individuals can be satisfacto-
rily explained by nutritional or metabolic disorders, the best known of which is
Korsakoff ’s psychosis, the amnestic syndrome due to dietary thiamine (vitamin
B1) deficiency (Victor, 1993). Alternatively, the category of alcoholic dementia
has been invoked to explain the fact that many alcoholics have cognitive deficits
in addition to amnesia as well as cerebral atrophy on neuroimaging studies
(Lishman, 1981, 1990). The controversy has not been resolved, primarily
because alcoholism lacks a distinctive brain histopathology that can be used to
support the concept of alcoholic dementia (Victor, 1993).
A mounting body of evidence, however, supports the hypothesis that alcohol
may have toxic effects on white matter that can produce cognitive impairment
or dementia. Early CT studies found that cerebral atrophy in alcoholics could
be partially reversed with abstinence, in parallel with improvement in cognitive
function (Carlen et al., 1978); because structural improvement was observed,
the tissue damage could have taken place in the white matter, which because of
remyelination presumably has a more robust capacity to restore its integrity
than does gray matter. This possibility was supported by an MRI study that
found a significant and selective increase in cerebral white matter volume
among alcoholics who achieved abstinence for three months compared with
similar patients who did not; an alternative explanation of brain rehydration in
abstainers was deemed unlikely, because the study was initiated approximately
one month after the patients’ last drink, well past the acute withdrawal period
(Shear et al., 1994). Other investigators found MRI white matter changes in
40% of sober alcoholics who had no other complications of alcoholism (Gallucci
et al., 1989). Neuropathologic studies have been consistent with the hypothesis
of alcohol leukotoxicity, demonstrating a disproportionate loss of white matter
in chronic alcoholics (Harper et al., 1981; de la Monte, 1988). Moreover, animal
experiments showed a selective vulnerability of the white matter in dogs
exposed to alcohol (Hansen et al., 1991), and a toxic effect on oligodendrocytes
has been suggested (Lancaster, 1994). An authoritative review concluded that
alcohol damages white matter through a change in myelination, that this tissue
loss is mainly responsible for brain atrophy, and that the process is reversible in
some cases (Harper, 1998).
Clinical evidence for white matter damage in alcoholism can also be
found. Neuropsychological studies of alcoholics who do not have Korsakoff ’s
psychosis demonstrate prominent attentional (Ratti et al., 1999) and executive

dysfunction (Ihara et al., 2000), which is consistent with neuropathologic
studies identifying the prefrontal white matter as most significantly reduced
(Kril et al., 1997). More direct evidence comes from DTI studies of subtle white
matter damage in alcoholics that correlates with decrements in attention and
working memory (Pfefferbaum et al., 2000). DTI has generally supported
the concept that white matter fiber degradation, particularly within cortico-
limbic-striatal systems related to emotion and reward, is a substrate for cogni-
tive impairment in alcoholism (Schulte et al., 2010).
Evidence from other neurologic problems related to ethanol can also be
invoked. In Marchiafava-Bignami disease, an uncommon dementia syndrome
seen most often in chronic alcoholics, the primary neuropathology is
widespread necrosis of the corpus callosum and subcortical white matter
(Merritt and Weissman, 1945; Ferracci et al., 1999; Ruiz-Martinez et al., 1999;
Kohler et al., 2000). Even in alcoholics who have neither Marchiafava-Bignami
disease nor Korsakoff ’s syndrome, atrophy of the corpus callosum can be seen
on MRI that implicates a leukotoxic effect of ethanol (Hommer et al., 1996;
Oishi et al., 1999). Moreover, with abstinence, patients with Marchiafava-
Bignami disease may show reversal of callosal changes on neuroimaging
studies in parallel with clinical improvement (Gass et al., 1998). In the fetal
alcohol syndrome, delayed myelination and agenesis of the corpus callosum
have been observed in addition to other developmental defects (Lancaster,
1994). Cognitive and behavioral effects are the most prominent sequelae of this
disorder, and although neurogenesis is also influenced by prenatal exposure to
ethanol (Riley et al., 2011), abnormal myelination is suggested by DTI studies
showing multiple cerebral white matter and callosal microstructural abnormal-
ities that correlate with impaired processing speed, nonverbal ability, and
executive function (Wozniak and Muetzel, 2011). These observations suggest
that future studies examining correlations between cognitive impairment and
white matter damage in alcoholism and its complications will be revealing.
Heroin
Abuse of intravenously injected heroin has been known for some time as a
cause of hypoxic–ischemic leukoencephalopathy (Ginsberg et al., 1976). More
recently, leukoencephalopathy has been observed in abusers who inhale heroin
vapor, a process known as “chasing the dragon,” to avoid the infectious risks of
parenteral drug administration. The procedure involves heating the heroin on
tinfoil so that inhalable heroin pyrolysate is produced. The first reports of this
form of leukoencephalopathy originated from the Netherlands three decades

ago (Wolters et al., 1982), and the syndrome has since been found in Italy,
Switzerland, and the United States (Kreigstein et al., 1999). Inattention, memory
impairment, dementia, gait disorder, ataxia, and akinetic mutism have been
observed, and the outcome is typically poor (Wolters et al., 1982). Symmetric
white matter involvement is seen on MRI and correlates with a spongiform
leukoencephalopathy at autopsy (Wolters et al., 1982). The toxic agent is
unknown, but recent findings of elevated brain lactate and swollen mitochon-
dria have suggested a mitochondrial insult within oligodendrocytes (Kreigstein
et al., 1999).
Cocaine
Cocaine is known for causing many neurologic and psychiatric sequelae,

including seizures, infarction, hemorrhage, vasculitis, anxiety, paranoia, and
psychosis. Recent reports have documented significant increases in MRI white
matter hyperintensities among cocaine-dependent individuals who do not have
these complications (Bartzokis et al., 1999). The mechanism of this leukoen-
cephalopathy is thought to relate to ischemia in the white matter produced by
vasospasm (Bartzokis et al., 1999). Cocaine may have other white matter effects,
as magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies in asymptomatic cocaine abusers
showed elevated white matter myoinositol, possibly indicating involvement of
glial cells (L. Chang et al., 1997).
MDMA
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), also known as ecstasy, has

become a popular addition to the list of recreational drugs. An amphetamine
with psychoactive properties, MDMA has been most strongly linked to damage
of central serotonergic neurons (Bolla et al., 1998). However, a case of severe
toxic leukoencephalopathy after exposure to MDMA has been reported
(Bertram et al., 1999). More recently, DTI studies of ecstasy abusers found
microstructural abnormalities in frontoparietal white matter (de Win et al.,
2008). Neuropathologic studies have suggested a hypoxic basis for this
syndrome (Milroy et al., 1996), but the pathogenesis has not been established.
MDMA and other amphetamines can be associated with a variety of white
matter changes, but the interpretation of these changes involves consideration
of many clinical variables (Berman et al., 2008).
Psilocybin
Like the related drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin is a halluci-
nogenic agent affecting serotonergic function. A case has been reported of mul-
tifocal cerebral demyelination after ingestion of mushrooms presumed to
contain psilocybin (Spengos et al., 2000). Although the possibility of immune
demyelination could not be ruled out, oligoclonal bands were absent in the
cerebrospinal fluid and the syndrome occurred after each of two exposure inci-
dents in the same patient.
E NV I RO NMENTAL TOXINS
Environmental chemicals may produce selective white matter injury. Carbon

monoxide heads this list because of its well-documented toxic potential and the
frequency with which significant exposure comes to clinical attention.
Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide (CO) in the atmosphere mainly results from vehicular fuel
combustion but is also a by-product of home and industrial energy consump-
tion. Accidental or suicidal exposure to CO is common, and the acute brain
injury is one of hypoxic damage, with laminar necrosis of the neocortex, multi-
focal necrosis of the hippocampus and basal ganglia (especially the globus pal-
lidus), loss of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum, and petechial hemorrhage in the
white matter, leading to immediate and lasting disability in many survivors
(Prockop and Chichkova, 2007). Some exposed individuals, however, manifest
a different clinical course in which white matter changes are most prominent.
Following initial recovery, a delayed neuropsychiatric syndrome can occur
3–240 days after exposure that manifests as neurological deterioration with par-
kinsonism, dementia, and abulia in association with widespread cerebral demy-
elination (Prockop and Chichkova, 2007). This syndrome was first described
many decades ago (Grinker, 1926) and further clarified by Plum and colleagues
(1962), who reported five patients with hypoxia, two from CO poisoning, all of
whom developed a similar syndrome about two weeks after apparent recovery
and in whom cerebral demyelination was the consistent finding at autopsy.
Modern neuroimaging studies have shown expected changes in affected
patients: low attenuation in the white matter on CT scans and increased white
matter signal on MRI (K. H. Chang et al., 1992; Prockop and Chichkova, 2007;
Figure 9-5). White matter changes are most prominent in the frontal lobes
Figure 9-5. T2-weighted MRI scan of a patient with areas of demyelination (arrows)
that appeared as a delayed effect of carbon monoxide poisoning. (Reprinted with
permission from Pomeranz SJ. Craniospinal magnetic resonance imaging. Philadelphia:
WB Saunders, 1989.)
(Prockop and Chichkova, 2007). In another study of CO poisoning, MRI docu-

mented slight demyelination that was clinically asymptomatic (Murata et al.,
1995), suggesting that mild forms of this syndrome may occur and that a thresh-
old of white matter injury may be necessary for clinical manifestations. At the
other end of the clinical spectrum, demyelination is severe enough to produce
white matter damage within the basal ganglia that leads to parkinsonism (Sohn
et al., 2000). Neuropsychological function has recently been correlated with DTI
changes, and CO poisoning produces impairments in executive function,
memory retrieval, judgment, and verbal generation that correlate with reduced
fractional anisotropy in frontotemporal white matter (C. C. Chang et al., 2009).
An interesting addition to the pathogenesis of this syndrome is that individuals
with the genetic trait of “pseudodeficiency” of the enzyme arylsulfatase A—which
is completely or nearly absent in patients with metachromatic leukodystrophy
(see Chapter 5)—may be predisposed to posthypoxic demyelination even though
such individuals are considered clinically normal (Gottfried et al., 1997).
Arsenic
Arsenic neurotoxicity was common in the pre-antibiotic era, when treatment of

neurosyphilis with arsphenamine produced a hemorrhagic encephalitis that
presented as acute encephalopathy (Beckett et al., 1986). Today arsenic poison-

ing is rare, although it can occur with exposure to insecticides, rodenticides,
and certain medicinals and in certain occupations (Freeman and Couch, 1978);
suicide has also been attempted with arsenic (Fincher and Koerker, 1987). The
most familiar neurotoxicity of this metal is peripheral neuropathy (Freeman
and Couch, 1978), but acute (Beckett et al., 1986) and prolonged (Freeman and
Couch, 1978) cases of encephalopathy have been noted. The neuropathology
involves multiple regions of necrosis and hemorrhage in the cerebral white
matter (Cole et al., 1966). Treatment with chelating agents may be effective
(Freeman and Couch, 1978; Beckett et al., 1986; Fincher and Koerker, 1987).
Carbon Tetrachloride
Carbon tetrachloride is a hydrocarbon extensively used as a fire-extinguishing

agent, fumigant, solvent, degreaser, gasoline additive, refrigerant, and paint
thinner. The kidneys and liver are the main targets of toxicity, but neurotoxicity
can occur as well. Diffuse perivenous hemorrhagic white matter lesions in the
cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem were documented in a man who devel-
oped confusion, stupor, and coma before expiring from exposure to carbon
tetrachloride (Luse and Wood, 1967).
THE SPECT R U M OF TOXIC L EUKOENCEP H ALO PATH Y
From the foregoing account of many different clinical intoxications, it becomes

possible to construct a preliminary overview of the effects of leukotoxins on
cerebral white matter. Although the pathogenesis of leukotoxic insults is varied
and is being vigorously investigated, certain patterns emerge from considering
the entire range of the toxic leukoencephalopathies (Filley and Kleinschmidt-
DeMasters, 2001). These patterns permit a classification of the syndrome into
mild, moderate, and severe forms, each with its characteristic clinical, MRI, and
neuropathologic features (Table 9-1). A dose–response effect is strongly impli-
cated in this spectrum, such that milder cases can often be completely reversed
if recognized; this aspect underscores the clinical imperative to prevent the
problem, especially its more severe forms, if at all possible. As knowledge
advances, it may also become feasible to apply new therapies for these patients
based on endogenous neurogenesis mechanisms that could facilitate repair
of injured myelin and oligodendrocytes (Dietrich et al., 2008). The primary
conclusion of this overview, however, is that diffuse toxicity of white matter
Table 9-1. Toxic Leukoencephalopathy Spectrum
Mild Moderate Severe

Neurobehavioral • Cognitive slowing • Somnolence • Abulia
Features • Inattention • Apathy • Akinetic mutism
• Executive • Dementia • Stupor
dysfunction • Coma
• Memory retrieval • Death
deficit
• Personality change
MRI • Periventricular • Diffuse white • Diffuse white
white matter matter matter
hyperintensity hyperintensity hypodensity
• Necrotic areas
Neuropathology • Patchy • Widespread • Oligodendrocyte
intramyelinic edema with loss
edema and demyelination • Axonal loss
preserved myelin and preserved • Necrosis
axons
produces a relatively predictable sequence of adverse events and that parallel

neurobehavioral sequelae can be predicted to follow.
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10
Metabolic Disorders
A number of disorders in the general category of metabolic dysfunction can

result in white matter disease of the brain. Although there is considerable
overlap between metabolic and toxic disorders (Chapter 9), the disorders con-
sidered in this chapter can be seen as stemming from a metabolic derangement
in which clinical, neuroimaging, or neuropathologic evidence of leukoenceph-
alopathy has been observed. The pathophysiology of these diverse disorders is
incompletely understood in most cases, but a disturbance of brain metabolism
based on nutritional or other factors is present in each. Highlighting a theme
that recurs in the white matter disorders, many of these conditions are revers-
ible if the metabolic derangement is corrected early enough. Neurobehavioral
aspects of these disorders have been gradually characterized and consistent
findings have emerged, although specific correlations between white matter
lesions and neurobehavioral features are still needed.
COBALAMIN D EF ICIENCY
One of the most commonly sought causes of reversible dementia in neurology

clinics is deficiency of cobalamin (vitamin B12). Clinicians routinely obtain the
vitamin B12 level in the evaluation of memory and other cognitive disturbances,
because correction of vitamin deficiency is straightforward and can be entirely
curative. Cobalamin deficiency has been noted in up to 40% of older individu-
als, and among those who are deficient, as many as 50% have been reported to
have cerebral symptoms (Goebels and Soyka, 2000). Although classically asso-
ciated with pernicious anemia, neurologically significant cobalamin deficiency
can occur in patients who have no anemia or macrocytosis (Lindenbaum et al.,

1988). Thus routine screening of serum vitamin B12 levels in older persons has
been recommended (Pennypacker et al., 1992). Controversy exists, however,
about the level of cobalamin that indicates significant tissue depletion. Levels
below 100 pg/ml are widely believed by clinicians to produce neurologic mani-
festations, and those above 300 pg/ml are regarded as normal. B12 values between
100 and 300 pg/ml are difficult to interpret, and many authorities recommend
the measurement of serum homocysteine and methlymalonic acid in patients
with such levels; if one or both of these metabolites are elevated above the
normal range, clinically significant cobalamin deficiency can be assumed
(Pennypacker et al., 1992). In patients who are determined to be cobalamin
deficient, peripheral neuropathy is the most common neurologic syndrome,
affecting 70% of those with symptoms referable to the nervous system (Healton
et al., 1991). In the central nervous system, the familiar syndrome of subacute
combined degeneration is also well known as a myelopathy due to deficient
intake of vitamin B12. Less is known, however, about the cerebral manifestations
of this disorder, although information is steadily accumulating.
The neurobehavioral manifestations of cobalamin deficiency are protean.
Neuropsychiatric dysfunction has been frequently described (Shorvon et al.,
1980), and psychosis appears to be particularly common (Hutto, 1997). A study
of community-dwelling older women found that metabolically significant
cobalamin deficiency conferred a twofold increase in the risk of severe depres-
sion (Penninx et al., 2000). Cognitive loss and dementia have also been docu-
mented (Meadows et al., 1994; Larner et al., 1999), and the pattern of deficits in
these syndromes, which often includes cognitive slowing and confusion along
with depression, has been regarded as consistent with subcortical dementia
(Tenuisse et al., 1996; Larner et al., 1997). Osimani and colleagues (2005) found
that B12 deficiency produced a reversible dementia characterized by early psy-
chosis and impaired concentration, visuospatial performance, and executive
function without language disturbance.
Although neuropathologic observations of the brain in cobalamin deficiency
have long been available (Woltman, 1918; Adams and Kubik, 1944), it is not
well recognized that white matter lesions can occur in the brain that are identi-
cal to those in the spinal cord. The cerebral lesions usually develop later in the
course than cord lesions and are characterized by perivascular degeneration of
myelinated fibers with sparing of cortical and subcortical gray matter (Adams
and Kubik, 1944). Monkeys deprived of cobalamin show white matter changes
in the cerebrum that are indistinguishable from those seen in B12-deficient
humans (Agamanolis et al., 1976). The underlying pathophysiology of cobala-
min deficiency has been thought to involve a disturbance of fatty acid synthesis
that leads to abnormal myelination (Shevell and Rosenblatt, 1992; Smith and
Refsum, 2009). More recently, vascular mechanisms of injury have also been
implicated (Tangney et al., 2011).
The cerebral white matter lesions seen neuropathologically were long ago
proposed to be responsible for the mental changes in individuals with cobala-
min deficiency (Adams and Kubik, 1944), and magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) studies have consistently supported this claim. Cobalamin levels are
associated with the severity of MRI white matter lesions (de Lau et al., 2009;
Tangney et al., 2011), and case studies have noted clinical and neuroradiologic
improvement of leukoencephalopathy occurring in parallel with cobalamin
replacement (Chatterjee et al., 1996; Stojsavljević et al., 1997; Vry et al., 2005).
Figure 10-1 shows the MRI appearance of metabolic leukoencephalopathy
from cobalamin deficiency before and after treatment. Additional evidence
of structural white matter involvement in this disease comes from a report of
improvement in P300 latency in event-related potential studies following treat-
ment with cobalamin (Oishi and Moshizuki, 1998). A recent review concluded
that cobalamin deficiency is associated with cognitive impairment, white matter
damage, and brain atrophy (Smith and Refsum, 2009).
A variety of pathogenic disturbances in the brain may contribute to the neu-
robehavioral picture of this disorder (Penninx et al., 2000). The biochemistry of
cobalamin metabolism is complex, and many factors may contribute to demen-
tia. One area that has attracted recent attention is the effect of hyperhomo-
cysteinemia, which is strongly associated with clinically significant cobalamin
A B
Figure 10-1. T2-weighted MRI scans in a patient with cobalamin deficiency. (A) Diffuse
leukoencephalopathy is severe before B12 replacement. (B) After 44 months of treatment
with vitamin B12, the white matter changes are much improved. (Reprinted with
permission from Stojsavljević et al., 1997.)
deficiency (Lindenbaum et al., 1988). Homocysteine has been recognized as an

independent risk factor for cerebrovascular disease (Fassbender et al., 1999),
and white matter lesions may also occur with elevated homocysteine (C. B.
Wright et al., 2005). These considerations further suggest that vascular as well
as nonvascular mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of this syndrome
(Tangney et al., 2011).
Treatment with cobalamin has been observed to benefit neurobehavioral
syndromes in some individuals with vitamin B12 deficiency. Whether there is
true reversibility has been debated, because some investigators describe very
few responders (Clarfield, 1988) whereas others report a substantial number
(Lindenbaum et al., 1988). It is also unclear how much recovery takes place in
many patients who are reported to be improved. Nevertheless, well-documented
examples of significant cognitive and neuroimaging recovery with cobalamin
treatment (Meadows et al., 1994; Chatterjee et al., 1996; Stojsavljević et al., 1997;
Vry et al., 2005) suggest that reversible dementia results from white matter
involvement in some individuals with cobalamin deficiency. Further studies
using clinical and neuroimaging measures of patients with cobalamin defi-
ciency will be necessary to expand on these findings. Meanwhile, maintenance
of at least adequate dietary cobalamin intake has been recommended, espe-
cially for older individuals (Smith and Refsum, 2009).
FOLATE D EFICIENCY
Folate (folic acid) is a B vitamin required in the diet for optimal development
and health (Djukic, 2007). Folate deficiency is another nutritional problem fre-
quently considered in clinical practice, and the measurement of folate is often
included in the routine dementia workup. Despite this practice, cases of neuro-
logically affected adults who have folate deficiency are likely discussed more
than they are discovered. The syndrome is encountered in some alcoholics and
occasionally in individuals taking anticonvulsant drugs or with inborn errors of
folate metabolism. Some evidence suggests that folate deficiency can cause
white matter injury and associated neurobehavioral dysfunction. Although
folate has many biological functions, including roles in genome repair and neu-
rotransmitter synthesis, the formation of myelin also requires this vitamin, and
interference with normal myelin synthesis has been suspected of causing clini-
cal deficits in cases of folate deficiency (Guettat et al., 1997; Djukic, 2007).
Much as with cobalamin deficiency, the clinical features of folate deficiency
may be diverse. Neuropsychiatrically, a tendency for mood disorder has been
noted (Hutto, 1997). Dementia has been observed in several cases (Strachan
and Henderson, 1967), although the evidence for direct causation by folate
deficiency is not unequivocal (Hutto, 1997). Neuropathologic and neuroimag-

ing studies have been relatively few. An autopsy case of a two-year-old girl who
died from an inborn error of folate metabolism showed striking demyelination
throughout the brain and spinal cord (Clayton et al., 1986). A brain MRI study
of an adult with chronic alcoholism indicated that leukoencephalopathy can be
encountered with folate deficiency (Guettat et al., 1997). Treatment with folate
is not always effective but may prove beneficial in some cases. A patient with
subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord and dementia from folate
deficiency had an impressive recovery from both syndromes with folate
replacement (Pincus et al., 1972). Some childhood cases have been still more
notable, with both cognition and leukoencephalopathy responding to folate
deficiency in association with methylene-tetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency
(Tallur et al., 2005) and with a mitochondrial DNA deletion (Pineda et al.,
2006). In normal individuals, recent population-based studies have found that
higher plasma folate levels are associated with better global cognitive function,
particularly in psychomotor speed, and with lower prevalence of MRI white
matter lesions, suggesting that vascular disease may be another mechanism by
which folate deficiency can damage white matter (de Lau et al., 2007). Taken
together, these data support a role of folate deficiency in contributing to abnor-
mal white matter and cognitive impairment.
CE NTR AL PO NT IN E MYEL INOLYSIS
Central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) is a demyelinating disorder of the pons

caused by the overly rapid correction of hyponatremia (Martin, 2004).
Additional areas of demyelination, called extrapontine myelinolysis (EPM; D. J.
Wright et al., 1979), may be seen in the cerebral white matter, thalamus, basal
ganglia, and cerebellum (Charness et al. 1989). CPM can occur with or without
EPM, although isolated CPM is more common; their shared etiology has led to
their inclusion under the term osmotic demyelination syndrome (Martin,
2004). Patients with alcoholism are particularly vulnerable to CPM and EPM
(Martin, 2004). Clinical manifestations include lethargy, confusion, behavioral
changes, dysarthria, dysphagia, pseudobulbar palsy, extraocular muscle weak-
ness, and seizures within a few days of overly zealous sodium correction, and
the patient may soon progress to stupor and coma (Martin, 2004). Parkinsonism
has been documented in a case of isolated EPM with MRI findings confined to
the striatum (Sajith et al., 2006). The disease can be prevented or minimized by
avoiding overly rapid correction of hyponatremia, but no firm guidelines on
management are available, although knowledge continues to evolve (Martin,
2004). Initially considered uniformly fatal, CPM is now known as a disease
that, while still serious, can be associated with substantial recovery (Martin,
2004).
The neurobehavioral manifestations of CPM have recently been clarified
(Kleinschmidt-DeMasters et al., 2006). Behavioral changes suggesting a psychi-
atric disorder may be prominent in CPM (Price and Mesulam, 1987; Chalela
and Kattah, 1999), and follow-up neuropsychological study has shown emo-
tional lability and widespread cognitive deficits that spare language (Lee et al.,
2003). In light of the striking predilection for myelin damage in CPM, the role
of white matter in producing the neurobehavioral sequelae has been empha-
sized, and the cognitive dysfunction resembles white matter dementia
(Kleinschmidt-DeMasters et al., 2006). The neurobehavioral deficits in CPM
may be related to interference with the integrity of ascending neurotransmitter
systems by white matter lesions (Price and Mesulam, 1987; Lee et al., 2003).
In patients with EPM, cerebral demyelination may account for reported deficits
in attention, memory, visuospatial ability, and executive function in the absence
of significant language disturbance (Seok et al., 2007).
Neuropathologically, there is myelin loss in affected regions without inflam-
mation, with sparing of axon cylinders and neuronal cell bodies (Wright et al.,
1979). Demyelination is accompanied by damage to oligodendrocytes (Martin,
2004). Some similarities between this disorder and delayed posthypoxic demy-
elination (Chapter 9) have been noted, but myelinolysis in CPM is not thought
to result from hypoxia (Karp and Laureno, 2000). Rather, CPM is a syndrome of
osmotic demyelination initiated by a rapid rise in serum sodium (Kleinschmidt-
DeMasters and Norenberg, 1981; Kleinschmidt-DeMasters et al., 2006) and
thus qualifies as a metabolic disease of white matter. Computed tomography
(CT) or MRI scans often disclose a striking focal abnormality in the central
pons (Miller et al., 1988; Figure 10-2), and in EPM, patchy white matter disease
occurs in extrapontine areas (Rippe et al., 1987). MRI is more sensitive to
these lesions than CT, and a “batwing” or “trident” appearance may be evident;
the central pons has been considered most vulnerable in CPM because of the
considerable admixture of white and gray matter in this region (Martin, 2004).
HY P O XIA
Hypoxic brain injury is common with a wide range of systemic diseases that
share the capacity to reduce oxygen delivery. Chapter 9 discussed the toxicity of
carbon monoxide (CO) as one example of hypoxic brain injury and reviewed
the syndrome of delayed cerebral demyelination. In this section, other causes of
hypoxia that produce a similar clinical picture will be considered. Chapter 11
will discuss similar clinical syndromes related to cerebral ischemia. Whereas
Figure 10-2. Midsagittal T1-weighted MRI scan of a patient with CPM. A focal area of
white matter loss is apparent in the pons.
the final results of hypoxia and ischemia are virtually indistinguishable in many
respects, these separate considerations will be maintained to point out the
variety of clinical settings in which white matter can sustain hypoxic–ischemic
damage.
In addition to hypoxia from CO poisoning, cerebral hypoxia related to
surgery and anesthesia, drug overdose, anaphylaxis, strangulation, and seizure
disorder can produce a syndrome of delayed cerebral demyelination (Ginsburg,
1979). Delayed posthypoxic demyelination is a relatively rare phenomenon,
occurring in a minority of individuals affected with hypoxia (Ginsburg, 1979).
Posthypoxic demyelination can cause a devastating clinical picture, including
confusion, memory loss, dementia, stupor, and coma; patients may not survive
this disorder, and long-term outcome in those who do is frequently poor.
Neuroimaging studies have supported the initial clinical–pathologic observa-
tions in this syndrome, with white matter degeneration observed on MRI
beginning 21 days after hypoxic injury and progressing thereafter (Takahashi
et al., 1993). Some cases, however, have shown remarkable recovery (Plum
et al., 1962).
Hypoxic injury affects the brain diffusely, and in addition to white matter
(Stys, 2004), the gray matter of the neocortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and
cerebellum may be involved (Cervos-Navarro and Diemer, 1991). As reviewed
in Chapter 4, white matter appears to be particularly vulnerable in early life and
in aging, when myelin is either developing or undergoing attrition. Normal
adult white matter, however, can clearly be damaged by hypoxia, as recent
DTI studies of the vegetative state have demonstrated (Newcombe et al., 2010).
At any age, the susceptibility of white matter to hypoxia appears to center

primarily on myelin and oligodendrocytes (Stys, 2004; Bartzokis, 2004).
A complex series of molecular events follows oxygen deprivation in the brain
(Stys, 2004), and this insult appears to affect axons invested with myelin
more than those without (Baltan, 2006). The consequences of such injury thus
selectively implicate myelinated systems subserving the rapid transmission of
information. In this light, the vulnerability of white matter to hypoxia in aging
has been interpreted as one factor supporting a putative myelin-based patho-
genesis of Alzheimer’s disease (Bartzokis, 2004; Chapter 16). Thus hypoxia
may have neurobehavioral implications extending far beyond what is now
appreciated.
A final observation of interest comes from the study of normal individuals
exposed to altitudinal hypoxia. Climbers who ascend to extreme altitude with-
out the use of supplemental oxygen may develop MRI white matter hyperinten-
sities (Garrido et al., 1993). Subtle neuropsychological deficits may also be
found in these individuals (Kramer et al., 1993). Thus hypoxia may account for
subtle cognitive and white matter abnormalities even in healthy persons who
sustain relatively mild degrees of oxygen deprivation. Further study of this
phenomenon is warranted so that appropriate recommendations for use of
supplemental oxygen can be developed.
HY P ER T ENSIVE ENCEPHAL OPATHY
A sudden sharp rise in blood pressure can bring about a syndrome of headache,
nausea, vomiting, papilledema, and confusion known as hypertensive enceph-
alopathy. In severe cases, stupor and coma can supervene. Both CT (Fisher
et al., 1985) and MRI scans (Hauser et al., 1988) in affected patients show white
matter lesions that can resolve with treatment of the hypertension, as can mental
status changes (Hauser et al., 1988). The pathophysiology of this syndrome is
thought to involve vasogenic edema in the white matter that accounts for the
neuroimaging changes (Schiff and Lopes, 2005). The changes in mental
status also seem to be related to the edema, although clinical–neuropathologic
correlations are limited because of the prompt recovery of most individuals
with antihypertensive treatment.
A similar syndrome known as posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy
syndrome (PRLS) was first reported by Hinchey and colleagues (1996). In their
patients, acute confusion and visual deficits were noted to evolve in parallel
with mainly occipital white matter changes; headache, nausea, vomiting, and
seizures were often seen as well. In addition to hypertension, renal insufficiency
and use of immunosuppressive drugs and chemotherapy were associated
with PRLS. As in hypertensive encephalopathy, vasogenic edema was postu-

lated to occur, and the etiology was thought to relate to a brain capillary leak
resulting from hypertension and medication effects. As with other disorders
involving vasogenic edema, recovery was typical, because, as opposed to the
situation with cytotoxic edema, no neuronal injury had occurred. As experi-
ence with this syndrome has accumulated, it has become clear that gray matter
changes may also occur in PRLS patients, and MRI may show major involve-
ment of the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and brain stem (Fugate et al., 2010).
In light of these observations, the alternative name of posterior reversible
encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is often used for this disorder (Fugate et al.,
2010). Vasogenic edema is still considered the fundamental pathophysiology,
but this metabolic syndrome is not always a selective white matter disorder.
Indeed, the prominence of seizures, even including the presentation of status
epilepticus (Fugate et al., 2010), raised the suspicion that cortical gray matter is
affected in many patients. Thus either PRLS or PRES is an appropriate term in
this setting, and the presence of seizures and cortical MRI lesions signifies the
superimposition of gray matter neuropathology.
E CLAMPSIA
Eclampsia is a disorder of pregnancy that has much in common with hyperten-

sive encephalopathy. Hypertension is a core feature of eclampsia, along with
variable mental status changes, proteinuria, and seizures. Preeclampsia is a pre-
cursor syndrome in which seizures do not occur and is classified as mild or
severe. An MRI picture identical with that of hypertensive encephalopathy can
occur in eclampsia, with cerebral hyperintensity that displays a predilection for
the posterior hemispheric white matter (Sanders et al., 1991). Neurobehavioral
and visual disturbances are thought to derive from lesions in these locations
(Sanders et al., 1991), and some gray matter involvement is also thought to
occur (Shah et al., 2008), as would be expected from the development of sei-
zures. Few studies have assessed cognitive function, but memory and visuoper-
ceptual deficits have been found during eclampsia (Shah et al., 2008). Moreover,
women with a history of eclampsia report more cognitive failures than healthy
control subjects (Aukes et al., 2009), and women who were severely preeclamp-
tic may display objective memory dysfunction several months later (Brussé
et al., 2008). Some investigators, however, have not found cognitive deficits in
women with a history of preeclampsia (Postma et al., 2010). The mechanism of
brain involvement may again relate to vasogenic edema secondary to a break-
down of the blood–brain barrier, and eclampsia has many similarities to PRES;
indeed, three of the patients in the initial report of PRES had eclampsia (Hinchey
et al., 1996). While ischemia related to edema can be postulated to occur in

eclampsia, true infarction is unlikely in view of the typical reversibility of the
syndrome if it is promptly recognized and treated (Shah et al., 2008).
HI GH-ALT IT U D E CEREBRAL EDEMA
A final entry in the category of metabolic white matter disorders is high-

altitude cerebral edema (HACE). HACE is a rapidly evolving and potentially
fatal neurologic syndrome of confusion and ataxia seen in individuals who are
at high altitude (Hackett et al., 1998; Velasco et al., 2008). This disorder, far
more serious than the simple altitudinal hypoxia discussed above, is considered
the most severe type of acute mountain sickness, the more common form of
which features headache, fatigue, malaise, nausea, dizziness, anorexia, and sleep
disturbance but no neurological abnormalities (Klocke et al., 1998). Hypoxia is
the initiating stimulus of HACE, and the disorder is associated with MRI white
matter hyperintensities that are thought to reflect vasogenic edema (Hackett
et al., 1998). Clinical and MRI recovery from HACE is ordinarily complete after
removal from high altitude and provision of supportive care, further support-
ing the likelihood that vasogenic edema is the reason for the white matter
changes (Hackett et el., 1998; Velasco et al., 2008).
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11
Vascular Diseases
Vascular disease is one of the major concerns of clinical neuroscience and

medicine. Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and
represents an enormous source of disability from neurologic and neurobehav-
ioral dysfunction. Many controversies persist in the area of vascular disease, but
one that has captured much recent attention concerns the importance of the
white matter. A lively debate in neurology has centered on the origin and
significance of the white matter changes that are so frequently seen on the
neuroimaging scans of older individuals. These findings have prompted a
renewed examination of the concept of vascular dementia, which continues to
undergo revision. This chapter considers a number of clinical entities in which
white matter vascular disease occurs, with particular attention to the neuro-
behavioral implications of these lesions.
B I NS WANG ER’S DISEASE
In 1894 the Swiss neuropathologist Otto Binswanger introduced an idea that

has sparked more than a century of controversy about white matter disease and
dementia. In a three-part article discussing the differential diagnosis of general
paresis of the insane, he presented gross neuropathology from eight patients
who had progressive dementia associated with marked white matter atrophy
sparing the cortex and pronounced atherosclerosis; he called this disease
“encephalitis subcorticalis chronica progressiva” and related it to insufficient
white matter blood supply (Blass et al., 1991). Binswanger thus made the
seminal proposal that ischemic damage to cerebral white matter alone could
produce progressive mental decline.
Eight years later, Alois Alzheimer presented additional cases with histologic
observations supporting Binswanger’s idea that arteriosclerotic white matter
disease could produce dementia (Alzheimer, 1902). Alzheimer also introduced
the term Binswanger’s disease (BD) for this disorder (Román, 1987). BD thus
became established in the medical literature, but other names appeared as time
progressed. In a 1962 review, Olszewski translated the articles of Binswanger
and Alzheimer and presented two new cases; he emphasized the importance of
lacunar infarction and offered the alternative name of “subcortical arterioscle-
rotic encephalopathy.” Today many use the term subcortical ischemic vascular
dementia (SIVD) as a category of vascular dementia that includes both BD and
the lacunar state (état lacunaire) of Pierre Marie (Román et al., 2002).
BD has been challenged as a clinical–pathologic entity, because Binswanger
may not have been the first to describe the disorder and because in his initial
report he provided no microscopic data to complement the gross neuro-
pathologic findings (Hachinski, 1991). Olszewski (1962) even speculated that
Binswanger’s cases might have had neurosyphilis. However, several authorita-
tive reviews have used the eponym (Babikian and Ropper, 1987; Fisher, 1989;
Caplan, 1995; Hurley et al., 2000; Román et al., 2002, Caplan and Gomes, 2010),
BD persists as a clinical entity in major textbooks (see Ropper and Samuels,
2009), and diagnostic clinical criteria have been proposed (Román et al., 2002;
Caplan and Gomes, 2010). While acknowledging the controversy, we will use
the term BD, because Binswanger probably deserves credit for associating dif-
fuse ischemic white matter disease with progressive dementia (O’Sullivan,
2008) and because the specific impact of BD on white matter renders the term
most appropriate for the purposes of this book.
BD can be regarded as a form of vascular dementia characterized by
prominent involvement of the cerebral white matter. The prevalence of the
disease is not known, because no definitive diagnostic test is available; although
white matter lesions on neuroimaging scans are necessary for the diagnosis,
such lesions alone are insufficient, because they can be seen in other diseases
and in normal aging. Moreover, coexisting Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has
often been regarded as the predominant cause of dementia in patients with
neuroimaging suggestive of BD. Despite these uncertainties, the disease may
be common. In some studies, nearly all older people have ischemic white
matter lesions on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; Román et al., 2002), and
whereas most do not have BD, some studies have suggested that up to 35% of
elderly dementia patients have BD lesions at postmortem examination
(Santamaria Ortiz and Knight, 1994). Evidence that BD exists as a distinct
dementia apart from AD comes from study of patients with subcortical
vascular dementia and severe white matter disease who had also Pittsburgh
compound B (PIB) imaging with position emission tomography to assess
amyloid burden (J. H. Lee et al., 2011): More than two-thirds of these patients
were negative for cortical PIB, suggesting that white matter disease, not cortical
amyloid, accounts for dementia, and that BD may be more common than often
assumed. Further neuropathologic study will be required to better define
BD and establish its prevalence.
Clinically, the disease is associated with hypertension or other vascular risk
factors and presents in mid- to late life with progressive neurologic and
neurobehavioral features, often, but not always, with a stepwise course (Babikian
and Ropper, 1987; Fisher, 1989; Caplan, 1995; Caplan and Gomes, 2010).
Neurologic features include focal pyramidal or extrapyramidal signs, acute
lacunar syndromes, gait disorder, pseudobulbar signs, and sometimes seizures.
Neurobehavioral manifestations include apathy, inertia, abulia, memory
impairment, visuospatial dysfunction, depression, and poor judgment and
insight. The diagnosis may be difficult in early stages of BD, when all of these
features may be subtle. In particular, mental status alterations can be mislead-
ing. Psychiatric dysfunction may appear before the advent of cognitive deterio-
ration and neurologic signs (Lawrence and Hillam, 1995), a sequence that has
been noted in other white matter disorders. Apathy and inertia may be fre-
quently mistaken for the mild cognitive slowing that is a common feature of
normal aging (Chapter 4). Convincing neurologic signs become more apparent
as the disease progresses, but early detection is important because initiating
treatment may help prevent the development of more disabling features.
Neuropathologic observations form the foundation for understanding the
origin of dementia in BD. Hypertension is a powerful risk factor, and the
long penetrating arterioles of the deep cerebral white matter are invariably
affected by thickening and hyalinization of the vessel walls (Román et al., 2002).
This arteriosclerosis leads either to BD, in which hypoperfusion leads to
incomplete infarction of the white matter, or the lacunar state, characterized by
occlusion of small vessels with completed lacunar infarctions (Román et al.,
2002). The brain stem may be affected in BD (Pullicino et al., 1995), but the
cortex is spared and the subcortical gray matter is less involved than the white
matter (Caplan, 1995; Caplan and Gomes, 2010). Both human (Brown and
Thore, 2011) and animal studies (Pantoni et al., 1996) demonstrate a high
vulnerability of cerebral white matter to ischemia because of compromised
perfusion from long penetrating arterioles superiorly and lenticulostriate
arteries inferiorly. Microscopically, findings early in the course of BD may be
limited to myelin pallor, but in advanced cases, loss of oligodendrocytes,
myelin, and axons is common, along with astrocytic gliosis; the subcortical
U fibers are typically spared (Román et al., 2002). BD develops as the incom-
plete infarctions of white matter become more numerous and diffuse (Román
et al., 2002), sufficient to cause dementia from selective white matter injury and
not because of other concomitant neuropathology, most notably AD (J. H. Lee

et al., 2011).
The neuroradiology of BD is controversial, because of lingering uncertainty
about the nosologic status and diagnosis of the disease. Computed tomography
(CT) gave some idea of lesion burden, but the advent of MRI greatly improved
the identification of white matter changes and led some investigators to con-
clude that these lesions established the presence of BD (Kinkel et al., 1985).
However, it soon became apparent that white matter changes were not consis-
tently associated with dementia (see below). At present, the diagnosis of BD is
made based on a pattern of clinical and neuroradiologic findings; MRI is most
useful, as it effectively displays the extent of ischemic white matter disease
(Figure 11-1).
More detailed neuroimaging studies have been performed to probe micro-
vascular alterations. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has documented
microstructural changes in normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) of
patients with vascular dementia (R. S. Jones and Waldman, 2004). Magnetization
transfer imaging (MTI) of vascular dementia has shown reduced magnetiza-
tion transfer ratio (MTR), most prominent within periventricular white matter
lesions (Tanabe et al., 1999), and other work has correlated decreased MTR
with cognitive dysfunction in BD (Hanyu et al., 1999). Diffusion tensor
imaging (DTI) has also shown its value in SIVD patients, as abnormalities
Figure 11-1. Mildly T2-weighted MRI scan of a patient with BD. There is diffuse ischemic
white matter disease around the lateral ventricles. (Reprinted with permission from Caplan
LR, Caplan’s stroke; A clinical approach. 2nd ed. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2000.)
within the NAWM have been found to be more sensitive to early cognitive
impairment than conventional MRI findings (Xu et al., 2010)
The characterization of cognitive dysfunction in BD remains a topic of
study. Babikian and Ropper (1987) emphasized memory loss, confusion, apathy,
and changes in mood and behavior that were usually unaccompanied by
aphasia, apraxia, or movement disorder. Román (1987) referred to BD as
a subcortical dementia on the basis of the frequency of personality change,
forgetfulness, and confusion and the relative rarity of aphasia, apraxia, and
agnosia. Stuss and Cummings (1990) endorsed this classification in their
review, adding that the clinical profile of BD reflects dysfunction of the frontal–
subcortical axis. Several clinical series have supported this claim using either
mental status or neuropsychological examinations in patients with BD to
demonstrate deficits in attention, memory, visuospatial ability, and abstract
thinking with relative sparing of language, praxis, and gnosis (Kinkel et al.,
1985; A. Lee et al., 1989; Sacquena et al., 1989). Clinical and neuropsychological
evidence thus suggests that cognitive and emotional dysfunction in BD can be
attributed to subcortical pathology.
The specific contribution of the white matter disease burden to dementia in
BD is more difficult to establish, but evidence has steadily accumulated on this
issue. In early studies, lowered intelligence quotient (IQ) scores were correlated
with white matter lesions on CT (Loizou et al., 1981), and correlations of cogni-
tive decline with ischemic white matter changes were revealed using MRI
(Révész et al., 1989). Neuropsychological assessment of BD patients found
poor concentration, apathy, and cognitive slowing consistent with frontal lobe
disturbance related to white matter dysfunction (Bogucki et al., 1991). An
important contribution came from study of stroke patients documenting that
neurobehavioral dysfunction can be limiting after even a single white matter
lacunar infarct (van Zandvoort et al., 1998). In BD, the gradual accumulation of
incomplete infarctions within white matter has similar effects on cognition; in a
quantitative study of vascular dementia patients using MRI, Liu and colleagues
(1992) found a strong correlation between white matter lesion area and demen-
tia. With further study, MRI white matter lesions came to be regarded as exert-
ing prominent effects on frontal–subcortical circuits and producing executive
dysfunction (Desmond, 2002). Current evidence supports a profile of cognitive
slowing, executive dysfunction, and memory retrieval deficits with sparing of
language in patients with BD (Román et al., 2002; Libon et al., 2004).
Additional support for the role of ischemic white matter disease in cognition
comes from comparison of BD with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).
Several investigators have pointed out a resemblance between the clinical and
neuropathologic features of these diseases (Earnest et al., 1974; Caplan and
Schoene, 1978; Babikian and Ropper, 1987), and similar neuropsychological
features have also been documented (Gallassi et al., 1991). Although NPH is
considered a disease in which white matter undergoes mechanical injury,
ischemia has also been implicated as a possible pathogenetic mechanism, and
indeed mechanical and ischemic injury may coexist in NPH. (The problem of
NPH is taken up further in Chapter 14.)
BD remains a controversial entity that serves to highlight several unresolved
issues in the behavioral neurology of white matter. Whereas neurologists have
long understood the potential for cortical and subcortical gray matter infarcts
to affect cognitive function, it has not been as well accepted that ischemic white
matter lesions alone can produce dementia. Clinicians rightly point out that
single white matter lacunes and MRI white matter hyperintensities often have
no obvious cognitive correlates. Moreover, the possibility of some gray matter
vascular disease—and even AD—in patients said to have BD has produced
reluctance to ascribe cognitive dysfunction to white matter lesions. However,
more detailed study of vascular disease has disclosed important white matter–
behavior relationships, and the entity of BD can be seen as a useful example of
white matter dementia (Filley, 1998). As will be reviewed next, much additional
information has been gathered from the study of ischemic white matter changes
in patients without dementia—a far more common situation—that helps put
the issue of BD in perspective.
LE UKO ARAIO SIS
As with all the disorders considered in this book, the advent of modern
neuroimaging in the last four decades has had an enormous impact on the
study of vascular white matter disease (Román, 1996; D. K. Jones et al., 1999).
It has long been commonplace for clinicians to encounter unexpected white
matter changes on neuroimaging scans of older persons, which have been rou-
tinely ascribed to ischemia. These changes are common even in older persons
with apparently intact cognitive and emotional function and are therefore often
regarded as no more than a feature of normal aging. Even when the neuroimag-
ing findings are extensive, some reluctance to diagnose a specific disorder
persists because of their near-ubiquitous presence in seemingly normal older
individuals. Some investigators, however, have interpreted these changes as a
major problem in the elderly that mandates a vigorous effort by the medical
community to prevent an epidemic of vascular dementia (van Gijn, 1998).
Intimately related to BD is the concept of leukoaraiosis (O’Sullivan, 2008).
In 1987 Hachinski and colleagues introduced this term to describe white matter
changes frequently seen on CT and especially MRI scans of older persons with
or without symptoms and signs of cerebral impairment. These changes take the
form of low-density white matter areas on CT and white matter hyperintensi-

ties on MRI; the term “unidentified bright objects” was for a time invoked to
refer to the MRI changes (Román, 1996; Figure 11-2). The intent of the term
leukoaraiosis (LA) was to provide a purely descriptive word for these changes
(Hachinski et al., 1987), the pathogenesis and clinical correlates of which were
not well understood at the time. The caution embodied by the term was appro-
priate, as some investigators immediately made the premature assumption that
these changes represented BD (Kinkel et al., 1985). However, with further work
both the origin and significance of LA became clearer, and in light of more
complete information, it is now plausible to consider its relationship to BD.
As knowledge on its pathogenesis has accumulated, support for the ischemic
origin of LA has steadily gained strength (Pantoni and Garcia, 1997; Pantoni
et al., 2007; O’Sullivan, 2008). Several neuropathologic studies found arterio-
sclerotic changes within areas of LA (Awad et al., 1986; Leifer et al., 1990;
Fazekas et al., 1993). The small penetrating arterioles supplying the white
matter were shown to manifest narrowing of the lumen secondary to the
accumulation of hyaline material, and LA was also found to spare the subcorti-
cal U fibers (Pantoni and Garcia, 1997), findings very similar to those seen
in BD (Caplan, 1995). Gradually a consensus grew that LA reflects recurrent
Figure 11-2. Proton density MRI scan of an asymptomatic older individual with
leukoaraiosis. Scattered white matter hyperintensities are seen throughout the cerebrum.
(Reprinted with permission from Brant-Zawadski M, Norman D, eds. Magnetic
resonance imaging of the central nervous system. New York: Raven, 1987.)
transient hypotension producing incomplete infarction in the oligodendro-

cytes, myelin, and axons of cerebral white matter (Pantoni and Garcia, 1997;
Román et al., 2002; O’Sullivan, 2008). Cerebral blood flow studies were consis-
tent with this pathogenesis in showing reduced white matter perfusion in
LA with normal gray matter (Markus et al., 2000). Early clinical studies found
strong correlations between LA and cerebrovascular risk factors such as hyper-
tension, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and prior history of stroke
(Gerard and Weisberg, 1986; Inzitari et al., 1987); more recently, cigarette
smoking (Fukuda and Kitani, 1996), obesity (Jagust et al., 2005), and the meta-
bolic syndrome (Park et al., 2007) have all been correlated with LA. Despite
these advances, LA remains a neuroradiologic finding that may represent
physiologic changes such as dilation of perivascular Virchow-Robin spaces
(état criblé) or periventricular caps and bands—all benign—or even other
neuropathologic processes such as the demyelinative plaques of multiple
sclerosis (MS; Merino and Hachinski, 2000; Barkhof and Scheltens, 2002).
Some evidence also exists that the pathogenesis and sequelae of LA may
differ depending on its location. From neuropathologic studies of people with
incidental white matter hyperintensities, Fazekas and colleagues (1993) found
that while subcortical lesions were ischemic, periventricular lesions were due to
altered fluid dynamics leading to white matter edema and subsequent demyeli-
nation. The functional consequences of lesions in these locations may also
differ, as subcortical lesions have been associated with cognitive dysfunction
(Soumaré et al., 2009) and periventricular lesions with gait disorder (Blahak
et al., 2009). However, since subcortical and periventricular lesions are highly
correlated with each other, a categorical distinction between them may be arbi-
trary, and these associations remain tentative (DeCarli et al., 2005).
The ischemic origin of LA has been amply supported, and environmental
factors clearly play a major role in its pathogenesis. However, a genetic contri-
bution to LA has also been recently observed. A large European genome-wide
association study involving over 9000 subjects recently identified a novel locus
on chromosome 17 associated with LA (Fornage et al., 2011). This discovery
helps explain the heritability of LA, reported as ranging from 55% to 80%
(Fornage et al., 2011). The first substantial evidence of a genetic influence on
LA, these findings invite further investigation of the complex pathophysiology
of this common problem. Some evidence also supports an association of
the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele with a higher burden of LA (Godin et al., 2009).
Thus data now appearing suggest that nature and nurture both play a role in the
origin of LA.
The neurobehavioral significance of LA has come to be understood through
many studies, which have steadily produced an ever more coherent picture.
Early investigations using low-field-strength MRI magnets and standard
neuropsychological tests found no correlation of LA with cognitive dysfunc-

tion, suggesting that improved imaging and different cognitive measures could
be more useful (Filley et al., 1989; Rao et al., 1989). Subsequent research found
such correlations, with attention and cognitive speed being the main cognitive
domains affected in LA (Junqué et al., 1990; van Sweiten et al., 1991; Schmidt
et al., 1993; Ylikoski et al., 1993). Larger MRI studies of older individuals
continued to find correlations between the severity of LA and cognitive dys-
function (Longstreth et al., 1996; de Groot et al., 2000; Au et al., 2006; Inzitari
et al., 2007; Murray et al., 2010). A consistent pattern of slowed processing
speed and executive dysfunction emerged, regardless of the location of white
matter lesions; this observation may be due to the substantial convergence of
numerous association tracts on the frontal lobes (Tullberg et al., 2004). Recent
reviews have concluded that LA has been convincingly shown to have effects on
cognition and that the major areas affected are processing speed and executive
function (O’Sullivan, 2008; Debette and Markus, 2010).
Most recently, newer neuroimaging techniques have disclosed the presence
of abnormalities in the NAWM of people with LA. As in MS, much of the brain
in LA is affected beyond the obvious lesions seen on conventional MRI. MRS
revealed neurometabolite changes in the NAWM consistent with myelin
damage (Firbank et al., 2003; Charlton et al., 2006). DTI has been still more
informative, showing microstructural white matter abnormalities that correlate
with impaired global cognition, processing speed, attention, working memory,
and executive function (D. K. Jones et al., 1999; Charlton et al., 2006; Vernooij
et al., 2009; van Norden et al., 2011). DTI has also been shown to be more sensi-
tive to longitudinal cognitive decline than is the advance of LA on MRI
(Charlton et al., 2010). Specific ischemic risk factors are now being explored; a
DTI study on the effects of cigarette smoking, for example, found not only
increased LA in smokers but also microstructural injury in NAWM that
correlated with impaired executive function (Gons et al., 2011).
These studies on the NAWM in LA extend prior work done on the idea of a
threshold effect. Boone and colleagues (1992) suggested that 10 cm2 of affected
white matter was required before cognitive dysfunction could be detected. An
influential 1993 consensus statement suggested that cognitive impairment
occurred when LA affected 25% of the cerebral white matter (Román et al.,
1993). Libon and colleagues (2008) extended this work by showing that only
severe LA was associated with executive dysfunction. These studies recall simi-
lar observations in MS that a certain threshold of demyelination was necessary
before cognitive impairment occurred (Chapter 6). The notion of a threshold
effect is still plausible, but it is clear that LA does not represent the entirety of
ischemic neuropathology in the cerebral white matter. The data on NAWM
introduce considerably more complexity into this issue. As will be discussed
below, the impact of white matter lesions can be mitigated by cognitive reserve,
further confounding the interpretation of LA in individual patients.
Additional neurologic morbidity and even mortality may be associated with
LA. Longstreth and colleagues (1996) found a significant association of LA
with gait disorder, and Briley and colleagues (2000) found that LA predicts
morbidity and mortality independent of prior neurologic deficits. Smith (2010)
summarized evidence that LA is important for stroke outcome as well as stroke
incidence. Recent data have also suggested that LA may increase the risk of
anticoagulant-related hemorrhage in patients with atrial fibrillation or other
indications for anticoagulation (O’Sullivan, 2008). Because of the wide distri-
bution of white matter and the probability of multifocal white matter involve-
ment interfering with the operations of many distributed neural networks, it is
not surprising that LA of sufficient magnitude can disrupt elemental as well as
higher neurologic functions and compromise other aspects of brain health.
As mentioned above, another intriguing aspect of LA is that cognitive reserve
appears to protect against the cognitive dysfunction induced by white matter
lesions. In a population-based study, an association between LA and cognitive
dysfunction was present in individuals with lower education but not in more
educated people (Dufouil et al., 2003). These findings are similar to recent
observations in people with MS (Chapter 6) and support the hypothesis
that cognitive reserve bestowed by education, plausibly mediated by increased
cortical synaptic density, can mitigate the detrimental cognitive consequences
of LA (Dufouil et al., 2003).
The accumulated evidence justifies the statement that LA is a largely
ischemic phenomenon that predicts an increased risk of cognitive dysfunction,
dementia, stroke, and mortality (Debette and Markus, 2010). The pattern of
cognitive dysfunction in LA most typically implicates processing speed and
executive function (O’Sullivan, 2008; Debette and Markus, 2010). These con-
clusions, combined with neuroradiologic and neuropathologic commonalities,
lend support to the notion that LA lies on the same clinical–pathologic
spectrum as BD (Filley et al., 1988; van Sweiten et al., 1991; Roman, 1996; Libon
et al., 2004; Debette and Markus, 2010). One important implication of this
connection is that vigorous treatment of LA by modification of many well-
recognized cerebrovascular risk factors may significantly affect the onset and
manifestations of age-related cognitive decline.
CE R EB RAL AMYLOID ANGIOPATHY
Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is a cerebrovascular disorder, distinct

from the systemic amyloidoses, in which ß-amyloid is deposited in the cerebral
and leptomeningeal vasculature. Best known for its propensity to cause intrac-
erebral and subarachnoid hemorrhage, CAA is also associated with dementia.
The disorder is seen in nearly all cases of AD but also occurs sporadically in up
to 30% of nondemented older people (Weller et al., 2009). In either scenario,
white matter ischemia and infarction can occur (Smith, 2010). CAA may con-
tribute to the higher frequency of white matter changes in patients with AD
(Brun and Englund, 1986) and account for the more severe clinical course that
this additional burden implies (Janota et al., 1989). In other individuals, CAA
may produce a prominent leukoencephalopathy as its major manifestation
(Janota et al., 1989; Loes et al., 1990; Imaoka et al., 1999; Maramattom and
Maramattom, 2004), and these white matter changes may lead to clinical
picture very similar to BD (Yoshimura et al., 1992). As in BD, the leukoenceph-
alopathy likely accounts for dementia in these patients. Conventional MRI
reveals typical leukoaraiosis in CAA (Smith, 2010), and DTI has shown micro-
structural damage in areas of NAWM (Salat et al., 2006). Since the prevalence
of CAA is thought to greatly exceed the prevalence of lobar hemorrhage, use of
DTI and similar techniques may disclose a substantial burden of white matter
injury that may have important neurobehavioral consequences (Salat et al.,
2006).
CA DASIL
The concept of white matter ischemic damage as a source of neurobehavioral

impairment has been further illuminated in the last three decades by the char-
acterization of a disease called cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with
subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL; Tournier-Lasserve
et al., 1993; Chabriat et al., 2009). CADASIL is a genetic form of vascular
dementia that bears a close resemblance to BD clinically but is due to genetic
mutation rather than cerebral arteriosclerosis. Credit for the clinical recogni-
tion of this disease goes to van Bogaert (1955), who first described a disease
similar to BD in two sisters. Several large pedigrees around the world have
confirmed that CADASIL maps to the NOTCH3 region of chromosome 19q12
(Tournier-Lasserve et al., 1993; Chabriat et al., 2009). CADASIL can be caused
by a number of different mutations at this locus. Although this disease qualifies
as a genetic disorder (Chapter 5), CADASIL is discussed in this chapter because
its neurobehavioral importance is most readily understood in the context of BD
and LA.
Clinically, patients with CADASIL are reminiscent of those with BD in many
respects, but the usual absence of hypertension and earlier age of onset are
distinctive. Stroke, dementia, mood disorders, and migraine with aura have
been cited as the most frequent clinical features, and the disease typically begins
in mid- to late adulthood (Chabriat et al., 1995). White matter disease on MRI
is regularly encountered, even in presymptomatic persons, and takes the form
of scattered subcortical lesions that progress with time into confluent leukoen-
cephalopathy (Harris and Filley, 2001; Figure 11-3). Neurobehavioral dysfunc-
tion in the absence of significant elemental neurologic deficits may dominate
the clinical course, and early neuropsychiatric dysfunction has been observed
A B
Figure 11-3. T2-weighted MRI scans of

three members of a family with CADASIL:
(A) proband, (B) his father, and (C) his
paternal grandmother. Leukoencepha-
lopathy is present on all scans but is most
severe in the oldest patient.
C
to precede the gradual appearance of cognitive decline and dementia (Filley

et al., 1999). The profile of cognitive dysfunction may feature abulia, a deficit in
sustained attention, impaired memory retrieval, perseveration, and sparing of
language, a pattern consistent with white matter dementia (Filley et al., 1999;
Harris and Filley, 2001; Chabriat et al., 2009).
The diagnosis of CADASIL can be challenging, and confusion with MS and
other white matter disorders is common. The disease should be considered in
normotensive adults who have leukoencephalopathy and clinical features
including stroke, cognitive disturbance, depression, and migraine with aura; a
family history consistent with autosomal dominant inheritance is also helpful.
Definitive diagnosis requires blood testing for confirmation of a NOTCH3
mutation (Tournier-Lasserve et al., 1993; Chabriat et al., 2009). Characteristic
ultrastructural changes consisting of granular osmiophilic inclusions in the
vascular smooth muscle of small arteries can be seen using electron microscopy
of skin obtained by biopsy (Chabriat et al., 2009).
The pathogenesis of neurobehavioral dysfunction in CADASIL is being
clarified. Although many cases have a mixture of subcortical white and gray
matter disease, careful perusal of published reports shows that dementia can be
seen in those with exclusive white matter involvement (Hedera and Friedland,
1997). Cortical pathology involving neuronal apoptosis develops only late in
the disease (Chabriat et al., 2009) and likely exerts little impact on the clinical
profile. Studies using conventional MRI have demonstrated that cognitive
decline can be correlated with white matter lesion burden in CADASIL
(Dichgans et al., 1999). As in SIVD, both infarction and ischemia appear to
contribute to cognitive dysfunction (Chabriat et al., 2009). The neuropathology
of CADASIL appears to extend beyond the areas of involvement seen on con-
ventional MRI, as studies with MTI (Iannucci et al., 2001), MRS (Akhvlediani
et al., 2010), and DTI (Chabriat et al., 1999) have disclosed microstructural
damage within NAWM.
White matter in the frontal and temporal lobes is particularly vulnerable
in CADASIL. Damage in these areas correlates with attentional, memory,
visuospatial, and conceptual dysfunction (Yousry et al., 1999). This predilection
for frontal and temporal lobe involvement may help explain the early neurop-
sychiatric dysfunction that can occur in CADASIL (Filley et al., 1999; Harris
and Filley, 2001), such as depression. The tendency for cognitive loss to follow
psychiatric dysfunction has been encountered in other cerebral white matter
disorders as well (Filley and Gross, 1992). Longitudinal study of affected
individuals with CADASIL will be required to establish this sequence more
securely.
The absence of cerebrovascular or other risk factors in CADASIL means that
treatment is currently limited to supportive care, including prevention of other
risk factors that can worsen the white matter burden already associated with the
disease. Counseling of family members at risk is advisable, because the gene
may be passed on to offspring by presymptomatic individuals who will later
develop clinical features of CADASIL. In this respect, the disease is very similar
to Huntington’s disease, another autosomal dominant disease that typically
manifests in adulthood.
While CADASIL is the most common heritable cause of vascular dementia
in adults (Chabriat et al., 2009), another, far less common genetic cerebro-
vascular disease has recently been described. Cerebral autosomal recessive
arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CARASIL)
has been reported in about 50 cases, mostly from Japan. CARASIL shares with
CADASIL a predilection for small-artery involvement, but the neuropathology
features intense atherosclerosis rather than granular osmiophilic material
(Fukutake, 2011). Other distinguishing features of CARASIL include prema-
ture alopecia and lower-back vertebral and intervertebral disc disease (Fukutake,
2011). Progressive dementia develops in parallel with the advance of cerebral
white matter changes and infarction (Fukutake, 2011).
M I GR AINE
Another vascular disorder of the white matter deserving comment is migraine.

Although not usually considered a structural disease of the brain, migraine can
be associated with cerebral infarction in a very small number of patients
(Tietjen, 2000). MRI white matter changes, however, are seen with some regu-
larity in migraineurs; in one series of 129 consecutive migraine patients, 19%
had deep white matter abnormalities on T2-weighted scans (Pavese et al., 1994).
These changes are more frequent in individuals with classic migraine (Soges
et al., 1998), and it has been suggested that they represent areas of microinfarc-
tion (Ferbert et al., 1991). In addition, migraine associated with prolonged aura
and white matter lesions may represent an unusual phenotype of CADASIL
(Ceroni et al., 2000; see above). In the usual case of migraine, especially with
aura, white matter lesions on MRI continue to be regarded as ischemic (Colombo
et al., 2011). These abnormalities tend to be small and scattered, with no predi-
lection for the periventricular regions or the corpus callosum; these features
distinguish the MRI of migraineurs from that expected in MS.
The neurobehavioral significance of white matter lesions in migraine has
attracted attention, and major cognitive deficits have not been demonstrated.
Clinically normal young men with a small degree of MRI white matter hyper-
intensity were found in one study to have reduced attentional capacity (Lewine
et al., 1993). However, recent studies have been reassuring in finding no
detrimental effects on cognition associated with these lesions and no evidence

of increased risk for vascular dementia (Paemeleire, 2009). Thus in those
migraine patients who have white matter changes, the usual lesion burden is
probably well below the threshold for neurobehavioral features to be clinically
apparent. As a practical concern for neurologists, the appearance of incidental
white matter lesions in migraineurs far more often provokes concern for the
presence of more ominous white matter disorders such as MS, diagnostic pos-
sibilities that must be carefully evaluated (Carmosino et al., 2005).
WHI T E MAT T ER DISEASE OF PREMATUR I TY
The increasing survival of premature infants due to improved perinatal care in

the last several decades has brought to light two important disorders of the
white matter that occur very early in development: periventricular leukomala-
cia and periventricular hemorrhage (Perlman, 1998; Miller and Ferriero, 2009).
These problems, which often lead to cerebral palsy and mental retardation in
survivors, are the most important determinants of poor long-term neurologic
and neurobehavioral outcome in premature infants (Perlman, 1998; Stewart
et al., 1999). Although details of pathogenesis in these disorders are still under
investigation, enough similarities with adult vascular white matter disease exist
to justify their discussion in this chapter. Evidence continues to mount that
primary damage to white matter in the developmental period has profound
implications for neurobehavioral function throughout later life.
As a general rule, injury to the preterm brain results in a predominant pat-
tern of white matter damage, whereas term injury affects mainly gray matter
(Miller and Ferriero, 2009). Because the preterm brain is undergoing extensive
myelination, white matter is particularly vulnerable at this stage, and oligoden-
drocyte precursor cells are especially susceptible to hypoxia (Miller and Ferriero,
2009). Injury to the preterm brain can be either ischemic, resulting in periven-
tricular leukomalacia, or hemorrhagic, producing periventricular hemorrhage
(Miller and Ferriero, 2009).
Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) occurs in 4–15% of premature infants
and features both focal and diffuse cerebral white matter injury (Perlman,
1998). Cognitive impairment and spastic diplegia are well-recognized sequelae;
PVL is the major substrate of cerebral palsy (Folkerth, 2006). Neuropathologically,
the focal lesions of PVL represent areas of necrosis, and diffuse involvement
reflects loss of myelin and glial cells; all lesions are essentially confined to
white matter, as the cortex and subcortical gray matter are largely unaffected
(DeReuck et al., 1972; Young et al., 1982; Folkerth, 2006). Cyst formation
follows in many cases within a few weeks, particularly in focal areas of necrosis.
Cranial ultrasound was instrumental in detecting the areas of focal necrosis

and cyst formation, and since the introduction of MRI as a technique to assess
white matter injury (Van de Bor et al., 1992), it has become the gold standard in
this setting (Miller and Ferriero, 2009). MRI studies demonstrate increased
signal in the cerebral white matter on T2-weighted scans (Figure 11-4), and
diffusion-weighted MRI can detect diffuse white matter involvement even when
conventional MRI is normal (Inder et al., 1999). Cognitive impairment corre-
lates with increased lateral ventricular volume, which is a marker of white
matter injury (Melhem et al., 2000). Neuropsychological studies of the pattern
of cognitive impairment have generally shown a greater effect on nonverbal
than verbal skills (Fedrizzi et al., 1996), consistent with other white matter dis-
orders that tend to spare linguistic function (Filley, 1998). Many investigators
have attributed the white matter injury to reduced blood flow from hypoten-
sion (Banker and Larroche, 1962; DeReuck et al., 1972; Young et al., 1982), and
infectious and inflammatory factors have been implicated as well (Kuban, 1998;
Miller and Ferriero, 2009).
Periventricular hemorrhage (PVH) has become somewhat less common
than PVL but may still affect 10–15% of infants weighing less than 1000 grams
at birth (Perlman, 1998). Hemorrhage of this kind remains a major source of
Figure 11-4. T2-weighted MRI scan of a patient with PVL. The cerebral white matter
lesions are bilateral and symmetric. (Reprinted with permission from Atlas SW, ed.
Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and spine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott-
Raven, 1996).
long-term neurobehavioral sequelae in affected infants. The disorder manifests

as typically unilateral or asymmetric periventricular white matter bleeding that
arises from the ependymal germinal matrix and frequently ruptures into the
adjacent lateral ventricle (Kuban et al., 1999). The germinal matrix is a transi-
tional region absent at term, but in prematurity it is vulnerable to hypertension
in both arterial and venous vessels, which is presumed to underlie the patho-
genesis of this injury (Perlman, 1998; Miller and Ferriero, 2009). As in PVL,
MRI has superseded ultrasound as a diagnostic test for PVH (Stewart et al.,
1999; Miller and Ferriero, 2009). Hydrocephalus often occurs and further com-
promises periventricular white matter. Cognitive and motor deficits are fre-
quent in survivors (Guzzetta et al., 1986; Stewart et al., 1987), and with extensive
hemorrhage, there is little chance for normal cognitive or motor function later
in life (Guzzetta et al., 1986).
The selective vulnerability of the immature brain white matter has clear
implications for the emerging appreciation of the role of brain connectivity in
neurobehavioral function (Miller and Ferriero, 2009). Evidence continues to
mount supporting the critical contribution of white matter to normal cognitive
development. MRI studies of neurodevelopmental outcome in preterm infants
showed that white matter lesions were more strongly correlated with cognitive
delay and cerebral palsy than were gray matter lesions (Woodward et al., 2006),
and the prominence of executive dysfunction was later related to white matter
involvement (Woodward et al., 2011). A recent report of intellectual function in
adolescents who had been born preterm and followed to a mean age of 16 years
was particularly instructive with regard to the influence of white matter on cog-
nition (Northam et al., 2011). In this study, volumetric MRI measurements dis-
closed reduction of the periventricular white matter and thinning of the corpus
callosum with no significant loss of gray matter volume compared with con-
trols. The full-scale IQ of the affected adolescents was strongly correlated with
the white matter volume loss, and adding gray matter measurements into the
analysis explained no further variance in outcome. The white matter reductions
also correlated strongly with academic problems and behavioral difficulties
reported by parents. In contrast to investigations of many white matter disor-
ders affecting cognition, in which coexistent gray matter neuropathology could
potentially contribute to observed deficits, this study provides a convincing
example that white matter damage alone can significantly impair cognition.
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12
Traumatic Disorders
Trauma to the brain can occur because of accidents, falls, assaults, sporting
contests, or intentional therapeutic maneuvers. This problem is one of the most
urgent in neurology and medicine, as brain injury from motor vehicle acci-
dents, wartime injuries, and other events constitutes one of the most prevalent
neurologic disorders. The neuropathologic changes in the brain caused by
trauma are complex, and understanding the clinical consequences of traumatic
brain injury (TBI) is a formidable task. Nevertheless, the white matter of the
brain is significantly damaged in TBI, and considering this category of injury
from a neurobehavioral perspective is instructive.
T R A UMATIC BRAIN INJURY
TBI has recently been the object of considerable and well-deserved interest in
neurology. This development follows a long period when, despite its high prev-
alence and substantial impact on society, TBI could legitimately be termed a
“silent epidemic” (Goldstein, 1990) because of the relatively little attention the
neuroscientific community devoted to it. TBI may of course be an immediately
fatal event, as in many motor vehicle accidents and combat-related injuries.
Many more individuals survive TBI, and although most concussions resolve
fully within weeks, it is sobering to consider that TBI has been ranked as the
most common etiology of major neurologic disability in the United States
(Alexander, 1987). The recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have accentu-
ated the problem, because many combatants have returned from active duty
with blast injury, a new form of TBI unrelated to blunt physical impact.
But whatever the cause of TBI, the problems faced by many patients and their
families and caregivers are particularly burdensome given the high incidence in
young adults, who may be required to cope with persistent neurobehavioral
sequelae for decades. These deficits in cognition and especially emotional status
are typically more problematic than physical disability. The substantial initial
recovery of physical functions often misleads clinicians and other observers to
anticipate a good neurobehavioral outcome that may sadly not occur.
The clinical presentation of TBI necessarily includes impairment of mental
status. The diagnosis is often obvious from the history or signs of trauma to the
head or other areas, but with milder or more remote injuries, physical signs
may be absent and the evaluation of mental state becomes paramount. In all
cases, TBI involves some loss of neurobehavioral function, ranging from tran-
sient loss of consciousness, confusion, or amnesia from concussion (Kelly et al.,
1991) to the vegetative state following severe injury (Adams et al., 2000).
Individuals with mild injuries usually recover, whereas more severe injury leads
to lifelong deficits in attention, memory, and comportment (Filley, 2011).
Evidence developed over the last half century has strongly suggested that the
most important factor underlying the neurobehavioral sequelae of TBI is injury
to the cerebral white matter.
A consideration of TBI as a white matter disorder requires a brief review of
fundamental neuropathology and pathophysiology. Although the range of neu-
ropathology found in TBI is broad, including focal cortical contusions, hypoxic–
ischemic lesions, and extraaxial hemorrhages, clinical and experimental studies
have implicated injury to white matter as most prominent (Strich, 1956; Adams
et al., 1982; Gennarelli et al., 1982; Alexander, 1995). This lesion was first
described as “diffuse degeneration of the cerebral white matter” in patients with
severe posttraumatic dementia (Strich, 1956) and later by the similar descriptor
“shearing injury” (Strich, 1961). Then came the term diffuse axonal injury
(DAI), by which is implied widespread injury to axons within the white matter
of the injured brain (Adams et al., 1982). DAI is still commonly used, and
now traumatic axonal injury (TAI) has appeared to designate the same process
(Büki and Povlishock, 2006). Both terms point to brain axons as the primary
sites of injury, serving for our purposes to highlight white matter damage
that is clinically and neuropathologically demonstrable and produces major
neurobehavioral sequelae.
Variable degrees of DAI have been demonstrated in both severe (Adams
et al., 1982) and mild TBI (Oppenheimer, 1968). In the series of Nevin (1967),
white matter neuropathology was present in all individuals who survived more
than a week after severe TBI, and an identical pattern of DAI was demonstrated
in experimental animals (Gennarelli et al., 1982). DAI is characterized by its
microscopic features, which include axonal retraction balls, microglial clusters,
and Wallerian degeneration in white matter fiber tracts (Gennarelli et al., 1982).
The pathophysiology of DAI involves shearing forces produced in the brain by

sudden acceleration and deceleration (Alexander, 1995). Rotational forces
appear to be most deleterious. These shearing forces act mainly upon long fiber
systems in the brain that are most vulnerable to mechanical disruption. Injury
to blood vessels producing multiple hemorrhagic foci is common as well.
Further investigation has led to the concept of a cascade of cellular events
occurring after TBI that contribute to additional axonal and myelin disruption
(Büki and Povlishock, 2006). The extent of DAI correlates with clinical mea-
sures of severity, including the Glasgow Coma Scale, the length of unconscious-
ness, and the duration of posttraumatic amnesia (Alexander, 1995). In very
severe cases, damage to the subcortical white matter plays a major role in the
pathogenesis of the vegetative state (Adams et al., 2000). Thus the essential
difference between mild and more severe forms of TBI is the degree of
DAI (Alexander, 1995). Areas most prominently affected by TBI are the dorsal
midbrain, the corpus callosum, and the hemispheric white matter (Figure 12-1;
Filley, 2011).
Neuroimaging studies have supported neuropathologic findings emphasiz-
ing the importance of white matter damage in TBI, although many patients
with mild TBI have normal conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Early reports using computed tomography (CT) demonstrated small focal
hemorrhages in the white matter of TBI patients (Zimmerman et al., 1978), but
CT has since been acknowledged as generally insensitive to DAI (Kim and
Gean, 2011). The higher sensitivity of MRI was shown by observations that a
Figure 12-1. Schematic drawing of brain white matter regions most susceptible to DAI
associated with TBI: the brain stem, cerebral hemispheres, and corpus callosum.
substantial number of brain-injured individuals with normal CT scans have

white matter lesions on MRI (Mittl et al., 1994). A prospective MRI study
demonstrated that DAI was the most common neuroradiologic lesion in TBI,
followed by cortical contusions (Gentry et al., 1988). White matter lesions
may be seen in the dorsal brain stem, hemispheric white matter, and corpus
callosum, the same sites identified from neuropathologic studies (Gentry et al.,
1988). Figure 12-2 is a heavily T1-weighted image depicting DAI in the right
frontal lobe. While illustrative for this account, the MRI sequence used in
Figure 12-2 is unusual, and gradient echo and susceptibility-weighted images
are now recommended to improve DAI detection because of their capacity
to detect shearing-related microhemorrhages that accompany traumatic injury
to axons (Kim and Gean, 2011).
That microscopic lesions of DAI may be undetectable with conventional MRI
explains why correlations between MRI white matter changes and neuropsy-
chological function are often modest (Levin et al., 1992). Indeed, one of the
major conundrums with mild TBI is establishing the diagnosis in the absence
of a sensitive and specific neuroimaging scan in clinical practice. As this prob-
lem was recognized, more sensitive MRI techniques were introduced to improve
white matter–behavior correlations (Smith et al., 1995), and the study of nor-
mal-appearing white matter in TBI was launched. Reduced N-acetyl-aspartate
on magnetic resonance spectroscopy was found to correlate with TBI severity
Figure 12-2. Heavily T1-weighted MRI scan of a patient with prior TBI showing right
frontal DAI (arrow) and associated enlargement of the adjacent right lateral ventricle.
(Reprinted with permission from Pomeranz SJ. Craniospinal magnetic resonance imaging.
Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1989.)
(Garnett et al., 2000), and magnetization transfer imaging detected abnormali-

ties that correlated with cognitive impairment (Bagley et al., 2000; McGowan
et al., 2000). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has shown similar results, as in a
study of children in whom a composite measure of white matter integrity related
to global outcome and processing speed after TBI (Levin et al., 2008). In longi-
tudinal studies of adults with TBI, DTI has disclosed DAI in multiple tracts,
with acute abnormalities correlating with impaired learning and memory while
chronic abnormalities correlated with slowed processing speed and executive
dysfunction (Wang et al., 2011). These data provide further support for the
importance of DAI in producing the neurobehavioral dysfunction of TBI.
The specific clinical impact of DAI can be difficult to determine in many
cases, because other neurologic and systemic injuries in TBI also contribute to
overall outcome. For example, patients with diffuse injury and superimposed
cortical lesions fare worse than those with diffuse injury alone (Filley et al.,
1987). However, some data are useful in developing a profile of neurobehav-
ioral deficits that can be tentatively ascribed to DAI. As a general rule, attention,
memory, and executive function are most affected in TBI (Arciniegas et al.
1999; Filley, 2011). These disturbances also tend to dominate in patients with
mild TBI who go on to develop the postconcussion syndrome (Alexander,
1995). Deficits in these domains are consistent with the preponderance of white
matter lesions in the frontal and temporal lobes on MRI (Levin et al., 1987).
Sustained attention or concentration may be particularly affected, in contrast to
simple attention as assessed by digit span (Kaufmann et al., 1993). Memory loss
has been associated with ventricular dilation that is most likely a result of white
matter volume loss (Anderson and Bigler, 1995). Disconnection effects related
to corpus callosum atrophy have been found with the use of dichotic listening
tests (Levin et al., 1989; Benavidez et al., 1999). TBI patients may display rela-
tive preservation of procedural memory in comparison with declarative
memory (Ewert et al., 1989). Additional examination of memory reveals that
this sparing of procedural memory may be accompanied by specific difficulty
with memory retrieval (Timmerman and Brouwer, 1999), a pattern consistent
with the proposed category of white matter dementia (Filley, 1998). Executive
dysfunction has been documented in TBI, and DTI studies have related this
deficit to DAI in frontal lobe connections (Kinnunen et al., 2011). In contrast to
these areas of deficit, language is relatively preserved after TBI. Studies using
verbal and performance IQ scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
after TBI have shown that language abilities are less affected and recover more
quickly than nonverbal skills (Mandleberg and Brooks, 1975). Personality and
emotional changes, on the other hand, are frequent. Disinhibition is common
and may be disabling because it results in disruptive behavior that limits or
precludes reintegration into society (Filley et al., 1987). Depression occurs in
nearly half of TBI patients (van Reekum et al., 2000). More recent studies have
associated cognitive slowing with DAI using MRI volumetric analysis (Levine
et al., 2006). A complex amalgam of neurobehavioral deficits is thus typical of
TBI, and based on the common denominator of DAI and a clinical profile that
matches that of other white matter disorders (Filley, 1998), substantial justifica-
tion exists to regard the white matter neuropathology as responsible for a major
portion of the neurobehavioral disability experienced by all TBI patients.
In the last decade, military conflicts in the Middle East have brought to
attention a new form of TBI called blast injury (Ling et al., 2009). Many soldiers
in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have received injuries related not to direct
head trauma but instead to the impact of high-velocity air, gas, and debris from
a nearby explosion. Symptoms after blast injury may be quite similar to those
following more conventional concussion, leading to the notion that they
involve similar mechanisms of brain injury, including DAI, but the frequent
co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder has complicated analysis. DTI
studies have now documented multifocal DAI in the brain as one mechanism
of brain damage in blast injuries (Mac Donald et al., 2011).
The treatment of patients with TBI involves a complex series of interventions
ranging from acute intensive care and neurosurgical procedures to outpatient
rehabilitation and counseling. The optimization of recovery from TBI requires
attention to many issues that follow from the range of neurologic and systemic
injuries that individuals may sustain. With regard to white matter, special con-
siderations may influence the management of TBI. First, TBI victims are often
young and otherwise unimpaired neurologically, leading to the possibility that
spontaneous recovery may be more notable than in older people with other
problems. The plasticity of white matter (Chapter 19) is relevant in this context.
Second, specific pharmacologic treatment based on white matter neuropathol-
ogy may be warranted. DAI in the cerebral white matter may have a selective
effect on the cholinergic system, as shown in animal models (Schmidt and Grady,
1995), and the use of cholinergic drugs such as donepezil may be beneficial in
TBI (Arciniegas et al., 1999). Drugs of this sort can only be expected to help in
TBI if enough axons remain intact to enable effective neurotransmission in rel-
evant brain regions, an assumption that seems reasonable in most cases. As in
other white matter disorders, the possibility of some degree of axonal sparing in
TBI may portend a better prognosis and response to pharmacologic treatment.
S HA KEN BAB Y SYNDROME
The battered child syndrome, first described in the 1960s (Kempe et al., 1961),
is a tragic reminder of the potential for the physical abuse of young children.
It was later called the whiplash shaken infant syndrome (Caffey, 1974) and is
now known as the shaken baby syndrome (Duhaime et al., 1998). In addition to
injury from shaking, most infants abused in this manner have evidence of blunt
impact to the head (Duhaime et al., 1998). Nonaccidental trauma causing this
syndrome occurs mostly in the first three years of life and is the most common
cause of traumatic death in infancy (Duhaime et al., 1998). Common clinical
features include lethargy, irritability, seizures, retinal hemorrhages, cutaneous
bruising, and coma (Duhaime et al., 1998). Nearly all patients have subdural
hematoma or subarachnoid hemorrhage, and death may occur from intracra-
nial hypertension (Duhaime et al., 1998). Severe cognitive dysfunction may
follow as a lifelong sequel in those who survive (Caffey, 1974); one study found
that 96% of children with the syndrome had moderate or severe disability after
three years (Bonnier et al., 2003).
Neuropathologic findings include subdural and subarachnoid blood, cortical
contusions that are most common in the frontal lobes, and DAI in the corpus
callosum and hemispheric white matter (Duhaime et al., 1998). This syndrome
has thus been likened to TBI in general, and it can be difficult to determine
whether children were injured accidentally (from, say, motor vehicle accidents
or falls) or from nonaccidental trauma. Other autopsy studies, however, have
suggested that hypoxia–ischemia may also contribute to white matter damage
(Shannon et al., 1998; Geddes and Whitwell, 2004). Diffusion-weighted MRI
has shown evidence of injury in the subcortical white matter and corpus
callosum (Chan et al., 2003), and advanced neuroimaging techniques are likely
to add further information (Ashwal et al., 2010). The contribution of white
matter damage to neurobehavioral disturbance in shaken baby syndrome
appears to be important, although as in TBI generally, other neuropathology
should also be considered.
CORPU S CALLO SOTOMY
Another entry in the list of traumatic white matter disorders is corpus calloso-
tomy, a surgical lesion that serves as a useful contrast to congenital callosal
agenesis (Chapter 5). In corpus callosotomy the goal is the intentional severing of
the largest white matter tract in the brain. A discussion of this procedure and its
effects is included at this point because of all the acquired callosal lesions, corpus
callosotomy offers the most useful data on the role of the corpus callosum in
behavior. Acquired callosal lesions may also occur with demyelinative, infectious,
toxic, vascular, and neoplastic disorders, discussed elsewhere in this volume.
Sectioning of the corpus callosum is a neurosurgical procedure undertaken
for the relief of selected cases of severe epilepsy. Patients who qualify for this
procedure typically have frequent, medically intractable generalized seizures

and bilateral epileptogenic foci that preclude resective surgery such as temporal
lobectomy (Sauerwein and Lassonde, 1997). In many cases, section of the
anterior callosum is sufficient for seizure control, but in others complete
callosotomy is necessary (Sauerwein and Lassonde, 1997). From patients of the
latter type, commonly referred to as having a “split brain,” much has been
learned about the functional specializations of the cerebral hemispheres. The
two sides of the cerebrum have different roles, the most obvious distinction
being the lateralization of language to the left and visuospatial function to the
right in most people. In health, the corpus callosum serves to unite the two
hemispheres anatomically and functionally, and when callosal damage occurs,
a variety of deficits can be observed (Bogen, 1993; Gazzaniga, 2000, 2005).
As corpus callosotomy is a therapeutic intervention, it is gratifying that its
effects may be quite mild and that split-brain patients may exhibit remarkably
normal daily lives (Bogen, 1993). In fact, they frequently show enhanced social
adjustment and neuropsychological improvement, largely because of improved
seizure control (Nordgren et al., 1991; Lassonde and Sauerwein, 1997; Rougier
et al., 1997). Improvement may be most notable in those less than age 13, in
keeping with the greater plasticity of the brain in younger individuals (Lassonde
and Sauerwein, 1997).
However, disconnection signs can be demonstrated, especially immediately
after surgery and in older patients. As a general rule, disconnection effects are
more apparent in callosotomy patients than in individuals with callosal agene-
sis (Chiarello, 1980; Gazzaniga, 2000). Broadly stated, cerebral disconnection is
characterized by the absence of interhemispheric transfer of information
derived from a stimulus presented unilaterally; a wealth of experimental data
has been gathered in support of this formulation (Gazzaniga et al., 1962;
Seymour et al., 1994; Gazzaniga, 2005). Recent findings have led to the recogni-
tion that the corpus callosum is organized such that anterior regions transfer
attention and higher cognitive information, whereas posterior regions transfer
visual, auditory, and somatosensory information (Gazzaniga, 2005).
Neurologists have long been aware of neurobehavioral deficits occurring
with disorders of the corpus callosum, and these have provided some of the best
examples of disconnection syndromes (Geschwind, 1965a, 1965b). History
taking may reveal evidence of intermanual conflict and the alien hand syn-
drome (Bogen, 1993; Fisher, 2000). On neurologic examination, patients with
callosal damage from callosotomy or other neuropathology can display left
hand tactile anomia, agraphia, apraxia, and hemialexia, all of which suggest
that left hemisphere language and praxis systems are disconnected from the
right hemisphere (Bogen, 1993). Neuropsychological testing may reveal similar
deficits: split brain patients cannot name objects presented visually to the right
hemisphere, because the left hemisphere language system has no access to the
information (Funnell et al., 2000).
Callosotomy patients are frequently able to compensate for disconnection
effects. One research question in this area has therefore been what mechanism
permits interhemispheric information transfer in the complete absence of a
corpus callosum. Data on the possibility of transfer by other commissures have
been controversial, and some investigators have claimed instead that residual
information transfer takes place via callosal fibers that were not severed in
surgery (Funnell et al., 2000). In any case, the available evidence fully supports
the importance of the corpus callosum in the integration of bihemispheric
brain activities.
A major impact of the research on the clinical effects of corpus callosum
lesions has been to introduce a range of questions about the nature of
consciousness and the mind in general. The relative paucity of signs observable
by standard neurologic methods should not obscure the fact that deficits can be
detected with careful neurobehavioral and neuropsychological techniques.
Whereas few serious adverse sequelae follow this seemingly radical brain
operation, the disconnection effects of commissurotomy testify to the role of
the commissural white matter in higher function. Consciousness itself may
depend critically on these tracts, in that they permit the subjective experience
of integrated awareness and sense of self known to all normal humans
(Gazzaniga, 2000, 2005; Schulte and Müller-Oehring, 2010).
FR ONTAL LO BO TOMY
A final topic deserving comment in this chapter is the highly contentious

procedure of frontal lobotomy. This operation is the most familiar of the many
neurosurgical interventions for neuropsychiatric syndromes and deserves
inclusion here as resulting in an iatrogenic disorder of white matter. Although
the history of frontal lobotomy reflects a prior era in medicine, during which
startlingly inappropriate—even barbaric—methods were employed, the proce-
dure is nevertheless instructive for this account of white matter and higher
function.
Operations on the brain and skull for treatment of behavioral disorders can
be traced as far back as 1500 bce, when successful trephination was first
described (Arciniegas and Anderson, 2004). More refined attempts to operate
on the brain for mental illness were explored in the Middle Ages and beyond,
but it was not until the early 20th century that such procedures became widely
performed. In 1935, Egas Moniz and Almedea Lima conducted the first
prefrontal leukotomy using alcohol injections into the frontal white matter of a
depressed older woman (Arciniegas and Anderson, 2004). Based on moderate

improvement in this woman’s depression, other patients were treated similarly,
leading to many reports by Moniz touting the benefits of the procedure
(Arciniegas and Anderson, 2004). This work gained attention at the time as an
important advance in psychiatric therapy, and for it Moniz was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1949.
A far more widely used technique was frontal lobotomy, introduced by the
Americans James Watts and Walter Freeman in 1936. In this operation the fron-
tal lobes were ablated by a device called a leukotome, which was inserted through
bilateral burr holes and swept vertically to transect wide areas of white matter
(Freeman and Watts, 1942). A later modification of the technique involved using
an orbitoclast, an ice pick-like instrument, to punch holes in the superior aspect
of the orbit, enter the brain, and sever white matter tracts in the same fashion as
the leukotome (Arciniegas and Anderson, 2004). Shockingly, this procedure
was performed without general anesthesia, permitting its use to be widely
expanded. Freeman set out to operate on large numbers of psychiatric patients,
and between 1936 and 1956 it is estimated that more than 60,000 frontal loboto-
mies were performed in the United States (Arciniegas and Anderson, 2004).
The idea behind these operations was to destroy frontal white matter connec-
tions presumed responsible for the disturbed behavior of severely ill psychiatric
patients (Arciniegas and Anderson, 2004). Figure 12-3 shows extensive white
matter injury on the CT scan of a patient who had had a bifrontal lobotomy
Figure 12-3. CT scan of a patient who received bifrontal lobotomy. The prefrontal white
matter was the target tissue in this procedure. (Reprinted with permission from Hurley
et al., 2000.)
years before. Although the treatment of psychosis was distressingly limited

before the introduction of chlorpromazine in the 1950s, the hazards of psycho-
surgery were unacceptable, including seizures, inappropriate behavior, and loss
of motivation—in addition to the brutality of brain operations that were often
performed without anesthesia. As for efficacy, it was reported in one study that
63% of patients improved after frontal lobotomy, 23% were unchanged, and
14% became worse or died (Freeman and Watts, 1942). Much later, a more care-
ful, 25-year follow-up study of 16 patients who had had prefrontal leukotomy
found that five had good recovery, with return to some employment; five had
moderate recovery, with reduced need for supervision but no ability to work;
and six had no recovery (Benson et al., 1981). The good-recovery group had
neuropsychological function similar to that of a normal control group, but
apathy was the most common behavioral observation, manifesting to a greater
or lesser extent in all patients subjected to the procedure (Benson et al., 1981).
Frontal lobotomy has of course long been abandoned, and today the rare
psychosurgical procedures performed are conducted with rigorous attention to
exact diagnosis and neurosurgical precision in patients with a variety of
neuropsychiatric disorders refractory to all other forms of treatment (Arciniegas
and Anderson, 2004). Modern neuroimaging enables a far more sophisticated
approach to psychosurgery for severe mental illness, which is increasingly
based on detailed understanding of relevant neural networks and their circuitry
(Hurley et al., 2000). In the context of this book, it is of interest that frontal
lobotomy was targeted at the frontal white matter, and although the use of the
procedure was doubtless unacceptable, the underlying theory recognized in a
preliminary manner the importance of white matter in psychiatric illness. This
theme will be revisited in Chapter 18.
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13
Neoplasms
A discussion of brain tumors that selectively damage white matter might be

expected to be very limited. Brain tumors do not as a rule affect one discrete
region and instead show a tendency to involve widespread areas of both gray
and white matter. This characteristic, combined with the associated edema and
mass effect that frequently occur, often renders correlations of tumor location
with neurobehavioral status tentative at best. Even early in the clinical course,
when the more limited extent of the tumor might predict a more focal location,
correlations of lesion site with clinical status can be problematic. As discussed in
Chapter 9, the leukotoxic effects of radiation and chemotherapy also confound
the understanding of neurobehavioral impairments in individuals with brain
tumors. However, parenchymal brain neoplasms typically arise from white
matter structures, disseminate along myelinated tracts, and exert major effects
on white matter throughout their clinical course. These tumors, both diffuse
and focal, are discussed in this chapter to illustrate that neoplastic white matter
involvement can be an important source of neurobehavioral dysfunction.
GLI OMAS
Gliomas are malignant neoplasms that arise from glial cells. The three major
gliomas that affect the brain are the astrocytoma, the oligodendroglioma, and
the ependymoma, with the vast majority classified as one of the first two of
these varieties. Although these tumors are well known to exert widespread
effects as they expand and produce vasogenic edema, the original locations of
gliomas have been difficult to establish, because the initial small size of the
neoplasm necessarily implies more subtle clinical features and less likelihood
that a diagnostic neuroimaging procedure will be performed. However, gliomas

have been proposed to arise principally from the cerebral white matter, because
of the relative abundance of astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and ependymal cells
in myelinated regions of the brain (Adams and Graham, 1989). Although the
more florid manifestations such as headache, seizures, and focal neurologic
deficits, indicating cortical and diffuse brain involvement, are well known, the
initial features of gliomas are likely less obvious, and many patients may present
with more subtle behavioral or neuropsychiatric dysfunction. To illustrate, an
impressively large, 10-year population-based study of mental disturbance in
relation to brain neoplasms showed that patients with new-onset psychiatric
disorder had a 19-fold increase in the incidence of brain tumor within the first
month after diagnosis (Benros et al., 2009). Thus often cited but subtle symp-
toms of inertia, forgetfulness, inattention, confusion, and personality change in
patients with gliomas (Galasko et al., 1988; Ropper and Samuels, 2009) may
well reflect early white matter involvement. Not only is direct white matter
damage visible on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but diffu-
sion MRI studies have disclosed additional involvement by showing deviation
of fibers in the normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) adjacent to tumors
(Wieshmann at al., 2000). Although the recognition of nonspecific initial
mental features of glioma is a major challenge to clinicians, this phase of the
natural history of these devastating tumors deserves more attention because of
the potential for early detection and improved treatment. With the continued
development of advanced neuroimaging techniques that can assess the NAWM,
is seems certain that the neurobehavioral correlates of neoplastic white matter
involvement will become much better understood.
In recent years the origin of gliomas has been clarified. It is increasingly
thought that they arise from glial progenitor cells that are most abundant in the
subcortical white matter (Canoll and Goldman, 2008). These cells can differen-
tiate into astrocytes or oligodendrocytes, and the common observation that
astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas originate in the white matter is consis-
tent with this site of origin (Figure 13-1). Some experimental and clinical
evidence suggests that the subventricular zone is the primary site of origin for
these tumors (Stiles and Rowitch, 2008). Thus although some gliomas probably
arise within gray matter, the likelihood that white matter is a more frequent
initiating locus deserves attention. Another relevant clinical feature of gliomas
is that their dissemination appears to follow white matter pathways preferen-
tially (Giese and Westphal, 1996; Geer and Grossman, 1997). This finding helps
explain the poor survival of patients with brain malignancies, in whom locally
applied therapy has only limited efficacy (Geer and Grossman, 1997). For pur-
poses of this book, the knowledge that gliomas tend to originate and spread
along white matter tracts assists in the analysis of the clinical effects of primary
13. Neoplasms 243
Figure 13-1. Illustration showing the widespread distribution of glial progenitor cells
within the cerebral white matter. Gliomas are thought to arise from these cells.
(Reprinted with permission from Canoll and Goldman, 2008.)
brain malignancies, especially as they disrupt distributed neural networks

connected by association and commissural pathways. Understanding the
initial tumor location and patterns of dissemination thus has important impact
implications for the clinical manifestations of malignant brain tumors, their
treatment, and white matter–behavior relationships.
The most common glioma in the brain is the astrocytoma, followed by the
oligodendroglioma and the ependymoma (Adams and Graham, 1989).
Astrocytomas occur anywhere in the cerebrum (Adams and Graham, 1989),
whereas oligodendrogliomas often favor the frontal lobes (Mørk et al., 1985;
Ludwig et al., 1986; Van den Bent et al., 2008) and ependymomas cluster around
the lateral ventricles (Adams and Graham, 1989). Among the many clinical fea-
tures of gliomas, cognitive dysfunction from their cerebral effects has long been
recognized.
Astrocytomas vary considerably in their degree of malignancy, and the
most severe form, glioblastoma multiforme, is typically fatal within months.
Figure 13-2 shows the MRI scan of a patient with an astrocytoma that showed a
striking predilection for the white matter. A wide range of neurobehavioral fea-
tures may be encountered with astrocytomas. One patient with a bitemporal
glioblastoma multiforme presented with florid mania just months before her
death (Filley and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 1995). In more benign astrocytomas,
cognitive function may be primarily affected, with impaired attention and
memory overshadowing deficits in language and intelligence (Ater et al., 1996).
The tendency of oligodendrogliomas to affect the frontal lobe white matter
may be readily apparent on MRI (Figure 13-3). In light of this common
Figure 13-2. T2-weighted MRI scan of a patient with an astrocytoma. The cerebral
white matter is diffusely infiltrated. (Reprinted with permission from Osborn AG.
Diagnostic neuroradiology. St Louis: Mosby Year Book, 1994.)
Figure 13-3. Coronal T1-weighted MRI scan of a patient with an oligodendroglioma.

The tumor is demonstrated in the white matter of both frontal lobes. (Reprinted with
permission from Ramsey RR, ed. Neuroradiology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders,
1996.)
244
13. Neoplasms 245
localization, it is noteworthy that in a large series of proven oligodendrogliomas,

dementia was present in 46% of patients and psychosis in 19% (Ludwig et al.,
1986). The relative prominence of dementia and psychosis in patients with
this often frontal lobe tumor is consistent with a general trend in the brain
tumor literature: Frontal and temporal lobe tumors tend to present with
neurobehavioral manifestations far more often than do parietal, occipital, and
posterior fossa tumors (Filley and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 1995).
Ependymomas are rare, and even more so in the cerebrum, as many of these
tumors involve the posterior fossa and spinal cord. Cognitive function in
patients with cerebral hemispheric ependymomas has thus been little studied.
Adults with brain ependymomas commonly present with mental status and
emotional disturbances (Armstrong et al., 2010), but little detail is available.
A case study, however, demonstrated a dramatic decline in performance IQ
with the growth of a right parietal ependymoma in a young man, illustrating
the potential of this tumor to affect cognition by damaging cerebral white
matter (Sands et al., 2000).
Neuropsychological data on the cognitive deficits of glioma patients taken as
a group have been gathered in recent years (Taphoorn et al., 1992; Weitzner and
Meyers, 1997; Torres et al., 2003; Laack et al., 2005; Correa et al., 2007a),
although uncertainty persists regarding what effects are related to treatment as
opposed to the tumor itself. In general, cognitive decline can occur both as a
result of the tumor and from the effects of radiation and chemotherapy. Cognitive
dysfunction attributable to the glioma itself typically includes deficits in atten-
tion and concentration (Taphoorn et al., 1992), memory (Salander et al., 1995),
and frontal lobe function (Taphoorn et al., 1992). Lateralized reductions in per-
formance on verbal and nonverbal tests have also been noted in association
with left and right hemisphere gliomas, respectively (Scheibel et al., 1996).
Improvement in cognitive function among glioma patients given methylpheni-
date suggests indirectly that primary damage may be in the white matter, where
the neoplasm may disrupt ascending dopaminergic fibers (Meyers et al., 1998).
Most glioma patients, however, have a complex picture that renders difficult
the correlation of neuropsychological deficits with white matter neuropathol-
ogy because of confounds such as coexisting gray matter damage, edema, and
the variable effects of radiation and chemotherapy on white matter (Chapter 9).
In a thoughtful study addressing both these issues, Anderson and colleagues
(1990) did neuroimaging and psychological testing of untreated glioma patients
who all had white matter involvement. The results indicated that glioma patients
did manifest cognitive deficits expected on the basis of tumor location, although
the deficits were generally milder than those of stroke patients with lesions in
comparable brain regions. This study provides some support for the role of
white matter neuropathology in the neurobehavioral manifestations of gliomas,
although more precise white matter–behavior correlations are still desirable.

The application of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can be expected to lead to
much improved understanding by enhancing identification of tracts that are
affected or spared by gliomas (Schonberg et al., 2006) and distinguishing tracts
damaged by a tumor from those affected by its treatment (Xu et al., 2010).
GLI OMATO SIS CEREBRI
Gliomatosis cerebri is a diffusely infiltrative glial cell neoplasm of the brain

that stands as a particularly illustrative example of white matter–behavior
relationships in neoplasia. Although this disease has been reported only
infrequently (Ponce et al., 1998), it serves our purposes because it is an
outstanding example of a neoplastic disorder confined to the cerebral white
matter throughout most of its course (Filley et al., 2003). Moreover, because
the diagnosis has mainly been made at autopsy, the incidence of the disease
may be underestimated, and advancing neuroimaging techniques may increase
its recognition during life (Keene et al., 1999).
Gliomatosis cerebri usually appears in adulthood, although it may arise
at any age. The insidious onset of mental status changes is the most frequent man-
ifestation, and headache, motor dysfunction, and seizures may occur as alternate
presentations (Couch and Weiss, 1974; Artigas et al., 1985). Diagnosis in life is
difficult, because the clinical presentation is consistent with a wide range of dis-
eases featuring diffuse white matter involvement, and even with brain biopsy there
may be confusion about the classification of this lesion. The clinical course is quite
variable, with survival durations reported from weeks to many years (Couch and
Weiss, 1974; Artigas et al., 1985), but a fatal outcome has been typical. Surgery,
chemotherapy, and radiotherapy may be partially effective in treating gliomatosis
cerebri, but no curative treatment has been found; one recent case, however,
showed a dramatically positive response to radiotherapy (Shintani et al., 2000).
In contrast to gliomas that tend to be single or multicentric, gliomatosis
cerebri involves infiltration of contiguous areas of the cerebrum. The disease is
often bilateral by virtue of extension across the corpus callosum. Although gray
matter structures may be affected, the major neuropathologic burden falls on
the white matter, where there is destruction of the myelin sheath with surpris-
ingly little damage to neurons and axons (Artigas et al., 1985). Thus there is
widespread white matter infiltration with relatively preserved cerebral architec-
ture. Periventricular white matter often undergoes additional damage because
of the hydrocephalus and increased intracranial pressure that can develop from
malignant aqueductal stenosis or tumor overgrowth (Couch and Weiss, 1974).
The origin of the abnormal cells in gliomatosis cerebri has been disputed, and
13. Neoplasms 247
the small number of cases has hindered thorough study. Nevin (1938), who first
described the disease, believed it to be a blastomatous malformation of glial
cells. Many authorities, however, believe that gliomatosis cerebri represents a
true neoplasm. Microscopic examination and immunohistochemical studies
have suggested that the lesion is a glial cell tumor usually composed of neoplas-
tic astrocytes (Duffy et al., 1980) but occasionally made up of oligodendrocytes
(Balko et al., 1992) or transitional cells between the two (Artigas et al., 1985).
More recently, strong TP53 immunostaining in gliomatosis cerebri has sug-
gested a commonality with diffuse fibrillary astrocytomas, which may also dis-
play this feature (Filley et al., 2003).
Modern neuroimaging has improved the detection of gliomatosis cerebri,
although there are no pathognomonic neuroradiologic features. Computed
tomography (CT) can reveal low-density white matter changes reminiscent of
demyelination or dysmyelination (Geremia et al., 1988), and there may be
enhancement late in the course (Hayek and Valvanis, 1982). MRI has generally
proven more sensitive in detecting the white matter changes of this disease
(del Carpio-O’Donovan et al., 1996; Filley et al., 2003; Figure 13-4). Poor gray–
white matter demarcation was reported as one sign of neoplastic invasion
(Koslow et al., 1992), and more recent MRI studies documented widespread
high signal in the white matter on T2-weighted images, prominently involving
the frontal lobes and the corpus callosum (Keene et al., 1999). Magnetic
resonance spectroscopy of gliomatosis cerebri showed features similar to those
Figure 13-4. Coronal fluid-attenuated inversion recovery MRI scan of a patient with
gliomatosis cerebri. The tumor infiltrates along white matter tracts in the frontal and
temporal lobes and across the corpus callosum. (Reprinted with permission from Filley
et al., 2003.)
of gliomas, but no specific MR spectra were identified (Pyhtinen, 2000).

Functional neuroimaging studies using positron emission tomography have
disclosed hypometabolism in the cerebral cortex consistent with disconnection
of the cortex from subcortical structures (Plowman et al., 1998).
The neurobehavioral changes associated with gliomatosis cerebri have been
only partially characterized, and no systematic neuropsychological study has
been reported. This paucity of information is due largely to the rarity of the
disease; a review in 1985 could locate only 58 cases in the literature from which
to draw conclusions about the clinical features of gliomatosis cerebri (Artigas
et al., 1985). Moreover, few reports contain substantial detail on neurobehav-
ioral aspects of the disease. Despite these shortcomings, changes in personality
and mental status are repeatedly stated to be the most striking presenting and
persistent findings in patients with gliomatosis cerebri, whether in the initial or
later stages of the disease (Sarhaddi et al., 1973; Couch and Weiss, 1974; Artigas
et al., 1985; Filley et al., 2003). The mental changes are typically described as
confusion, disorientation, and memory loss advancing to dementia, and focal
cortical signs, including aphasia, are rarely noted (Filley et al., 2003).
Neuropsychiatric dysfunction, typically described as personality change, apathy,
or fatigue, is also frequently cited as an initial or early manifestation and can
plausibly be associated with involvement of frontal white matter (Filley et al.,
2003). One case report described a man with autopsy-proven gliomatosis
cerebri who developed depression and then schizophrenia-like psychosis for
nearly two years before progressive dementia ensued (Vassallo and Allen, 1995).
Although the presence of gray matter involvement must be considered, these
clinical features are consistent with diffuse white matter involvement. Indeed,
the localization of the neoplasm strongly indicates that damage to cerebral
white matter plays a prominent role in these syndromes: The centrum semio-
vale is involved in 76% of cases, whereas the cerebral cortex is affected in only
19%, and the thalamus and basal ganglia are infiltrated in 43% and 34%, respec-
tively (Lantos and Bruner, 2000). The classification of gliomatosis cerebri as a
white matter dementia seems justified in light of these data (Filley et al., 2003).
P RI M ARY CENT RAL NER VOUS SYSTEM LYMPH O MA
Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare form of

non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that arises in the brain. Although PCNSL refers to
tumor arising in either the brain or spinal cord, it is essentially a brain tumor;
isolated spinal cord lymphoma occurs in fewer than 1% of cases (Gerstner and
Batchelor, 2010). PCNSL accounts for about 1–3% of all primary brain tumors
(O’Neill and Illig, 1989; Gerstner and Batchelor, 2010), but the presence of
13. Neoplasms 249
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) increases the risk of developing this

neoplasm (Beral et al., 1991; Gerstner and Batchelor, 2010). PCNSL has
in fact been one of the routine considerations in HIV-infected or acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients who present with neurobehav-
ioral dysfunction (Snider et al., 1983) and is a leading cause of death in these
individuals (O’Neill and Illig, 1989).
This tumor, formerly referred to as reticulum cell sarcoma, microglioma, or
immunoblastic sarcoma, is now known as primarily a B-cell lymphoma that
typically arises in the central white matter, with lesser involvement of deep gray
matter (O’Neill and Illig, 1989; Gerstner and Batchelor, 2010). Less than 10% of
primary cerebral lymphomas are of T-cell origin (Kleinschmidt-DeMasters
et al., 1992). Neuropathologically, PCNSL features diffuse angiocentric growth
of malignant lymphocytes (Abrey, 2000), and focal vascular occlusion with
infarction can contribute to neurobehavioral decline (Kleinschmidt-DeMasters
et al., 1992). The tumor has a predilection, however, for the frontal lobe white
matter, corpus callosum, and periventricular white matter (Abrey, 2000).
Cognitive loss and personality changes are the most common initial features
(Abrey, 2000), and the clinical presentation often involves lethargy, confusion,
and memory loss (Remick et al., 1990). Neuropsychiatric dysfunction has also
been described (Kleinschmidt-DeMasters et al., 1992). Rapidly progressive
dementia in the setting of diffuse cerebral white matter infiltration may occur
(Carlson, 1996), and this syndrome, reminiscent of gliomatosis cerebri, has
been termed “lymphomatosis cerebri” (Bakshi et al., 1999). A recent report of
this disorder is instructive: Three cases of rapidly progressive dementia with
prominent neuropsychiatric and neuroimaging features suggesting Binswanger’s
disease, viral infection, or infiltrating glioma were found at autopsy to have
lymphomatosis cerebri (Rollins et al., 2005).
Neuroimaging has become instrumental in the diagnosis of PCNSL. CT
typically shows a central hyperdense mass that enhances with contrast, and
ring-enhancing lesions are not unusual (Whiteman et al., 1993). On MRI, the
lesion has the unusual feature of being isointense or hypointense on all
sequences, unless necrosis has developed and the T2-weighted images show
hyperintensity (Johnson et al., 1997). Both solid and ring-like lesions can be
seen on MRI, and both enhance with gadolinium (Johnson et al., 1997). MRI
may, however, underestimate the extent of brain involvement, as microscopic
tumor infiltration is known to occur in areas that appear normal on MRI
(Lai et al., 2002) Figure 13-5 displays the CT scan of a patient with PCNSL.
This tumor has only recently been studied with regard to relationships
between white matter involvement and neurobehavioral status. Early observa-
tions were consistent with the likelihood that white matter disease burden con-
tributes to the mental status deficits of affected patients (Kleinschmidt-DeMasters
Figure 13-5. CT scan of a patient with primary CNS lymphoma. The tumor involves the
anterior corpus callosum and both frontal lobes. (Reprinted with permission from Filley
and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 1995.)
et al., 1992; Abrey, 2000). More recently, data from untreated PCNSL patients
have supported deficits in attention, executive function, memory, word retrieval,
and psychomotor speed (Fliessbach et al., 2003; Correa et al., 2007b), all consis-
tent with white matter involvement. In light of current thinking about the role
of abnormal white matter in neurobehavioral dysfunction, the capacity of
PCNSL to produce the syndrome of white matter dementia should be appreci-
ated (Rollins et al., 2005).
FOCAL WHIT E MATTER TUMORS
Highly focal neoplastic invasion of the cerebral white matter occasionally

occurs, and more specific neurobehavioral deficits can develop as a result.
A number of case reports and clinical series of patients with isolated tumors
involving discrete areas of white matter have appeared. Although caution is
advisable when examining patients with brain tumors to study precise brain–
behavior relationships because of uncertainty about the location and extent of
the lesion (Anderson et al., 1990), these cases can provide important neurobe-
havioral insights (Filley and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 1995; Filley et al., 1999).
One region of interest that has received considerable attention is the fornix,
a tract of the limbic system linking the hippocampus and the diencephalon that
13. Neoplasms 251
is implicated in human memory encoding. Although rare reports have claimed

that isolated tumors such as an astrocytoma (Tucker et al., 1988) and a spongio-
blastoma unipolare (Heilman and Sypert, 1977) can cause amnesia through
damage to one or both fornices, controversy has persisted because it is difficult
in such cases to exclude damage to adjacent regions in the temporal lobe or
thalamus. In a detailed study of 12 patients with surgical removal of third
ventricle colloid cysts, Aggleton and colleagues (2000) used careful MRI analy-
ses and found that only those patients with bilateral fornix interruption had
significant memory impairment. This study, which provides the largest number
of well-studied cases with fornix lesions to date, strongly suggests that damage
to the fornices can interfere with recent memory. These results are consistent
with functional neuroimaging studies showing the existence of a medial
temporal–diencephalic memory system (Fazio et al., 1992) in which the
fornices play a crucial role.
The amyloidoma is a very rare tumor that selectively affects the cerebral
white matter. This neoplasm is characterized by the focal accumulation of
large deposits of amyloid in the absence of systemic amyloidosis (Cohen et al.,
1992; Vidal et al., 1992). Lesions are often solitary, but multiple amyloid
deposits may also occur (Schröder et al., 1995). The course is relatively indo-
lent, with one case reportedly surviving nearly four decades after onset (Linke
et al., 1992). From the roughly 30 reported cases of amyloidoma, conclusions
are necessarily limited, but personality change, psychosis, and dementia are all
described in association with this disease (Townsend, Ma et al., 1982; Cohen
et al., 1992; Lee et al., 1995; Schröder et al., 1995; Landau et al., 2010), and some
patients have mental signs as a component of a fluctuating course resembling
multiple sclerosis (Linke et al., 1992). One woman with a solitary left parietal
amyloidoma presented with “deteriorating mental function” for one year (Lee
et al., 1995). A man with multiple amyloidomas, in whom the largest was in the
left frontal lobe, had dementia with prominent frontal lobe features including
inattentiveness, impulsivity, apathy, and witzelsucht (Cohen et al., 1992).
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14
Hydrocephalus
The term hydrocephalus refers to the accumulation of excessive water in the

head. Ordinarily the total volume of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within the
neuraxis is about 140 cm3, of which roughly 25 cm3 is found in the four
ventricles (Fishman, 1992). Higher ventricular volumes of CSF can develop
either because additional CSF occupies space within a brain of normal size or
because the parenchyma atrophies and CSF replaces the lost tissue (hydroceph-
alus ex vacuo). The cerebral white matter is implicated in both of these
situations, either because an excessive volume of CSF may injure the periven-
tricular regions or because changes in white matter contribute to the develop-
ment of cerebral atrophy. This chapter considers these situations and their
neurobehavioral sequelae. Hydrocephalus occurring acutely in the context of
mass lesions, trauma, infarction, and the like will not be reviewed, because of
methodological difficulties in studying the impact of specific white matter
neuropathology in those settings. Much useful information, however, is
available from investigation of hydrocephalus that arises chronically. In indi-
viduals who are affected by chronic sequelae of hydrocephalus, the medical and
economic impact can be substantial (Del Bigio, 1998). The reversible dementia
of normal pressure hydrocephalus in older people represents an especially
challenging diagnostic and therapeutic problem in behavioral neurology.
White matter involvement plays a central role in the understanding of
neurobehavioral sequelae in the setting of hydrocephalus.
E A RLY HYD R O CEPHAL US
Early hydrocephalus refers to the development of hydrocephalus during gesta-

tion, infancy, or childhood. Early hydrocephalus thus encompasses congenital
and so-called occult tension hydrocephalus. In congenital hydrocephalus, an

enlarged head reflects expanding CSF volume that increases the skull circum-
ference because the sutures are open in the first year of life, and in occult
tension hydrocephalus, the head size remains stable because of closed sutures
in spite of an intracranial process that causes hydrocephalus.
The common causes of early hydrocephalus include periventricular hemor-
rhage, the Arnold-Chiari malformation, aqueductal stenosis, and the Dandy-
Walker syndrome. Infants affected in the first year of life present with an
enlarging head and developmental delay. In occult tension hydrocephalus,
insidious psychomotor retardation and difficulty with school performance may
become apparent. Neuroimaging with computed tomography (CT) demon-
strates ventriculomegaly, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may show
high signal in the periventricular white matter (Hoon and Melhem, 2000;
Figure 14-1). Although treatment with a shunt procedure may be helpful,
congenital hydrocephalus often leads to severe mental retardation (Kirkinen
et al., 1996; Resch et al., 1996). Alternatively, hydrocephalic children may
remain asymptomatic until late adulthood, when they come to clinical atten-
tion with symptoms suggesting normal pressure hydrocephalus (see below);
Figure 14-1. Proton density (left) and T2-weighted (right) MRI scans of a child with
early hydrocephalus from aqueductal stenosis. Periventricular white matter changes are
present on both images. (Reprinted with permission from Pomeranz SJ. Craniospinal
magnetic resonance imaging. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1989.)
these patients may also shows a beneficial response to shunt surgery

(Graff-Radford and Godersky, 1989).
The neuropathology of hydrocephalus, now well studied in early-onset cases
and also applicable to adults, falls most prominently upon the white matter of
the cerebrum (Del Bigio, 1993, 1994; Del Bigio et al., 2003; Del Bigio and Enno,
2008; Del Bigio, 2010). The periventricular white matter and corpus callosum
are heavily affected, and damage to axons and myelin is primarily related to
compressive injury from mechanical distortion, with an added component of
ischemic damage from compromised cerebral blood flow. The basal ganglia and
thalamus may also be affected, but to a much lesser degree. Histologic changes
are trivial or absent in the cerebral cortex, and although cortical damage can
occur late in the course of prolonged hydrocephalus, death of neurons is mini-
mal (Del Bigio, 2010). Experiments with animal models of hydrocephalus have
been consistent with human studies in showing neuropathologic findings con-
sistent with primary white matter involvement with minimal cortical damage
(Del Bigio, 1993, 1994; Del Bigio et al., Del Bigio, 1998; 2003; Del Bigio and
Enno, 2008; Del Bigio, 2010). In humans with acute early hydrocephalus, diffu-
sion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have shown abnormalities in the white matter
adjacent to the lateral ventricles, which improved after corrective surgery (Assaf
et al., 2006), once again consistent with prominent white matter compressive
injury and suggesting that clinical improvement relates to decompression of the
affected tracts. However, DTI microstructural changes may persist in associa-
tion tracts of hydrocephalic children even after shunting (Hasan et al., 2008).
The neurobehavioral impact of the white matter damage in early hydroceph-
alus has been investigated. As a general rule, correlations are found between
cognitive function and neuropathology in the cerebral white matter (van der
Knaap et al., 1991; Fletcher et al., 1992). In some studies, correlations between
cognitive loss and cortical gray matter damage have also been seen (Fletcher
et al., 1996a). Mental retardation can be the presenting syndrome, but more
often a less severe neurocognitive syndrome is encountered. In infants with
congenital hydrocephalus, a significant correlation has been found between the
degree of cerebral myelination as seen on MRI and intellectual development,
implying that hydrocephalus retards myelination in parallel with cognitive
development (van der Knaap et al., 1991).
More specifically, hydrocephalic children typically show deficits in attention,
memory, visuospatial ability, and frontal lobe function with sparing of language
(Mataró et al., 2000; Erickson et al., 2001). A particularly common finding is a
discrepancy between low performance intelligence quotient (PIQ) and rela-
tively normal verbal IQ (VIQ), which has been attributed to white matter
damage (Fletcher et al., 1992). In children with hydrocephalus, Fletcher and
colleagues (1992) demonstrated significant ventriculomegaly and reduction in
size of the corpus callosum and both internal capsules; lower VIQ was
correlated with increased volume of the left lateral ventricle, while lower
PIQ was correlated with increased right lateral ventricle volume. These findings
are consistent with a trend for verbal intelligence and language in general to be
better developed in early hydrocephalus than nonverbal intelligence (Dennis
et al., 1981). Hydrocephalic children may in fact score as well as normal
children on many language measures, although close investigation may disclose
subtle language deficits (Dennis et al., 1987). In contrast, visuospatial skills are
regularly disrupted, and this decrement is associated with reduced area of the
corpus callosum as well as of hemispheric white matter (Fletcher et al., 1996b;
Erickson et al., 2001). Memory is also disturbed in early hydrocephalus,
with evidence supporting deficits in both encoding and retrieval on both
verbal and nonverbal tasks (Scott et al., 1998). The pattern of neuropsycho-
logical deficits in children with early hydrocephalus is thus reasonably consis-
tent with the profile of white matter dementia (Filley, 1998), in that there are
deficits in attention, memory retrieval, visuospatial skills, and frontal lobe
function with relative sparing of language. Investigation with newer neuroim-
aging methods will likely expand these findings, as DTI of infant hydrocepha-
lus has found abnormalities in the corpus callosum and internal capsule
(Yuan et al., 2009).
Shunt procedures are routinely performed in the treatment of early hydro-
cephalus. Cognitive recovery or improvement is often seen after this surgery
(Mataró et al., 2000), which may relate to the arrest of myelin destruction and
remyelination of some axons (Del Bigio, 1993). If axonal damage has occurred,
recovery may be less complete. Early hydrocephalus is nonetheless another
example of the significant potential for white matter disorders to respond to
medical or surgical therapy. As with many white matter disorders, prompt
treatment of this disorder may be especially beneficial because of the plasticity
of incompletely damaged tracts.
HY DRO CEPHALUS EX VACUO
An increase in CSF volume is regularly seen on neuroimaging scans of

individuals with brain atrophy. This observation, often called hydrocephalus ex
vacuo, is one of the most common neuroradiologic findings in the older popu-
lation (Figure 14-2). Often striking in its severity, hydrocephalus ex vacuo is
nevertheless nonspecific, because it can be present with many degenerative dis-
eases or with normal aging. While the utility of this term has been questioned,
it does serve to point out how excessive water within the cranium may simply
result from the normal or abnormal loss of brain tissue.
Figure 14-2. T1-weighted MRI scan of hydrocephalus ex vacuo in a 65-year-old woman

with Alzheimer’s disease. The brain has lost volume primarily as a result of gray matter
atrophy.
In many cases, hydrocephalus ex vacuo is due primarily to the cortical cell loss
that occurs in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Massive cortical neuronal dropout is
characteristic in this disease, and the brain atrophy that occurs does not imply
significant white matter loss (Double et al., 1996). However, as pointed out in
Chapter 4, normal aging also results in decreased brain weight and size (Creasey
and Rapoport, 1985). Much of this decline, perhaps the majority, is due to white
matter loss (Double et al., 1996; Hinman and Abraham, 2007). Thus atrophy
does not necessarily imply gray matter loss, and hydrocephalus ex vacuo can
imply a normal attrition of cerebral white matter. Clinically, the importance of
this insight is that the normal white matter loss of aging can complicate the inter-
pretation of neuroimaging scans because it typically coexists with many neuro-
logic disorders that occur in the elderly. Another implication is that the popular
term cortical atrophy—often used to describe brain atrophy in aging—would be
better replaced by the less committal but more accurate cerebral atrophy.
NORMAL PR ESSURE HYDROCEPHAL US
Few entities in clinical neurology produce such diagnostic, pathophysiologic,

and therapeutic perplexity as normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Since the
first description of the disease in the 1960s (Adams et al., 1965), NPH has
alternately been heralded as a reversible form of dementia and an entity whose
very existence is open to debate. The opportunity to detect and effectively treat
a particular dementia is appealing, but the risks of treatment are not insubstan-
tial. When patients present with symptoms and signs indicating possible NPH,
the clinician is therefore challenged to decide which individuals might be likely
to benefit from surgical treatment. Such patients are not infrequently encoun-
tered in neurologic practice, and it has been estimated that 1–5% of older people
with dementia have this disease (Wilson and Williams, 2010). This section dis-
cusses the continuing clinical conundrum of NPH in light of evidence that it
can be interpreted as a disorder of cerebral white matter.
NPH presents with the classic clinical triad of dementia, gait disorder, and
urinary incontinence (Adams et al., 1965). Initially, all three components of
NPH were taken to be related to frontal lobe damage, and cognitive slowing
and apathy were noted as prominent features of the dementia (Adams et al.,
1965). More recent investigations have led to a consensus that the neuroana-
tomic alterations involve the periventricular white matter and disrupt frontal–
subcortical circuits (Del Bigio, 2010; Wilson and Williams, 2010). Some cases
are thought to follow meningitis, traumatic brain injury, or subarachnoid
hemorrhage, but many remain idiopathic (Graff-Radford, 1999). CT scans
show enlarged ventricles and relatively normal cortical gyri without sulcal
enlargement (Figure 14-3), but these findings are subjective and often difficult
to distinguish from other neuropathologic conditions or normal aging.
Figure 14-3. CT scan of a 78-year-old man with NPH. Ventriculomegaly with relatively
normal cortical sulci is apparent, but the white matter is not well seen.
Figure 14-4. Proton density T2-weighted MRI scan of a patient with NPH. The scan
shows changes similar to those on CT (Figure 14-3) as well as additional periventricular
white matter hyperintensity. (Reprinted with permission from Atlas SW, ed. Magnetic
resonance imaging of the brain and spine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven,
1996.)
MRI often shows additional high-signal lesions in the periventricular white

matter (Figure 14-4), and some investigators have suggested that transependy-
mal CSF flow is a clue to a good outcome with shunting (Jack et al., 1987).
Other investigations, however, have not been consistent in supporting this
claim (Graff-Radford, 1999). At present, no neuroimaging finding can be used
to predict outcome after shunt surgery (Wilson and Williams, 2010).
Magnetization transfer imaging studies have shown a low magnetization trans-
fer ratio in the normal-appearing white matter of patients with NPH (Hähnel
et al., 2000), and recent DTI studies in hydrocephalus patients have demon-
strated improvement in the fractional anisotropy of the corona radiata after
shunt surgery or ventriculostomy (Assaf et al., 2006). Data such as these may
assist in demonstrating white matter damage in NPH and improving clinical
management. The diagnosis is currently made by identifying the clinical triad,
finding a consistent neuroimaging pattern, and ruling out other etiologic pos-
sibilities; many neurologists also perform a high-volume CSF “tap test” because
a temporary improvement in gait and sometimes cognition may help predict a
good surgical outcome (Fisher, 1978). Among patients accurately diagnosed
with NPH, 46–64% may have a favorable response to shunt surgery, and the gait
disorder may respond better than dementia and urinary dysfunction (Wilson
and Williams, 2010). The favorable response to surgery suggests that damaged
white matter in NPH exhibits some degree of plasticity.
The pathophysiology of NPH continues to be an enigma. Adams and col-
leagues (1965) offered the first and still most familiar theory, which holds that
obstruction of CSF outflow causes ventricular enlargement without cortical
atrophy; the assumption is that the outflow obstruction is at the level of the
arachnoid villi. The CSF pressure remains normal because of Pascal’s law
(force = pressure x area), which predicts that with an increased ventricular
wall area, the force applied to the brain can be high while pressure is still
normal (Adams et al., 1965). This explanation, however, has been questioned.
Symon and colleagues (1972) demonstrated episodes of raised intracranial
pressure throughout the night in patients with NPH and suggested that a better
term for the disorder might be “episodically raised pressure hydrocephalus.”
Geschwind (1968) questioned the theory of Adams and colleagues on
physical grounds, pointing out that the properties of the ventricular wall
pertain to the pathogenesis of NPH. These ideas helped generate an alternative
hypothesis, which is that ischemia and infarction in the cerebral white matter
may lead to ventriculomegaly, and the reduced tensile strength of the white
matter could cause further ventricular enlargement under the stress of intra-
ventricular pulse pressure (Earnest et al., 1974). This theory thus suggests a
possible overlap of NPH with Binswanger’s disease (BD; Chapter 11) and
vascular dementia (Wilson and Williams, 2010). Most authorities, however,
favor the existence of NPH as a discrete entity while recognizing that it may
coexist with other neuropathologic processes. One study, for example, identi-
fied a subgroup of NPH patients who had simultaneous vascular white matter
disease and found that they had a poorer surgical outcome than those without
cerebrovascular disease (Boon et al., 1999). The validity of distinguishing
between NPH and BD was also supported by CSF studies demonstrating
elevated neurofilament triplet protein and normal sulfatide in the former and
the opposite pattern in the latter (Tullberg et al., 2000). These findings imply a
neuropathologic distinction between ongoing axonal involvement in NPH and
ischemic demyelination in BD (Tullberg et al., 2000). From a clinical perspec-
tive, the beneficial response to surgery seen in many individuals with NPH
seems to justify the conclusion that the disease may exist in isolation but that
white matter ischemia and infarction can often be present as well and therefore
limit its reversibility.
Regardless of the mechanism of NPH, the neuropathologic findings are
generally consistent with primary involvement of white matter. Details of the
neuropathology have become clarified over many years of investigation, and
the white matter of the cerebrum bears the brunt of the damage (di Rocco et al.,
1977; Akai et al., 1987; Del Bigio, 1993; Del Bigio et al., 1994; DelBigio, 1998;
Del Bigio et al., 2003; Del Bigio and Enno, 2008; Del Bigio, 2010) The corpus
callosum is also affected, and its effacement can be well seen on sagittal MRI
images (Wilson and Williams, 2010). In the periventricular white matter there
is evidence for direct mechanical compression (di Rocco et al., 1977; Del Bigio,
2010) and ischemic demyelination and infarction (Akai et al., 1987). Gray
matter, of both the subcortical nuclear structures and the cortex, is less affected,
although with severe and prolonged hydrocephalus there may be minimal neu-
ronal damage in those areas (Del Bigio, 1993; Del Bigio et al., 2003; Del Bigio,
2010). As is true of other white matter disorders, unrelated neuropathology in
the cortex can be found in patients suspected of having NPH. One study found
that 10 of 38 patients thought clinically to have NPH actually had biopsy-proven
AD (Bech et al., 1997). BD or vascular dementia may also be present in the
white matter and compromise recovery after shunting (Wilson and Williams,
2010). These data further highlight the difficulty in diagnosing NPH, suggest
that unrelated cortical and other white matter pathology may be present in
many cases, and offer another explanation for why some patients have a poor
outcome after treatment.
The neurobehavioral profile of NPH has been studied in some detail. Derix
(1994) reviewed the literature and concluded that NPH exhibits neuropsycho-
logical features typical of subcortical dementia: There are prominent frontal
manifestations, including cognitive slowing, inattention, and perseveration,
and while memory loss occurs, there is typically little or no aphasia, apraxia, or
agnosia (Derix, 1994). Cognitive slowing, executive dysfunction, impaired
attention, and poor memory, as well as apathy and depression, have all been
observed in other studies of patients with NPH (Gustafson and Hagberg, 1978;
Ogino et al., 2006; Chaudhry et al., 2007; Hellström et al., 2008). Gallassi and
colleagues (1991) compared NPH patients with BD patients and found these
groups to be similarly impaired in comparison with control subjects. In a study
comparing cognition between a white matter and a cortical dementia, Iddon
and colleagues (1999) demonstrated selective executive function deficits in
patients with NPH that were not present in AD patients with comparable
dementia severity. A recent DTI study found that scores on the Frontal
Assessment Battery—a measure sensitive to executive dysfunction (Dubois
et al., 2000)—correlated with microstructural abnormalities in the frontal and
parietal white matter of NPH patients (Kanno et al., 2011). Summarizing the
literature, Wilson and Williams (2010) concluded that frontal and subcortical
systems are primarily involved in NPH, and in light of these findings and its
striking neuropathology, NPH has been classified as a white matter dementia
(Filley, 1998).
In surgical treatment of NPH, a diversionary shunt is placed in the brain to
reduce ventricular volume. Shunts of this type are rubber tubes with one-way
valves that can be positioned to provide ventriculoperitoneal, ventriculoatrial,

or lumboperitoneal CSF drainage. The critical issue revolves around the
decision as to which patients are most likely to benefit from a shunt procedure.
This determination is not trivial, because there is a high incidence of shunt
complications, including anesthesia reactions, hemorrhage, and infection
(Vanneste et al., 1992). Although clinicians have differing preferences, it is
reasonable to refer for surgery only those patients who have the full clinical
triad, consistent neuroimaging studies, no evidence of other cerebral diseases,
and no prohibitive surgical risk. Graff-Radford (1999) suggested that additional
favorable prognostic signs are the presence of dementia for less than two years,
a known cause of NPH, and the gait abnormality’s preceding the dementia. Gait
disorder has recently received additional attention, as many believe that this
problem may be the most responsive to surgical treatment (Wilson and
Williams, 2010). However, a recent controlled trial of shunted NPH patients
demonstrated improvements in cognitive speed and sustained attention as well
as gait (Katzen et al., 2011). Thus despite some skepticism generated by less
favorable studies of outcome and by shunt complications (Vanneste et al., 1992)
and the continuing confusion about the pathophysiology of the disease, NPH
appears to be a dementia due primarily to cerebral white matter damage that
can be treated successfully in some patients.
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1792–1798.
PART THREE
White Matter and

Higher Function
15
Cognitive Dysfunction
and Dementia
The many disorders covered in Part II of this book collectively demonstrate

that disease, intoxication, or injury of white matter of the brain can disrupt
higher functions. The review of those individual disorders builds a foundation
for considering the many neurobehavioral syndromes they can produce. Many
of these syndromes are described in case reports and case series, from which
can be gleaned a variable amount of clinical detail. For some disorders, more
comprehensive information is available from controlled studies using neuro-
psychological testing and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or other neuro-
radiologic correlation. The goal in Part III is to discuss these syndromes and
their implications in a comprehensive synthesis that will culminate in the last
chapter with a summary of the behavioral neurology of white matter.
Cognitive impairment emerges as the most frequent neurobehavioral
syndrome in patients with white matter disorders. This disturbance may range
from a mild changes in processing speed (Gunning-Dixon et al., 2009) to severe
dementia or the vegetative state (Graham et al., 2005). The apparent primacy of
cognitive impairment, however, needs to be taken as tentative. Many reports
describing white matter disorders focus on etiologic, neurologic, or psychiatric
aspects rather than neurobehavioral phenomena, and hence the details of
mental status are often incomplete. Of all mental status changes, clinicians are
probably most adept at detecting cognitive impairment, whereas focal deficits
or neuropsychiatric dysfunction may not be as readily appreciated. Thus future
investigation examining white matter disorders may disclose that other
neurobehavioral syndromes are more prominent than they appear at present.
In particular, neuropsychiatric disturbances are being vigorously investigated,

as will be considered in Chapter 18.
COGN IT IVE D YSF UNCTION
Cognitive dysfunction is a term that can be widely and diversely interpreted.

For the purposes of this discussion, it will be considered a variable syndrome
of relatively mild disturbance across a range of higher functions that may
include attention, memory, language, visuospatial skills, executive function,
and emotion or personality. This formulation thus excludes cases of more severe
cognitive impairment—dementia—which will be addressed later in this
chapter. Cognitive dysfunction implies a meaningful decline from a normal
level of competence, but not to a point that precludes independent living. Both
cognitive dysfunction and dementia are to be distinguished from cases in which
the clinical picture is dominated by focal neurobehavioral syndromes, such
as amnesia (Chapter 17), or isolated neuropsychiatric presentations, such as
psychosis (Chapter 18).
One of the more influential trends in behavioral neurology to emerge in
recent decades is the appreciation of a category of cognitive loss that does not
reach the level of dementia. It is increasingly recognized that cognitive
impairment is not an all-or-none phenomenon and that many individuals have
deficits intermediate in severity between normal cognition and dementia as
formally defined (Mendez and Cummings, 2003). In clinical practice, for exam-
ple, it is common to encounter mild degrees of cognitive loss that do not meet
criteria for dementia but that are often troubling to the patient. The most
familiar descriptor for this problem in older patients is mild cognitive impair-
ment (MCI; Petersen et al., 1999), which has come to be seen as a transitional
stage between normal aging and dementia, most often Alzheimer’s disease
(AD). MCI is worrisome to patients and their physicians and impels the need
for close monitoring for the onset of AD or another dementing disease, but it
does not in itself implicate the disabling deficits implied by the term dementia.
Cognitive dysfunction can thus be meaningfully differentiated from demen-
tia. The distinction is particularly relevant in the context of this discussion.
Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), for example, often experience subtle
cognitive loss that may not be detected by clinicians (Franklin et al., 1990), as
may individuals with other white matter disorders (Filley, 2010). In the realm
of vascular disease, evidence exists that even a single white matter lacunar
infarct can have measurable and clinically significant effects on cognition (van
Zandvoordt et al., 1998). Many people, of course, have multiple lacunes, and
the category of “vascular cognitive impairment” has been proposed to describe
the cognitive loss experienced by individuals with many kinds of cerebrovascu-

lar disease, including white matter ischemia and infarction (Selnes and Vinters,
2006; Erkinjuntti and Gauthier, 2009). In the evolving terminology of MCI,
patients with early cognitive dysfunction that can be ascribed to increasing
white matter disease would be assigned to the category of nonamnestic MCI, to
distinguish them from patients at risk for AD who are said to have amnestic
MCI (Petersen and Negash, 2008).
However, because neither the general term MCI nor any of its varieties ade-
quately describes the early cognitive dysfunction produced by white matter dis-
orders, an alternative term may be useful. An appropriate model for such a
syndrome has been found in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a disease in
which mildly affected patients can manifest cognitive impairment without
dementia that correlates with microstructural white matter abnormalities on
advanced neuroimaging (Filley et al., 2009). An intermediate syndrome of mild
cognitive dysfunction in SLE (MCD-SLE) has thus been proposed to designate
the structurally based cognitive deficits of SLE patients who do not have
dementia (Kozora and Filley, 2011). Similar cognitive loss is a regular feature of
other white matter disorders, as reviewed in Part II. MCD-SLE may serve as a
model syndrome for any white matter disorder in which subtle but measurable
neuroimaging abnormalities can be correlated with early dysfunction of
myelinated systems that produces objective cognitive dysfunction. This topic is
considered more extensively in Chapter 20.
Despite growing recognition that cognitive dysfunction can be a feature of
white matter disorders, patients with this syndrome are frequently not
identified. The influence of traditional teaching lingers, imparting the view that
white matter disease affects cognition only minimally if at all, and cognitive
concerns may be overlooked in busy neurology clinics, where motor, sensory,
and visual deficits may be more apparent. This relative lack of ascertainment
can also be attributed to other factors. First, from studies of MS it is apparent
that the degree of physical disability is not well correlated with cognitive status
(Franklin et al., 1989). Thus a patient may have significant cognitive loss even if
elemental neurologic function is well preserved. Second, studies of MS demon-
strate that routine clinical mental status testing by neurologists may not reliably
detect cognitive dysfunction (Heaton et al., 1985; Beatty and Goodkin, 1990).
Bedside mental status tests were developed as relatively brief screening tests for
dementia and cannot be expected to provide the more thorough and sensitive
cognitive survey that comprehensive neurobehavioral or neuropsychological
testing can. Third, language is largely spared in white matter disorders (Filley,
1998, 2010). Language assessment is a traditional cornerstone of bedside
testing, and screening of linguistic function that detects no abnormality may
falsely suggest intact cognition. Moreover, standardized measures such as the
Mini-Mental State Examination (Folstein et al., 1975) heavily emphasize

language function, so that reliance on such instruments may again be mislead-
ing in white matter disorders (Filley, 1998; Feinstein, 2007). Finally, a less
tangible but still probable reason for the underdetection of cognitive dysfunc-
tion in white matter disorders is the clinician’s reluctance to risk demoralizing
the patient, who already may already be obliged to deal with major neurologic
disability. Franklin and colleagues (1990) pointed out the belief of many
clinicians that identifying cognitive disturbances in MS adds needlessly to the
psychological burden of patients so affected.
However, cognitive impairment in white matter disorders is not trivial.
Counseling and rehabilitation can often help patients with this level of impair-
ment once the problem is recognized, and significant relief can come from
understanding that a cognitive problem originates from structural lesions in
the brain and not from what may have been labeled a psychiatric problem.
Perhaps even more important in the years ahead is the prospect of effective
therapy for neurobehavioral syndromes in the white matter disorders that will
permit early treatment of cognitive dysfunction. To continue with the example
of MS, it is conceivable that the use of immunomodulatory agents (Pliskin et al.,
1996; Fischer et al., 2000) may forestall more severe cognitive loss or even
restore normal cognition in some cases. Another example is leukoaraiosis, in
which the control of hypertension and other cerebrovascular risk factors
together with use of antiplatelet agents may be important for preventing demen-
tia (Selnes and Vinters, 2006).
The pathogenesis of cognitive dysfunction in white matter disorders likely
involves neuropathologic changes that are milder than those that produce
dementia. Although the range of neuropathologic change is broad, a trend
emerges from considering parallel literatures. In MS, for example, Rao and
colleagues (1989a) found that a lesion area of >30 cm2 predicted cognitive
impairment, implying that the burden of disease determines the severity of
cognitive change. Similarly, Boone and colleagues (1992) found that a lesion
area of >10 cm2 predicted cognitive impairment in leukoaraiosis. In toluene
abuse, the severity of white matter change on MRI correlates with the degree of
cognitive loss (Filley et al., 1990), and toxic leukoencephalopathy from any
cause generally exhibits the same pattern (Filley and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters,
2001). However, establishing the level at which white matter involvement pro-
duces clinically meaningful impairment is difficult and implicates many factors
such as the method of measuring cognitive function, the neuroradiologic
assessment of white matter lesions, the nature of the white matter neuropathol-
ogy (i.e., with or without axonal loss), and the patient’s premorbid cognitive
profile. Whereas the weight of evidence supports a correlation between white
matter involvement and cognitive loss, the full extent of the correlation is not
apparent from conventional MRI. As discussed at many points in Part II,

one of the most important developments of recent years is the recognition that
normal-appearing white matter may not be normal when examined with
sophisticated neuroimaging techniques. This insight opens up vast areas for
continued study of white matter–cognition relationships.
In neuropsychological terms, cognitive dysfunction in white matter
disorders can be captured to some extent by traditional intelligence quotient
(IQ) scores. Although intelligence is not a unitary concept and is beset by many
difficulties as it relates to brain structure and function, the measurement of
IQ with the familiar Wechsler scales can be informative in white matter disor-
ders, especially early in the course (Lezak et al., 2011). IQ can be used as a
global measure—the full-scale IQ (FSIQ)—and more specific measures can be
derived to assess verbal function (the verbal IQ, or VIQ), and nonverbal
function (the performance IQ, or PIQ). Considerable evidence supports the
conclusion that larger brains correlate with higher FSIQ (Pennington et al.,
2000), and while white matter has long been speculated to play a role in this
relationship (Miller, 1994), more convincing evidence required the advent of
modern neuroimaging. Interesting data have now been presented on the
relationship of intelligence to cerebral white matter, and white matter integrity
has typically been found to be associated with PIQ but not VIQ in normal
adolescents (Betjemann et al., 2010), normal young adults (Chiang et al., 2009),
and older people with MRI white matter hyperintensities (Garde et al., 2005).
These data are not surprising given that the PIQ is generated from subtests
that are timed (Lezak et al., 2011), so that accurate performance on these
subtests requires adequate processing speed—a feature more associated with
white than gray matter. As discussed in Chapter 2, rapid axonal conduction is a
defining feature of normal white matter, and the correlation of white matter
integrity with PIQ is strongly determined by genetic factors (Chiang et al.,
2009). Moreover, when examined in older people with white matter hyperin-
tensities, cognitive speed was found to be responsible for at least some of the
age-related decline in mental function (Rabbitt et al., 2007). Of course, gray
matter also plays a role in intelligence, and recent structural neuroimaging
studies have reported that general intelligence (or g), a construct similar to
FSIQ, may depend on the operations of frontoparietal cortical networks which
depend on white matter connections for optimal functioning (Gläscher et al.,
2010).
The neuropsychological perspective has generated another approach to the
question of cognitive dysfunction in white matter disorders. The nonverbal
learning disability (NLD) syndrome is a clinical model developed from
observations of children who appear to have deficits and assets similar to those
of adults with acquired right hemisphere neuropathology (Rourke, 1995;
McDonald, 2002). According to this model, the NLD syndrome consists

of a profile of deficits in tactile perception, visual perception, complex psycho-
motor skills, dealing with novelty, tactile attention, visual attention, exploratory
behavior, tactile memory, visual memory, concept formation, problem solving,
and prosody. As could be predicted, PIQ is more affected, but most aspects
of language and verbal memory are preserved (Rourke, 1995). The problems
experienced by children with the NLD syndrome in turn compromise
arithmetic ability, visuospatial skills, and social relationships, and the resulting
social withdrawal and anxiety can lead to depression and suicide (Rourke,
1987; Cleaver and Whitman, 1998). Because evidence exists for the presence
of proportionally more white matter in the right hemisphere (Gur et al., 1980),
Rourke (1995) has hypothesized that the NLD syndrome may be associated
with white matter dysfunction. Examination of this model discloses some
clinical similarities to descriptions of cognitive dysfunction with white matter
neuropathology advanced herein, as the NLD syndrome appears to include
aspects of attentional dysfunction, frontal lobe impairment, visuospatial dys-
function, psychiatric disability, and spared language. Moreover, Rourke (1995)
has presented suggestive relationships between the NLD model and white
matter disorders including metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), callosal
agenesis, MS, toxic leukoencephalopathy, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and
early hydrocephalus. Thus it is conceivable that white matter dysfunction
underlies many cases of the NLD syndrome and that this model can be used to
characterize individuals with known white matter pathology.
However, the NLD syndrome remains a theoretical construct, and the evi-
dence that white matter disruption is a corel feature must be considered equiv-
ocal at best (Semrud-Clikeman and Hynd, 1990; McDonald, 2002). Many of the
NLD disorders, including autism, Klinefelter’s syndrome, Turner’s syndrome,
Williams syndrome, Cornelia de Lange syndrome, and velocardiofacial syn-
drome cannot readily be characterized as involving white matter (McDonald,
2002). The essential step required to establish the validity of the NLD syndrome
as a descriptor of white matter dysfunction would be to correlate aspects of the
syndrome with data from neurologic subjects who have well-defined white
matter alterations as demonstrated neuropathologically or neuroradiologically.
Until then, the relevance of the NLD syndrome to the behavioral neurology of
white matter must remain conjectural.
W HI T E MAT T ER DEMENTIA
Individuals with white matter disorders may also develop dementia, a disabling
syndrome representing a more florid manifestation of cognitive impairment.
This concept may seem immediately counterintuitive, since it is held by many

clinicians that dementia implies strictly cortical neuropathology. Whereas it is
likely that cognitive decline in AD, the most common degenerative dementia, is
accounted for primarily by cortical neuronal and synaptic loss (Mouton et al.,
1998; Scheff and Price, 2003), ttissue loss or dysfunction in white matter regions
can lead to dementia as surely as does AD, although the clinical features of
affected individuals tend to be markedly different.
For our purposes, the most useful definition of dementia is that of Mendez
and Cummings (2003), who define dementia as an acquired and persistent dis-
order of intellectual function with deficits in at least three of the following:
memory, language, perception (especially visuospatial), praxis, calculations,
conceptual or semantic knowledge, executive function, personality or social
behavior, and emotional awareness or expression. This definition differs from
that of the widely cited fourth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association,
1994, pp. 134–135), which emphasizes aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia as core
disturbances. Analysis of patients with white matter disorders and dementia in
fact discloses that whereas aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia can occur, these corti-
cal deficits are encountered only exceptionally. Thus the DSM-IV definition,
based as it is on the cognitive profile of cortical dementias such as AD, is less
useful than the more inclusive definition of Mendez and Cummings (2003).
Dementia in individuals with white matter disorders has been recognized for
many years. However, this syndrome has not attracted the attention given to
cortical dementias or even to subcortical dementias such as those of Parkinson’s
disease and Huntington’s disease (HD). When white matter disorders have been
formally considered, the dementias have usually been classified as subcortical,
and indeed many similarities have been noted that would support this claim
(Cummings, 1990). However, evidence indicates that the white matter disor-
ders may merit separation from other categories and classification as a distinct
group.
The idea of white matter dementia was introduced in 1988 (Filley et al.,
1988). At that time, the notion was based on clinical experience with selected
white matter disorders and a literature review of many others that suggested
neurobehavioral features common to all. In particular, patients with MS
(Franklin et al., 1989) and toluene dementia (Hormes et al., 1986; Rosenberg
et al., 1988) provided two plausible examples of this phenomenon, as unequivo-
cal and severe dementia was a feature of both. These two disorders were noted
to share the feature of neuropathology essentially confined to white matter and
thus presented the opportunity to study resulting neurobehavioral manifesta-
tions in different clinical populations. The idea of white matter dementia was
put forth as a hypothesis in hopes of stimulating further work that could assist
in the understanding and treatment of many neurologic disorders and, more

generally, in advancing knowledge of the human brain and its mediation of
behavior.
This initial formulation was derived from a consideration of subcortical
dementia, with which the syndrome is closely associated (Chapter 1). In gen-
eral, white matter dementia was thought to be characterized by inattention,
forgetfulness, emotional changes, and the absence of aphasia, apraxia, or a
movement disorder (Filley et al., 1988). This profile is of course similar to that
of subcortical dementia (Cummings, 1990). However, two clinical features
seemed sufficiently prominent to support the creation of a separate dementia
category. The first was the saliency of attentional dysfunction, which was felt to
be closely allied with cognitive slowing. The second was the typical absence of
a movement disorder, which distinguished white matter dementia from sub-
cortical dementias, because these diseases regularly feature an extrapyramidal
component.
In the years since, further investigation has been conducted that pertains to
this hypothesis (Filley et al., 1989; Merriam et al., 1989; Filley et al., 1990;
Merriam et al., 1990; Filley and Gross, 1992; Swirsky-Sacchetti et al., 1992; Rao
et al., 1993; Filley and Cullum, 1994; Shapiro et al., 1994; Yamanouchi et al.,
1997; Filley et al., 1999; Mendez et al., 2000; Riva et al., 2000; Harris and Filley,
2001; Price et al., 2005; Lafosse et al., 2007; Shibata et al., 2007; Libon et al.,
2008; Filley et al., 2009), and several reviews have dealt with conceptual issues
(Rao, 1993, 1996; Filley and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters 2001; Feinstein, 2007;
Schmahmann et al., 2008). Considerable systematic study of the distinctions
between the various dementia categories has been undertaken (Filley et al.,
1989; Gallassi et al., 1991; Rao et al., 1993; Bennett et al., 1994; Derix, 1994;
Doody et al., 1998; Iddon et al., 1999; Aharon-Peretz et al., 2000; Lafosse et al.,
2007). Taken together, the observations from this research have facilitated
further refinement of the idea of white matter dementia.
One of the enduring notions regarding white matter dementia is the possibility
of a threshold effect whereby a certain amount of white matter must be
compromised for dementia to become evident. Efforts to establish such a thresh-
old have not yielded a definitive result, but in vascular dementia an initial figure
of 25% of the cerebral hemispheric white matter was proposed (Román et al.,
1993). Some support for a threshold effect exists. Mendez and colleagues (2000)
compared 28 patients with dementia from various causes in whom 25% or more
of the subcortical white matter was affected on conventional MRI with 28 AD
patients and found that the former group had greater difficulty with cognitive
speed and sustained attention but better recognition memory. Later work with
leukoariosis patients also found that 25% could be considered a threshold for the
development of impairments in executive function, visuospatial ability, and work-

ing memory while declarative memory and language were relatively spared (Price
et al., 2005; Libon et al, 2008). In addition to providing support for a threshold
effect, these results were similar to those of Filley and colleagues (1989) in distin-
guishing white matter dementia from AD. Whereas these studies do suggest that
white matter disease of any sort can accumulate to produce specific cognitive
deficits, it should be recalled that MRI detects only macrostructural white matter
lesions and that the normal-appearing white matter often harbors microstruc-
tural disease that likely exerts an additional deleterious impact on cognition.
A major concern with the concept of white matter dementia is the problem
of coexisting gray matter neuropathology. This issue is perhaps most evident in
MS, where interest in “cortical MS” has rekindled the supposition that all cog-
nitive impairment can be ascribed to gray matter involvement. Without doubt,
gray matter is affected in MS, and the evidence that this develops only later in
the disease was reviewed in Chapter 6. Interpretation of gray matter neuropa-
thology in other disorders has been considered as well at many points earlier in
this volume. The resolution of this problem is not yet apparent, but in a thought-
ful commentary, Feinstein (2007) offered the reasonable statement that whereas
white matter disorders may have gray matter involvement that contributes to
cognitive impairment and dementia, damage to white matter alone can indeed
influence the type of cognitive loss. Experiments with animal models have sup-
ported this idea. The work of Gennarelli and colleagues (1982) on TBI in mon-
keys showed that the degree of diffuse axonal injury was directly proportional
to the length of coma and the quality of outcome. In a mouse model of cerebral
ischemia, Shibata and colleagues (2007) showed that bilateral carotid artery
stenosis damaging only white matter produced selective impairment in work-
ing memory. Animal models suffer from inherent limitations when used in the
investigation of brain–behavior relationships, but these data offer some support
because of the capacity to produce selective white matter neuropathology in
such models.
A clinically helpful point is the tendency for the differentiating aspects
of dementias to be most evident in the early and middle stages of the disorder.
Thus white matter dementia may be most easily detected before it becomes
severe. This feature is particularly useful in that it assists in the diagnosis
of dementia when the greatest opportunity for effective treatment still presents
itself. As the dementia progresses, the accumulation of neuropathology usually
results in an increasingly uniform clinical picture of neurobehavioral and
neurologic disability. In the most severe and terminal stages, little if any disti-
nction between cortical, subcortical gray, or white matter dementia can be
detected.
Bearing in mind that the defining clinical features of dementia are most
evident in early stages, a more complete profile of deficits and preserved
strengths in white matter dementia can now be proposed (Filley, 2010). Based
on a review of the existing literature, Table 15-1 presents the neurobehavioral
details of dementia in 10 illustrative white matter disorders representing all
the major neuropathologic categories covered in Part II. Relying to some extent
on the terminology of Mendez and Cummings (2003), this summary of clinical
evidence presents the most salient aspects of the dementia encountered with
these disorders. This tabulation offers support for a consistent clinical syndrome
characterizing white matter dementia.
The general portrait of white matter dementia shown in Table 15-1 is a useful
overview, but further information can be extracted from a careful reading of
the literature. Attention and memory, for example, are not unitary concepts,
and the exact characterization of attentional and memory dysfunction is crucial
to the concept as a whole. In addition, cognitive speed has recently assumed a
major position in conceptualizations of this topic. The various domains listed in
Table 15-1 will now serve as the basis for an expanded profile of the deficits and
strengths in white matter dementia.
Cognitive Slowing
Perhaps the most obvious deficit that might be expected in patients with white
matter disorders is cognitive slowing, often known as slowed speed of informa-
tion processing or psychomotor slowing. As discussed in Chapter 2, the core
neurophysiological function of myelin is the enhancement of axonal conduc-
tion velocity, and all white matter disorders discussed in this book feature dis-
turbances of this process. The assumption that white matter disorders induce
cognitive slowing is disarming in its simplicity, but in fact this clinical phenom-
enon does appear to capture quite accurately the neurobiology involved. In
both patient populations and normal subjects, recent MRI and diffusion tensor
imaging (DTI) observations have shown that the integrity of white matter tracts
significantly affects the speed of cognitive processing (Turken et al., 2008;
Bartzokis et al., 2010; Kochunov et al., 2010; Penke et al., 2010; Bendlin et al.,
2010). Thus it is not inappropriate to conclude that, generally stated, neurons
that are slow to conduct impulses contribute to slowed thinking. Conditions
that affect the gray matter may of course also produce slowed cognition, but the
primacy of cognitive slowing seems particularly characteristic of white matter
disorders (Filley, 2010).
Cognitive slowing has been emphasized as a cardinal feature of subcortical
dementia (Cummings, 1990), and the critical role of white matter in
Table 15-1. Characteristics of Dementia in Selected White Matter Disorders
Disorder Cognitive Memory Language Visuospatial Executive Emotions & Extrapyramidal

Speed & Skills Function Personality Function
Attention
Metachromatic leukodystrophy ↓ ↓ N ↓ ↓ ↓ N
Multiple sclerosis ↓ ↓ N ↓ ↓ ↓ N
HIV-associated dementia ↓ ↓ N ↓ ↓ ↓ ±
Systemic lupus erythematosus ↓ ↓ N ↓ ↓ ↓ ±
Toluene leukoencephalopathy ↓ ↓ N ↓ ↓ ↓ N
Cobalamin deficiency ↓ ↓ N ↓ ↓ ↓ N
Binswanger’s disease ↓ ↓ N ↓ ↓ ↓ ±
Traumatic brain injury ↓ ↓ N ↓ ↓ ↓ N
Gliomatosis cerebri ↓ ↓ N ? ↓ ↓ N
Normal pressure hydrocephalus ↓ ↓ N ↓ ↓ ↓ N
↓—impaired; N—normal or relatively preserved; ±— variably affected.

frontal–subcortical networks implies that impaired timing and activation of

cortical systems can produce impaired state functions (Chapter 1). Slowed
information processing has long been observed in MS (Litvan et al., 1988;
Demaree et al., 1999), allying white matter disorders with subcortical gray
matter diseases. Impaired cognitive speed is most often evident in everyday
tasks dependent on rapid information processing, and patients may complain
of being overwhelmed with the burden of multiple tasks in a work setting.
In the clinical encounter, cognitive slowing contributes most importantly to
impairments in attention, and memory retrieval is also affected, as will be
considered further below. A close relationship exists, for example, between
cognitive speed and sustained attention (Weinstein et al., 1999). Evidence
suggests that “cognitive fatigue” contributes to poor performance on tasks
requiring sustained attention, such as the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test
(Krupp and Elkins, 2000; Schwid et al., 2003). In the neuropsychology labora-
tory, this deficit will be apparent on vigilance tests, and an increase in reaction
time may coexist with a deficit in sustained attention (Rueckert and Grafman,
1996). Indeed, some researchers have suggested that impairments in vigilance
are explained entirely by cognitive slowing (Spikman, 1996). Whatever its
mechanism(s), cognitive slowing is a common impairment that often domi-
nates the behavioral repertoire of patients with white matter disorders of any
origin. In the context of white matter dementia, cognitive slowing is best
considered a deficit that often becomes manifest in the performance of atten-
tional, memory, and other cognitive operations.
Executive Dysfunction
The capacity to plan, carry out, monitor, and complete cognitive tasks while
avoiding distraction is the essence of what has come to be known as executive
function. This asset is crucial to normal cognition, and its dissolution can be
observed in many brain diseases. Executive dysfunction has steadily ascended
to the level of a core deficit in the white matter disorders affecting cognition
(Filley, 2010). In patients with MLD, a frontal lobe syndrome with poor execu-
tive function has been documented neuropsychologically (Shapiro et al., 1994).
Deficits in tests that measure executive function have been noted in MS patients
(Feinstein, 2007), and MRI studies have correlated these deficits with plaques in
the frontal lobe white matter (Arnett et al., 1994). Executive dysfunction is a
feature of toluene and other toxic leukoencephalopathies and results mainly
from frontal lobe myelin loss (Filley and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 2001; Filley
et al., 2004). White matter involvement in vascular dementia prominently
impairs executive dysfunction (Román et al., 1993). Iddon and colleagues
(1999) found that a pattern of executive dysfunction related to frontal lobe

involvement distinguished patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus
from those with AD. Many other examples of executive dysfunction could be
mentioned, but the common feature of all is the prominence of neuropathology
within the tracts underlying the frontal cortices and connecting them with
other cerebral regions.
Impaired Sustained Attention
Attention is a multifaceted concept in behavioral neurology and neuropsy-

chology. While useful in that it designates important mental operations, the
meaning of attention depends on the context in which it is used. In its most
general sense, attention refers to the ability to focus on some stimulus while
distractors are present; this capacity, often called selective attention, operates
over a period of seconds and is commonly tested by the digit span (Mesulam,
2000). When selective attention operates over minutes, sustained attention,
also known as concentration or vigilance, is engaged (Filley and Cullum, 1994).
A variety of continuous performance tasks are suitable for assessing sustained
attention (Mesulam, 2000). It is closely related to the idea of working memory,
and similar brain regions appear to be involved in each (Takahashi et al., 2010).
In a study testing the idea that disturbances of sustained attention are prom-
inent in white matter disorders, a comparison of neuropsychological features in
MS and AD revealed that sustained attention was markedly affected in the
former while relatively normal in the latter (Filley et al., 1989). That study, the
first to compare white matter and cortical disease directly from a neurobehav-
ioral perspective, demonstrated contrasting profiles of attentional and concen-
tration dysfunction in patients with MS versus memory and language
impairment in those with AD, and the investigators proposed that these two
diseases may represent prototypical white matter and cortical dementias.
Attention and concentration deficits were also found to be more common in
Binswanger’s disease (BD) than in AD (Doody et al., 1998), further supporting
this distinction. These results are usefully interpreted in light of a neuropsycho-
logical comparison of subcortical gray matter with subcortical white matter
disease (Caine et al., 1986). In that study, patients with MS and HD had similar
overall cognitive impairment, but memory dysfunction was generally more
severe in HD, while MS patients showed normal cognitive strategies but low-
ered mental efficiency. Thus in these respects MS differs from both AD and HD.
Sustained attention also declines in normal aging (Filley and Cullum, 1994).
The neuroanatomy of sustained attention is not well established, but,
many lines of evidence implicate the frontal lobes and their connections to
more posterior structures in sustained attention (Mesulam, 2000), and the right
frontal lobe may be particularly specialized for sustained attention (Rueckert
and Grafman, 1996). It also appears likely that the white matter of the frontal
lobes contributes to this capacity (Filley, 2010, 2011). In one study, for example,
children with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity had a smaller volume
of right frontal lobe white matter than normal control subjects, and poorer
performance on sustained attention tasks was associated with reduced right
hemisphere white matter volume (Semrud-Clikeman et al., 2000). Studies in
normal subjects support a role of the anterior corpus callosum in sustained
attention (Rueckert et al., 1994, 1999; Banich, 1998). Consistent with these
observations, patients with lesions of the corpus callosum have deficits in
sustained attention. In MS, for example, an impairment of vigilance is corre-
lated with reduced size of the corpus callosum as measured by MRI (Rao et al.,
1989b). Similar reductions in corpus callosum size have been reported in
children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Giedd et al., 1994).
Memory Retrieval Deficit
Memory, like attention, is a multifaceted yet fundamental concept in clinical

neuroscience. Many forms of memory have been postulated based on clinical
examples in which specific deficits in memory follow documented brain lesions
(Budson and Price, 2005). For our purposes, two distinctions will prove most
useful. The first is between declarative and procedural memory. Declarative
memory, regularly tested in neurologic encounters, is a mainstay of the mental
status examination; two subtypes are episodic memory (for events of personal
experience) and semantic memory (for conceptual and factual knowledge).
Procedural memory, in contrast, refers to the learning of skills at an uncon-
scious, automatic level and must be evaluated by special neuropsychological
tests that tap motor learning. The second distinction involves the separable
processes of encoding versus retrieval within declarative memory (Cummings,
1990). The clinician has some capacity to evaluate these aspects of memory by
determining if the recall of items that a patient cannot recall spontaneously
after a delay can be improved by one of two methods: cueing the patient with
semantic clues, or providing a list of items that includes the desired ones.
If either of these procedures results in improved recall, the clinician has docu-
mented preserved encoding of the information, and the patient can be consid-
ered to have a retrieval deficit. In the practice of behavioral neurology, it is often
possible to establish this distinction during the office or bedside evaluation, and
neuropsychological testing offers a more thorough assessment. The data on
memory retrieval in white matter disease have been derived primarily from the
Table 15-2. Memory Dysfunction in Cortical, White Matter,

and Subcortical Dementia
Cortical White Matter Subcortical

Declarative Encoding deficit Retrieval deficit Retrieval deficit
Procedural Normal Normal Impaired
latter approach. In this light, it is pertinent to review some neuropsychological

studies of memory that have suggested a unique pattern in patients with white
matter disorders. The retrieval deficit will be considered first, and the presence
of normal procedural memory in a subsequent section. Table 15-2 outlines
the differing effects on these two types of memory in dementias of different
neuroanatomic origin.
Early efforts to define the type of declarative memory impairment in white
matter disease were undertaken with MS patients and disclosed a retrieval def-
icit (Rao et al., 1984). As reviewed in Chapter 6, some studies have obtained
data supporting the alternative idea that the declarative memory deficit of MS
patients is related more to the acquisition of information than its retrieval
(DeLuca et al., 1994, 1998). It may be that both processes are relevant, since the
demyelination of MS can involve the alveus—an intrahippocampal white matter
structure—as well as larger afferent and efferent hippocampal tracts. Since gray
matter is not involved early in the course of MS (Hauser and Oksenberg, 2006),
the initial memory deficits are likely to be in retrieval. Similar retrieval deficits
have been documented in additional diseases with white matter involvement,
including the AIDS dementia complex (ADC; White et al., 1997; Jones and
Tranel, 1991), radiation leukoencephalopathy (Armstrong et al., 2000, 2001),
carbon monoxide intoxication (Chang et al., 2009), ischemic vascular dementia
(Lafosse et al., 1997; Libon et al., 1998; Reed et al., 2000), cerebral autosomal
dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy
(CADASIL; Chabriat et al., 2009), and TBI (Timmerman and Brouwer, 1999),
suggesting that this pattern of declarative memory loss may be generalizable to
many other white matter disorders.
Although these distinctions are subtle, they indicate that white matter disor-
ders may disturb memory in a specific and reproducible fashion. This pattern
presumably relates to the selective involvement of white matter tracts, disrupt-
ing memory retrieval but not encoding, and the sparing of subcortical gray
matter regions responsible for procedural memory. Markowitsch (1995) sug-
gested on the basis of clinical reports and functional neuroimaging data that
the uncinate fasciculus (see Figure 2-2) is responsible for memory retrieval.
Memory retrieval requires the engagement of working memory systems in the
frontal lobes to recall information stored in the temporal lobes, and according
to Markowitsch the uncinate fasciculus is the essential tract connecting these

regions. This idea posits a specific cognitive role for a white matter tract that
had not previously had a firm neurobehavioral affiliation and invites applica-
tion of modern neuroimaging technologies to study a variety of white matter
disorders in which memory is affected. Taking advantage of these technologies,
later studies of MS (Sepulcre et al., 2008), carbon monoxide intoxication
(Chang et al., 2009), and glioma (Papagno et al., 2011) have shown in general
that frontotemporal tracts, including but not limited to the uncinate fasciculus,
participate in memory retrieval. As attractive as it may be to assign memory
retrieval to one tract, a more complicated system appears to be operative, and a
network of white matter structures likely participates in the retrieval of declara-
tive memory (Sepulcre et al., 2008). Figure 15-1 depicts a proposed schema for
the role of white matter in memory retrieval.
As in attentional dysfunction, the retrieval deficit in individuals with white
matter disorders can be seen as closely related to cognitive slowing. In clinical
practice, these patients will often be noted to produce the correct answer to a
question if given sufficient time, implying that the information is encoded but
not easily retrieved. The clinician may interpret the delay in providing the
correct answer as reflecting slowed cognition rather than a memory deficit.
However, while the patient is indeed cognitively slow, the reason for this
Figure 15-1. Illustration depicting a proposal for the role of white matter tracts in the
mediation of declarative memory retrieval. (Reprinted with permission from Sepulcre
et al., 2008, p. 1241.)
slowing is a deficit of memory retrieval. As intimated above, cognitive slowing,

while important as a general observation, can be analyzed in more detail and
interpreted in terms of cognitive dysfunction. The delineation of specific
deficits, most obviously in attention and memory, that contribute to cognitive
slowing is an important neuropsychological issue deserving further study.
Visuospatial Impairment
Visuospatial function has only lately received attention in the clinical research
literature, but available studies suggest an impairment related to white matter
dysfunction. Studies on the genetics of normal fiber architecture have shown
that white matter is under strong genetic control and that its integrity is associ-
ated with FSIQ and PIQ but not VIQ (Chiang et al., 2009). These data indicate a
selective relationship of white matter to nonverbal capacities. Given that white
matter is not strongly associated with language, it might be predicted that white
matter disorders have more nonverbal manifestations, and this is in fact the case.
MS patients, for example, score about 10 points lower on the performance sub-
tests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale than on the verbal subtests (Rao,
1996), and specific visuospatial deficits have been shown on a variety of stan-
dard tests of right hemisphere function (Heaton et al., 1985; Rao et al., 1991).
Studies of solvent-induced leukoencephalopathy have confirmed that nonverbal
abilities are more impaired than verbal skills in patients with toluene dementia
(Yamanouchi et al., 1997). This nonverbal–verbal neuropsychological discrep-
ancy has also been observed in patients with MLD (Shapiro et al., 1994) and in
children with hydrocephalus (Mataró et al., 2001). More recently, abstinent alco-
holics have been shown to have impaired visuospatial function associated with
microstructural white matter involvement on DTI (Rosenbloom et al., 2009).
Psychiatric Disturbance
Emotional and personality aspects of white matter dementia have received

much recent attention. Whereas Chapter 18 will expand on this research in
more detail, the focus here is on psychiatric syndromes in relation to white
matter dysfunction. Psychosis was noted as a frequent early feature of adult-
onset MLD (Filley and Gross, 1992; Hyde et al., 1992), and the development of
this syndrome was interpreted as an early component of a sequential progres-
sion to dementia seen in these patients (Filley and Gross, 1992; Shapiro et al.,
1994). Depression in MS has received much attention (Minden and Schiffer,
1990; Feinstein, 2007), and the potential lethality of this problem was better
appreciated when a high risk for suicide was documented in MS sufferers
(Sadovnick et al., 1991). It is likely that depression in MS results at least in part

from frontotemporal white matter disease and exacerbates cognitive dysfunc-
tion related to other brain involvement (Feinstein, 2007). Depression has been
reported to be more common in BD patients than in comparably demented AD
patients (Bennett et al., 1994). In white matter lacunar dementia, the severity of
delusions and hallucinations, aggression, irritability, aberrant motor behavior,
disturbed nighttime behavior, and appetite changes was correlated with cogni-
tive decline, whereas no such correlations were found in AD (Aharon-Peretz
et al., 2000). These data suggest that white matter ischemia and infarcts have a
direct impact on psychotic and behavioral features.
Relatively Preserved Language
One of the most robust observations in the white matter disorders is that lan-
guage is usually well preserved. In this respect, the classical lore of clinical neu-
rology is entirely accurate. Genetic studies failing to detect a link between
normal white matter and verbal function as measured by VIQ (Chiang et al.,
2009) have been mentioned above. Among clinical populations such as people
with MS, aphasia is indeed rare; a recent large multicenter study found that
fewer than 1% of MS patients experience this syndrome (Lacour et al., 2004).
When it does occur in MS, aphasia takes reasonably predictable forms. As
expected from the classic model of aphasia localization (Filley, 2011), for exam-
ple, conduction aphasia can appear in relation to a focal plaque in the left arcu-
ate fasciculus (Arnett et al., 1996). With detailed testing, minor deficits in
language can be detected in MS (Kujala et al., 1996), but these are typically not
evident in ordinary discourse or even on routine mental status testing. In com-
parison to patients with AD, MS patients have little linguistic difficulty (Filley
et al., 1989). Aphasia is also rarely encountered in other white matter disorders,
although impaired verbal fluency may be seen (Derix, 1994, Filley, 2010). Speech
deficits, however, are frequent in white matter disorders. Dysarthria is well
known in MS and can sometimes assume a scanning quality. Articulation defi-
cits have also been described in ADC (Navia, Jordan, and Price, 1986), toluene
leukoencephalopathy (Hormes et al., 1986), and BD (Caplan, 1995). In these
disorders, involvement of corticobulbar tracts subserving articulation is likely.
Normal Extrapyramidal Function
An initial criticism of the white matter dementia hypothesis questioned the

usefulness of specifying the absence of movement disorders given that these
phenomena may be encountered in white matter diseases (Merriam et al.,

1990). However, movement disorders are typically caused by basal ganglia
neuropathology (Jellinger, 1998), and white matter disorders only result in
such problems when myelinated tracts within the basal ganglia are involved.
Movement disorders reflecting basal ganglia involvement can occasionally
occur in white matter diseases that have reached a late stage, as in the case of
myoclonus in ADC (Navia et al., 1986), or when the leukoencephalopathy
is sufficiently widespread to involve the white matter of the basal ganglia, as
exemplified by parkinsonism from severe carbon monoxide poisoning (Sohn
et al., 2000). In MS, movement disorders are very rare (Ozturk et al., 2003), and
some may actually be coincidental to demyelinative disease (Tranchant et al.,
1995). As few rules in behavioral neurology are absolute, extrapyramidal
dysfunction can be seen in white matter disorders, but these cases typically
can be explained by some degree of subcortical gray matter involvement or an
unrelated movement disorder.
Normal Procedural Memory
Studies of MS have found a preservation of procedural memory (Rao et al.,

1993), as have investigations of ADC (Jones and Tranel, 1991; White et al.,
1997) and TBI (Timmerman and Brouwer, 1999). Procedural memory is also
relatively preserved in AD (Grafman et al., 1990). In contrast, HD patients
show impaired procedural memory (Knopman and Nissen, 1991; Gabrieli et al.,
1997), as do patients with ischemic vascular dementia (Libon et al., 1998).
These studies suggest that diseases affecting the basal ganglia are most likely to
disrupt procedural memory. To assess the specific role of white matter in pro-
cedural memory, Lafosse and colleagues (2007) compared clinically definite
MS patients, genetically verified HD patients, and normal controls. As hypoth-
esized, MS and HD patients shared a retrieval deficit in declarative memory, but
MS patients had normal procedural memory, as tested by rotary pursuit, while
HD patients were impaired on that task. Thus procedural memory may distin-
guish white matter disorders from the subcortical gray matter diseases (Lafosse
et al., 2007).
These neuropsychological results generally support a specific pattern of
memory loss proposed for white matter dementia. This pattern stands in con-
trast to patterns of memory loss seen in cortical disease, where there is an
encoding deficit and normal procedural memory, and in subcortical gray matter
diseases, where there is a retrieval deficit in declarative memory but impaired
procedural memory (Filley, 1998, 2010; Table 15-2).
Box 15-1
The Clinical Profile of White Matter Dementia
• Cognitive slowing
• Executive dysfunction
• Sustained attention impairment
• Memory retrieval deficit
• Visuospatial impairment
• Psychiatric disturbance
• Relatively preserved language
• Normal extrapyramidal function
• Normal procedural memory
Summary
The clinical and experimental observations made in the last two decades in
various white matter disorders have prompted a reconsideration and refine-
ment of the original white matter dementia hypothesis (Filley, 1998, 2010).
On the basis of this new information, the most likely neurobehavioral
profile now appears to be a combination of deficits in cognitive speed, executive
function, sustained attention, memory retrieval, visuospatial skills, and psychi-
atric status with relatively preserved or normal language, extrapyramidal
function, and procedural memory (Filley, 1998, 2010; Box 15-1). An interesting
feature of this profile is that it represents the pattern that might be expected
from the prominence of white matter in the frontal lobes (Filley, 2010) and in
the right hemisphere (Gur et al., 1980). The relative preponderance of white
matter in the frontal lobes and the right hemisphere implies that processes
that diffusely affect the white matter would cause more notable deficits in the
functions mediated by those regions. This prediction has in fact been upheld
thus far.
An important point requires discussion in light of the observation that some
patients with extensive white matter hyperintensity on MRI may escape any
cognitive disturbance (Fein et al., 1990). This phenomenon, brought up in
Chapter 1 as a perplexing counterargument to the idea of white matter demen-
tia, has been plausibly explained as a result of cognitive reserve, or the capacity
for premorbid intellectual enrichment to provide some degree of protection
from dementing brain diseases. Cognitive reserve implies that a person with
many stimulating educational, occupational, or leisure experiences before the
onset of brain disease may endure less impact from the predicted dementia
(Stern, 2009). Most studied in AD, this protective effect is likely mediated by
increased synaptic density in cortical gray matter that counteracts the deleteri-
ous effect of neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, but the same principle
may apply to white matter disorders. In MRI and neuropsychological studies of
both adults with MS (Sumowski et al., 2010) and normal elderly individuals
(Brickman et al., 2009), all of whom had some MRI white matter lesions, cogni-
tive reserve was found to mitigate the impact of white matter pathology. Thus
highly educated, intellectually active, and socially engaged individuals may be
able to lessen or even avoid the cognitive impact of white matter lesions because
they have well-prepared cortical systems in which rich synaptic density can
compensate for the specific effects of the newly acquired pathology.
To highlight the essence of white matter dementia, a crucial distinction
should be made between the core functions of white matter—information
transfer—and gray matter—information processing (Filley, 2010). White matter
is characterized by extensive macroconnectivity, which integrates anatomically
removed but functionally interconnected gray matter regions into coherent
neural networks, and gray matter by massive microconnectivity, the extraordi-
nary synaptic activity by which individual neurons communicate with each
other in the processing of information. Both constituents of the brain are neces-
sary for normal behavior. White matter dementia, in summary, means that
neural networks are less well organized, not as efficient, and ill suited to inte-
grate the impressive panoply of seamless cognitive operations implied by the
concept of information processing (Filley, 2010). Whereas dementia of any type
may proceed clinically to the same terminal outcome, the brain–behavior
relationships involved in the onset, pathogenesis, and course of white matter
dementia are distinctive.
WHY ANO T HER DEMENTIA SYNDROME?
The proposal of a new syndrome in neurology is fraught with potential hazards.

Recall that the proposal of subcortical dementia in the 1970s (Chapter 1) led to
a lively controversy stimulated by criticisms of the concept (Whitehouse, 1986;
Brown and Marsden, 1988). Indeed, the notion of white matter dementia, like
that of subcortical dementia, suffers from both clinical imprecision and a degree
of neuropathologic overlap with other syndromes. These issues are not trivial
and have received careful consideration (Feinstein, 2007). Moreover, if the
legitimacy of subcortical dementia is accepted, it can be maintained that white
matter disorders causing dementia are simply additional entries on this list, as
some have suggested (Cummings, 1990). However, the delineation of a separate
syndrome offers both practical and heuristic advantages. Although clinicians
cannot document their services by circling “White matter dementia” as they

can for such entities as “Alzhemer’s disease” or “Traumatic brain injury,” and
granting agencies may pause when presented with a proposal dedicated to white
matter dementia, consideration of this term can reveal a wide new vista of
thinking about brain–behavior relationships informed by an often overlooked
and now timely area of neuroscientific scholarship.
First, in clinical terms, concepts that organize thinking in medicine can
improve diagnostic accuracy and overall patient care (Filley, 2011). The idea of
white matter dementia can serve as a reminder that significant cognitive impair-
ment attends many, perhaps all white matter disorders of the brain seen in clin-
ical practice. This admonition would seem to be a useful one, given the often
demonstrated failure of clinicians to record accurate observations of neurobe-
havioral deficits in patients with these disorders. Even if no specific profile
emerges with further investigation, the heightened clinical awareness that this
idea generates would be beneficial for many affected individuals. Classic neuro-
logic teaching is notably deficient in presenting the details of neurobehavioral
impairment of this type (which rendered the background literature search for
this text considerably more challenging than anticipated).
Second, in theoretical terms, the concept of white matter dementia is intended
to provide a stimulus for considering the role of white matter in the higher
functions of the brain. Although this goal has been pursued with a modicum of
enthusiasm lately, events in the gray matter—particularly cortical gray matter—
generally attract far more interest among neurologists and neuroscientists. One
of the strongest motivations for this book is in fact the desire to point how white
matter plays a crucial role in the distributed neural networks that are now rec-
ognized to mediate all aspects of cognitive and emotional function (Mesulam,
1990, 1998, 2000). Thus white matter dementia serves to inform a more general
behavioral neurology of white matter, which will be taken up in the last chapter
of this book.
The idea of white matter dementia is therefore still put forth in the spirit of
its original purpose, which was to stimulate clinical interest in and promote
research on the most common neurobehavioral syndrome in individuals with
disorders of the brain white matter. As a consequence of this admittedly specu-
lative notion, it is hoped that patients with many different dementing diseases,
intoxications, and injuries will receive more informed and appropriate care and
that meaningful study of the contribution of white matter disorders to the prob-
lem of dementia can proceed. Substantial support for the legitimacy of the pro-
posal has appeared, both from the analysis of individual white matter disorders
and from studies comparing those disorders with the cortical and subcortical
gray matter diseases. Although much more research is clearly needed, the evi-
dence increasingly compels the view that a classification of dementia that
neglects nearly half the volume of the brain cannot presume to provide a com-
plete understanding of this common syndrome.
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16
White Matter and

Neurodegenerative Disease
The neurodegenerative diseases of the brain are traditionally regarded as sparing

white matter as an initial or prominent site of neuropathology. White matter is
justifiably viewed as the target of various neuropathologic processes described
in this book that affect myelin and axons but not the cell body residing in
cortical or subcortical gray matter. In contrast, neuronal cell bodies are widely
held to be the initial sites of disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and
frontotemporal lobar dementia (FTLD), and indeed much evidence supports
the primacy of neuronal dysfunction in these diseases, leading ultimately to
progressive neuronal death and neurologic disability. Yet even in this field,
white matter has begun to appear worthy of attention. The advent of powerful
neuroimaging techniques has disclosed in vivo what neuropathologists have
long observed at postmortem examination: the involvement of white matter
tracts and regions in association with AD and related disorders. The major
implication of this work so far is that white matter changes may be helpful in
diagnosis, perhaps even offering the prospect of identifying thus far elusive bio-
markers for neurodegenerative diseases. This objective is of course worthwhile.
However, whereas a general consensus exists that white matter changes are
either secondary to or coincidental with gray matter neuropathology, more
complex interactions are being considered. Some thought is even being devoted
to the idea that cerebral white matter may be the primary pathogenic locus of
AD, a perspective markedly different from the widely endorsed opinion that
amyloid plaques underlie the etiopathogenesis of this disease. This chapter
considers the involvement of white matter in the major neurodegenerative
dementias, along with the intriguing idea that white matter may be the tissue in
which the neuropathology of AD first appears.
A LZ H EIMER ’S D ISEASE
Current thinking holds that AD is a disease superimposed on normal aging.

A reasonable view is that prominent hippocampal and cortical atrophy results
from neuropathology that adds neuronal degeneration to the normal changes
of the aging brain. These changes of older brains, as discussed in Chapter 4,
prominently implicate the white matter. Indeed, volumetric magnetic reso-
nance imaging (MRI) studies support a double dissociation of brain alterations
whereby hippocampal volume is reduced in AD while an anterior–posterior
gradient of white matter loss typifies normal aging (Head et al., 2005). That is,
medial temporal neuronal loss in AD differs distinctly from the predominantly
anterior cerebral white matter loss in normal aging.
White matter is clearly affected in AD, however, although the relationship of
this change to the cortical neuropathology of the disease is uncertain.
Neuropathologists have long recognized this feature of AD (Brun and Englund,
1986), and recent MRI studies have found pronounced loss of white matter in
temporal, parietal, and frontal regions (Salat et al., 2009). At the microstruc-
tural level, magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has shown reduced
N-acetyl-aspartate in AD compared with normal aging (Parnetti et al., 1997).
Magnetization transfer imaging has disclosed temporal lobe U-fiber involve-
ment in AD that correlates with impaired cognition (Fornari et al., 2012).
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have revealed changes in the normal-
appearing white matter (NAWM) of AD patients that tend to involve posterior
regions preferentially (Bozzali et al., 2002; Huang et al., 2007; Zhang et al.,
2009). A posterior cerebral predilection of white matter loss is commonly seen
in mild cognitive impairment as well, suggesting that early cortical changes in
patients at risk for AD may also implicate anatomically related white matter
regions (Fellgiebel et al., 2005; Stebbins and Murphy, 2009).
A standard interpretation of the findings from this research is that white
matter changes in AD could be due to four factors, which need not be mutually
exclusive. First, there is likely to be Wallerian degeneration in white matter
tracts that project from affected cortical regions (Bozzali et al., 2002). Second,
cerebral amyloid angiopathy can manifest as focal white matter lesions result-
ing from ischemia (Greenberg et al., 2004). Third, since older people most at
risk for AD often have coexistent hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, ciga-
rette smoking, and other cerebrovascular risk factors, leukoaraiosis secondary
to arteriosclerotic vascular disease is another possible mechanism (Jellinger,
2008). Finally, genetic factors may influence the development of white matter
changes, such as recently reported single-nucleotide polymorphisms on chro-
mosome 17q25 (Fornage et al., 2011) and possibly the apolipoprotein E ε4
(APOE ε4) genotype (Godin et al., 2009). The confusion in this area mirrors
that which pervades much of the current literature on the relationship

between AD and vascular dementia. While it is commonly held that AD and
vascular dementia are distinct entities that can be distinguished clinically,
neuroradiologically, and neuropathologically, there is increasing recognition
of substantial overlap between these diseases (Schneider and Bennett, 2010).
In clinical practice, there is still a reasonable prospect of differentiating AD
from vascular dementia when the clinical syndromes are well established, but
the common occurrence of both neuropathologies in many patients is unavoid-
able. White matter involvement can thus be expected in the majority of patients
presenting with dementia in old age, even if its origin is likely multifactorial.
In contrast to the view that white matter disease is secondary to or coexistent
with the pathology of AD, Bartzokis (Bartzokis et al., 2003, 2004; Bartzokis,
2011) has put forth the provocative hypothesis that white matter may be the
primary origin of the complex process that comes to present as AD. That is,
white matter involvement may precede, not follow, cortical degeneration.
In a series of thoughtful papers, Bartzokis has presented the “myelin model” as
an alternative to the traditional conceptualization of the pathogenesis of AD
(Bartzokis et al., 2003, 2004; Bartzokis, 2011). According to this model, neuro-
pathology in white matter is central to AD: Oligodendrocytes and myelin,
which are already neurobiologically vulnerable because of aging effects (Chapter
4), are susceptible to insults such as ischemia from hypoperfusion, traumatic
brain injury, and iron toxicity in addition to genetic factors associated with
early- and late-onset AD. The well-known microscopic hallmarks as the
disease—neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles—are interpreted as
by-products of failed repair processes. The genetic factors influencing the devel-
opment of AD at any age are seen as decreasing the efficacy of myelin repair
processes that characterize normal aging, and plaques and tangles are markers
of this inadequate repair. Table 16-1 lists various observations regarding brain
white matter in AD and how these can be interpreted.
Although still theoretical, the myelin model draws support from many
neuroimaging studies. First, amyloid binding studies in AD using Pittsburgh
Table 16-1. White Matter and Alzheimer’s Disease
Observation Interpretation
Wallerian degeneration Tract damage follows cortical neuronal loss
Cerebral amyloid angiopathy Arterial narrowing produces ischemia
Leukoaraiosis Hypoperfusion from arteriolar sclerosis
Genetic factors Influence on small vessels presumed
Multiple insults to aging white matter Myelin model
compound B (PIB) and positron emission tomography (PET) show that PIB
binds in the white matter as well as gray (Fodero-Tavoletti et al., 2009); this
unexpected finding raises the possibility that myelin repair is being attempted
(Bartzokis et al., 2007a). MRS detects elevated choline in the NAWM, consis-
tent with demyelination, years before AD develops (den Heijer et al., 2006).
DTI has been particularly informative; studies have identified early white matter
changes in people at risk for AD well before clinical symptoms develop (Gold
et al., 2011). Normal individuals at risk for either familial autosomal dominant
AD (Ringman et al., 2007) or late-onset AD associated with the APOE ε4 allele
(Persson et al., 2006; Honea et al., 2009; Gold et al., 2010) have been found to
have NAWM abnormalities in memory-related tracts, including the parahip-
pocampal white matter, cingulum, inferior occipitofrontal fasciculus, and sple-
nium of the corpus callosum (Gold et al., 2011). A particularly intriguing DTI
study of normal APOE ε4 carriers found decreased microstructural integrity of
temporal lobe tracts with normal hippocampal and entorhinal cortical volumes
(Gold et al., 2010).
The myelin model of AD also offers an attractive formulation of sequential
events that may occur in the progression to dementia. Normal aging may
primarily be the result of white matter attrition in the later decades of life, and
AD develops in those individuals whose white matter becomes irreparably
damaged by a variety of processes, with the secondary cortical neuropathology
adding further cognitive impairment to the clinical profile. A corollary of this
idea is that identification of cortical amyloid burden with PIB/PET offers a
potential diagnostic approach to AD but does not identify the initial stages of
the disease. Rather, considerable evidence now suggests that examining the
NAWM may be more relevant to the early pathogenesis of AD. This is an impos-
ingly difficult disease that has proved humbling in its complexity, and it must
admitted that what happens first is simply not known. A clear departure from
standard notions of AD, the myelin model requires extensive further study, but
in view of the repeated failures of amyloid-targeted therapies to treat AD
effectively, such a fresh new look at AD pathogenesis may be warranted.
FRON T O T EMPO RAL DEMENTIA
Frontotemporal dementia, which is commonly diagnosed as part of the

spectrum of FTLD, involves selective degeneration in the frontal lobe, temporal
lobe, or both. Originally described by Arnold Pick more than a century ago,
FTLD has supplanted the former nomenclature of Pick’s disease and is
well recognized as another common cortical degenerative process. FTLD vari-
ants include aphasia syndromes (see below); the dementia variant is called
behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD). In contrast to AD, FTLD presents with

prominent disturbances in social behavior or language, and in the early stages
memory is spared. The reason for this clinical sequence is that frontal and ante-
rolateral temporal neocortices are affected early in the course while the medial
temporal regions, including the hippocampus, are initially spared. As in AD,
white matter changes have been found in FTLD by neuropathologic examina-
tion (Schofield et al., 2003; Kovacs et al., 2008). DTI studies have demonstrated
changes in the NAWM of FTD patients that are most notable in the frontal
lobes (Zhang et al., 2009). Other studies have used DTI in bvFTD to show that
changes in the uncinate fasciculus and related tracts connecting frontal and
temporal cortices correlate with disinhibition (Hornberger et al., 2011). As
FTLD is a cortical degenerative disease, the white matter changes are generally
thought to be associated with the primary neuronal loss in the frontal and
temporal lobes. Some thought has been given, however, to the possibility that
early myelin alterations also play a role in FTLD (Bartzokis, 2011).
A related group of diseases within the FTLD spectrum constitutes the entity
of primary progressive aphasia (PPA). This category includes a range of aphasia
syndromes resulting from left hemisphere cortical degeneration, with three
types currently recognized: progressive nonfluent aphasia, which has frontal
and insular pathology; semantic dementia, with anterior temporal degenera-
tion; and logopenic PPA, related to temporoparietal atrophy. DTI has shown
white matter changes in all PPA variants that are most prominent within tracts
associated with the specific cortical degeneration, implying not only a neuro-
biological relationship with gray matter changes but also that DTI may be
diagnostically useful in the assessment of PPA (Galantucci et al., 2011).
PA R KINSO N’S D ISEASE
The well-known movement disorder of Parkinson’s disease (PD) also produces

dementia in a substantial number of patients and is classified as a prototypical
subcortical dementia on the basis of its primary neuropathology in the brain
stem. In PD pigmented dopaminergic neurons of the midbrain substantia nigra
degenerate, leaving characteristic Lewy bodies and then neuronal loss in their
wake. White matter neuropathology in PD is often seen in the form of MRI
hyperintensities, and the importance of these lesions is under study. A small
percentage of older people with parkinsonism are thought to have vascular
parkinsonism from ischemic white matter lesions (Thanvi et al., 2005), but
because substantia nigra neuropathology can only be assessed postmortem,
this diagnosis can only be made at autopsy. DTI has been used to study white
matter damage in idiopathic PD in greater detail and has shown widespread
microstructural injury (Gattellaro et al., 2009). One study reported a correla-

tion between parietal white matter damage and impaired cognition in PD
(Hattori et al., 2011). At present, however, white matter lesions seen on MRI are
generally thought to affect postural stability and gait, while the impact of white
matter pathology on cognition remains uncertain (Bohnen and Albin, 2011).
The origin of white matter involvement in idiopathic PD is unknown, but the
myelin model discussed above may be relevant (Bartzokis, 2011).
DE M ENTIA WITH L EW Y BODIES
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) poses particular problems with respect to
understanding its diagnosis, management, and neuropathology. The disease
was recognized as a novel entity when neuropathologists acquired the capacity
to identify Lewy bodies in many cerebral areas beyond the substantia nigra.
Clinical and neuropathologic similarities with both PD and AD complicate its
analysis, and DLB is one of the most challenging neurodegenerative diseases for
clinicians to manage. In general, however, DLB is characterized by a relatively
distinct profile of dementia, parkinsonism, fluctuating confusional states, and
visual hallucinations. Considered by many authorities to be the second most
common neurodegenerative dementia after AD, the disease features widespread
Lewy body formation in the brain stem, limbic system, and cerebral cortex.
DTI studies of DLB patients have found microstructural white matter changes
in the frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes, consistent with clinical impairment
in attention and visuospatial function (Bozzali et al., 2005). Selective involve-
ment of the visual system has been found from DTI studies demonstrating
significantly lower fractional anisotropy in both inferior occipitofrontal
fasciculi of DLB compared with AD patients (Kiuchi et al., 2011). While the
origin of white matter changes in DLB is not known, microstructural altera-
tions may be secondary to primary neuronal degeneration associated with
Lewy body deposition. Similarities between DLB with AD and PD also raise
that possibility that the myelin model may be applicable (Bartzokis, 2011).
HUNT ING T O N’S DISEASE
Huntington’s disease (HD) is another disease that features a movement disor-

der, well known to neurologists as chorea in most patients, but the dementia of
HD is more prominent and problematic than the motor disturbance. Like PD,
HD is classified as a subcortical dementia, in this case because the most
prominent pathology is in the caudate nuclei of the basal ganglia. White matter
abnormalities have been recognized on neuroimaging of HD patients. MRI

studies have shown that deep cerebral white matter volume is reduced in HD
(Thieben et al., 2002), and cognitive test performance in one study was more
highly correlated with white matter volume loss than with striatal atrophy
(Beglinger et al., 2005). DTI studies have found correlations of microstructural
white matter abnormalities with both motor and cognitive features of the dis-
ease (Bohanna et al., 2011). Bartzokis and colleagues (2007b) found myelin
breakdown in early HD and proposed that iron toxicity may be implicated in
this process. However, the relationship between white matter changes and neu-
ronal loss in the caudate nuclei remains to be established.
COR T ICO B ASAL DEGENERATION
Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is a rare neurodegenerative disease that

typically presents with asymmetric progressive rigidity and apraxia with limb
dystonia and myoclonus (Kouri et al., 2011). Neuropathologically character-
ized as a tauopathy, the disease involves both cortical and subcortical altera-
tions, accounting for the unusual association of both apraxia and movement
disorder (Kouri et al., 2011). The most asymmetric of the neurodegenerative
diseases, CBD often features cerebral atrophy contralateral to the more affected
side, and MRI white matter hyperintensities are concomitantly more prevalent
in the more affected hemisphere (Koyama et al., 2007). DTI studies have found
correlations of apraxia with both cortical atrophy and underlying tract abnor-
malities (Borroni et al., 2008). However, the complex neuropathology of CBD
impels caution in the interpretation of white matter changes, and gray matter
degeneration is still considered the primary problem in this disease.
P R OG R ESSIVE SUPRANUCL EAR PAL SY
Like CBD, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neurodegenerative disease

classified as a tauopathy. Clinical features of dementia, vertical gaze palsy, pos-
tural instability with frequent falls, parkinsonism, and axial rigidity correlate
reasonably well with neurofibrillary tangles in the brain stem and basal ganglia,
establishing PSP as another of the classic subcortical dementias. However, the
disease has been found with further investigation to involve more than the sub-
cortical gray matter regions. Volumetric MRI showed loss of periventricular
and callosal white matter in PSP (Cordato et al., 2005). DTI studies have shown
widespread white matter tract involvement in PSP in association with gray
matter atrophy (Padovani et al., 2006; Knake et al., 2010; Whitwell et al., 2011).
The relevance of white matter changes for cognition in PSP remains to be

determined, although one study found that white matter degeneration was
correlated with disease severity (Whitwell et al., 2011). As for the origin of the
white matter changes in PSP, Wallerian degeneration has been implicated
(Padovani et al., 2006) but not established.
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17
Focal Neurobehavioral
Syndromes
As the information in Chapter 16 indicates, cognitive dysfunction and

dementia are the neurobehavioral syndromes most frequently encountered in
patients with white matter disorders of the brain. In contrast, focal syndromes
are relatively rare. Three major factors help explain this observation. First, the
neuropathologic involvement of most diseases, intoxications, and injuries of
the white matter tends to be diffuse or multifocal, so that isolated lesions giving
rise to focal syndromes are relatively uncommon. Second, the neurobehavioral
syndrome from a focal lesion might occur only transiently and never come
to clinical attention, so that the patient recovers before a precise clinical–
pathologic correlation can be made. Finally, focal syndromes, even when
present, may be underappreciated because of the attention focused on other
clinical and basic aspects of the disorder.
Focal neurobehavioral syndromes, however, can develop in patients with
white matter disorders. These syndromes have been recognized for many years,
but the advent of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) substantially accelerated
their identification. Most of the available cases are found in descriptions of mul-
tiple sclerosis (MS), cerebrovascular disease, and tumors, but other neuro-
pathologic processes are occasionally found to be responsible. Whereas it is
unlikely that focal syndromes will be found to surpass diffuse syndromes in
frequency, they are likely to appear more often with increased clinical and neu-
roradiologic sophistication. Newer structural MRI techniques (Chapter 3) in
particular promise to play a major role in the search for such cases, as it is likely
that many cases of focal neurobehavioral dysfunction are currently not detected.
Box 17-1 lists the focal neurobehavioral syndromes of white matter that are
adequately documented in the literature.
Box 17-1
Focal Neurobehavioral Syndromes of White Matter
Amnesia Alexia
Aphasia Alexia with agraphia
Broca’s Pure alexia
Wernicke’s Developmental dyslexia
Conduction Gerstmann’s syndrome
Global Agnosia
Transcortical motor Visual
Transcortical sensory Auditory
Anomic Neglect
Mixed transcortical Visuospatial dysfunction
Apraxia Akinetic mutism
Ideomotor Executive dysfunction
Callosal Callosal disconnection
A M NESIA
Memory impairment in white matter disorders may take many forms. Memory
loss is one of the most common complaints in the practice of neurology, and the
clinician’s task is to determine the nature and origin of this symptom. Chapter
15 identified the specific form of memory disturbance postulated to character-
ize white matter cognitive dysfunction and dementia as a retrieval deficit in
declarative memory and pointed out that this symptom is typically embedded
within an array of associated impairments in processing speed, sustained
attention, and other functions. Amnesia, however, is a different type of memory
disturbance. Traditional usage considers amnesia to be a disorder of new learn-
ing, implying that it is primarily the encoding of information, rather than its
retrieval, that is deficient (Filley, 2011).
Isolated amnesia has been observed in the setting of white matter involve-
ment. Although there are relatively few well-described cases, the location of
lesions in available reports clusters around the medial temporal-diencephalic-
basal forebrain region known to be associated with new learning (Filley, 2011).
Amnesia has occasionally been reported in MS (Pozzilli et al., 1991), although
less often than retrieval deficits. Amnesia can plausibly be explained in rare
cases by the involvement of white matter tracts associated with the hippocam-
pus. While it is conceivable that intracortical hippocampal demyelination could
cause amnesia, evidence exists that MS-related amnesia can result from
demyelination of the fornix (Thomas et al., 2011).
The fornix is a major connecting tract of the limbic system (Chapter 2), and
reports of other, related neuropathologies causing amnesia are accumulating.
Disturbance of recent memory can follow damage to the fornices from
infarction (Moudgil et al., 2000; Park et al., 2000), neoplastic infiltration
(Heilman and Sypert, 1977; Tucker et al., 1988; Aggleton et al., 2000), trauma
(D’Esposito et al., 1995), and surgical section (Gaffan and Gaffan, 1991;
Calabrese et al., 1995). In the case of Tucker and colleagues (1988), the verbal
memory loss observed with a left-side lesion is consistent with current theories
on the lateralization of verbal and nonverbal memory in the cerebral
hemispheres (Filley, 2011). The disruption of a circuit such as this, dedicated to
a specific neurobehavioral domain, argues for the importance of myelinated
tracts in the organization of such networks.
Damage to another fascicle of the limbic system , known as the mammil-
lothalamic tract or bundle of Vicq d’Azyr, has also been observed to result in
amnesia. This structure links the mammillary body with the anterior thalamic
nucleus. Amnesia has been documented after bilateral infarction of the
mammillothalamic tract (Yoneoka et al., 2004), and another case with unilat-
eral left-side infarction developed amnesia for verbal but not visual material
(Schott et al., 2003). These cases further support the role of white matter tracts
in networks dedicated to declarative memory encoding.
Amnesia has also been noted in several individuals after infarction
of the internal capsule, particularly the genu (Kooistra and Heilman, 1988;
Tatemichi et al., 1992). In these cases, the lesion was interpreted as interfering
with the connections of the declarative memory system while not directly
damaging any of its gray matter components. Tatemichi and colleagues (1992)
concluded that the amnesia was caused by interruption of the inferior and
anterior thalamic peduncles that traverse the internal capsule in the region of
the genu. This lesion in turn disconnected the limbic system from the ipsilateral
frontal cortex, presumably preventing the storage of memory (Tatemichi et al.,
1992). Much as in the cases of fornical damage described above, verbal memory
loss occurred with left capsular infarction in some patients, and in others
visuospatial memory loss followed right capsular infarction (Tatemichi et al.,
1992).
These observations clearly document that amnesia can be caused by focal
white matter lesions and that the most robust findings have been derived from
cases of stroke. To underscore this point, Lim and Alexander (2009) conducted
a thorough review of stroke-related amnesia and concluded that this syndrome
can be produced by damage to critical white matter connections linking every
node of the limbic system implicated in memory.
A P HASIA
Aphasia, a disturbance of language resulting from acquired brain damage,

is the quintessential cortical syndrome. A large body of literature supports
the localization of language to specific perisylvian zones, primarily in the left
hemisphere in most individuals (A. R. Damasio, 1992; Hillis, 2007). However,
as recognized by classical neurologists over a century ago (N. Geschwind,
1965a, 1965b), white matter lesions are also capable of producing this syn-
drome. With the advent of modern neuroimaging, an increasing number of
observations have confirmed this assertion. White matter structures are increas-
ingly understood to play a central role in the organization of language. Alexander
and colleagues (1987), after collecting data from a large series of unilateral left
hemisphere vascular lesions and an extensive literature review, found that white
matter pathways were crucial for all aspects of aphasia.
Broca’s Aphasia
In parallel with the resurgence of the concept of subcortical dementia

(Chapter 1), an entity called subcortical aphasia became popular (Alexander
and LoVerme, 1980; A. R. Damasio et al., 1982). By this term is meant the
appearance of aphasia in the setting of various lesions affecting the deep gray
and white matter of the left hemisphere. Cerebrovascular disease provided
many of the data for this discussion, even though the rarity of isolated white
matter infarcts renders study of their effects difficult. In general, vascular
white matter lesions seem to be capable of producing Broca’s aphasia. Although
some investigators have used regional cerebral blood flow data to suggest that
cortical hypoperfusion can explain Broca’s aphasia from subcortical lesions
(Skyhøj-Olsen et al., 1986), comprehensive computed tomography (CT) studies
of left hemisphere stroke patients have indicated that white matter areas—
specifically the subcallosal fasciculus (a branch of the superior occipitofrontal
fasciculus) and the periventricular white matter—are essential for language
fluency (Naeser et al., 1989). Remarkably, CT has documented a similar pattern
of white matter involvement in the brain of Leborgne—Broca’s original patient
who was almost mute—140 years after the onset of his stroke (Naeser et al.,
1989).
Demyelinative disease has also provided useful information on aphasia in
white matter disorders. Although rare (Lacour et al., 2004), these cases typically
reflect acute exacerbations of the disease that produce transient language
deficits. The most common type of aphasia reported in MS is Broca’s aphasia,
alternatively referred to as motor aphasia (Olmos-Lau et al., 1977; Achiron
et al., 1992; Devere et al., 2000; Lacour et al., 2004). MRI studies may show large
lesions in the left frontal white matter (Achiron et al., 1992) or a more scattered
pattern (Lacour et al., 2004).
Wernicke’s Aphasia
Wernicke’s aphasia has been considered quite rare in the setting of white matter
disorders. Day and colleagues (1987) reported a case of fluent aphasia with
impaired comprehension and repetition in a patient with MS. The MRI scan of
this individual showed a large area of demyelination in the left temporoparietal
region, and with treatment of MS the syndrome improved significantly. White
matter involvement producing Wernicke’s aphasia may more common than
recognized, as a review of subcortical infarction and hemorrhage concluded
that deep periventricular white matter regions were important for all compo-
nents of aphasia, including impaired auditory comprehension (Alexander et al.,
1987). Similarly, voxel-based lesion mapping in a large series of stroke patients
found that subtemporal white matter was among several left hemisphere areas
that participate in language comprehension (Dronkers et al., 2004).
Conduction Aphasia
Since the time of Wernicke, classical neurologic thinking has held that a lesion
in the arcuate fasciculus underlying the left inferior parietal cortex is responsible
for conduction aphasia (N. Geschwind, 1965a, 1965b; Filley, 2011). This localiza-
tion has been debated, because lesions that cause conduction aphasia, the great
majority of which are ischemic infarctions, typically damage overlying perisylvian
cortex as well as the arcuate fasciculus (A. R. Damasio, 1992; Hillis, 2007). However,
several observations have supported the notion of white matter disconnection
in the pathogenesis of conduction aphasia. A patient with MS who developed
the syndrome had an MRI-proven large plaque in the white matter underlying
the left supramarginal gyrus (Arnett et al., 1996). Conduction aphasia was also
noted in a patient with a left parietal infarct sparing the cortex on MRI (Poncet
et al., 1987). Other stroke cases have suggested that conduction aphasia may
also follow damage to the left extreme capsule, which contains additional fibers
connecting the temporal and frontal lobes (H. Damasio and Damasio, 1980).
Global Aphasia
A case has been reported in which an MS patient had global aphasia with
right hemiparesis and homonymous hemianopia (Friedman et al., 1983).
CT demonstrated a large white matter lesion in the left periventricular

region. The authors concluded it was likely that the arcuate fasciculus and all
connections from Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas were affected to produce this
syndrome, which was substantially improved one year later. Other MS patients
with global aphasia have had scattered left hemisphere demyelinative lesions
(Lacour et al., 2004).
Transcortical Motor Aphasia
Infarction of the left anterior periventricular white matter has been observed
with transcortical motor aphasia (Freedman et al., 1984). In this syndrome, the
initiation of speech is primarily compromised, and the responsible lesion can
be in the white matter connections between the left supplementary motor area
and the perisylvian language zone. Subsequent studies with more stroke patients
and detailed CT localizations have been consistent with this notion (Alexander
et al., 1987). Transcortical motor aphasia has also been noted with MS (Devere
et al., 2000).
Transcortical Sensory Aphasia
Transcortical sensory aphasia is apparently very rare in patients with white matter
disorders. However, a detailed analysis using CT scans showed that critical areas
of damage in transcortical sensory aphasia were in the left posterior periven-
tricular white matter adjacent to the posterior temporal isthmus (Alexander
et al., 1989). Knowledge of the relative contributions of white and gray matter
damage in this aphasia would be advanced by similar study using MRI.
Anomic Aphasia
A syndrome that is described extremely rarely in white matter disorders is

anomic aphasia. A case has been reported in association with Baló’s concentric
sclerosis (Pohl et al., 2005): Three cerebral lesions were present on MRI, but
because the largest of these was in the left temporal–occipital white matter and
the patient also had alexia and dyscalculia, this demyelinative lesion most
likely accounted for the aphasia. This topic is complicated by the observation
that patients with a wide spectrum of white matter disorders frequently have
word-finding deficits on neuropsychological testing, raising the issue of
precisely what should be considered anomic aphasia. Word retrieval is closely
allied with declarative memory retrieval in general, and the word-finding
deficits seen in many patients with white matter disorders are typically regarded
as evidence of memory retrieval dysfunction rather than anomic aphasia.
Mixed Transcortical Aphasia
Mixed transcortical aphasia has rarely been described with neuropathology of

any kind, but one case has been reported in a patient with a left subangular
white matter lesion that followed a left parietal hemorrhage (Pirozzolo et al.,
1981). This lesion was interpreted as disconnecting the left auditory cortex from
cortical regions where semantic information is represented. Mixed transcorti-
cal aphasia has also been observed in MS (Devere et al., 2000).
A P R AXIA
Disorders of learned movement are traditionally ascribed to cerebral cortical

lesions, but apraxia can also occur with white matter involvement. The two
types of apraxia with the most secure association with white matter pathology
both involve limb movements: ideomotor apraxia and callosal apraxia. The
localization of white matter lesions causing ideomotor and callosal apraxia can
both be predicted from the Geschwind disconnection model (N. Geschwind,
1965a, 1965b).
Ideomotor Apraxia
As reviewed by Geschwind (N. Geschwind, 1965a, 1965b), bilateral ideomotor

apraxia was classically associated with lesion of the left arcuate fasciculus.
Consistent with this hypothesis, a case report with MRI lesion localization
confirmed that a single white matter infarct in the left parietal region can
produce bilateral ideomotor apraxia (Poncet et al., 1987). A more recent review
of the topic concluded that left hemisphere white matter disconnection seemed
to be the crucial component explaining persistent and severe ideomotor apraxia
(Leiguarda, 2001).
Callosal Apraxia
Callosal apraxia is similar to ideomotor apraxia except that it involves only the
left hand. Callosal apraxia has been described in a patient after rupture of a
pericallosal aneurysm (Graff-Radford et al., 1987). Callosal apraxia can also be
seen in MS, related to demyelination of the corpus callosum, other white matter
regions, or both (Schnider et al., 1993).
A LE X IA
Acquired disorders of reading have been recognized for over a century, and the
enduring works of Dejerine established the accepted distinction between alexia
with agraphia and pure alexia (N. Geschwind, 1965a, 1965b). Alexia with
agraphia occurs on occasion from a single left hemisphere white matter lesion,
and pure alexia is a classic disconnection syndrome resulting from white matter
damage in the left occipital lobe combined with the posterior corpus callosum.
Alexia with Agraphia
The patient of Day and colleagues (1987) mentioned above also experienced an
acquired disorder of reading and writing. The large plaque in the left tem-
poroparietal white matter was therefore responsible both for fluent aphasia and
alexia with agraphia. Thus a single white matter lesion produced a clinical pic-
ture similar to that often seen after a lesion in the temporoparietal cortex imme-
diately overlying this area. Patients with metastatic brain tumors have exhibited
alexia with agraphia, with studies indicating that damage to the left inferior
parietal white matter is responsible (Shinoura et al., 2010).
Pure Alexia
One of the most elegant neurobehavioral syndromes, pure alexia represents

a disconnection between the visual and language systems that disturbs read-
ing but not the capacity to write. The usual cause of pure alexia is cerebro-
vascular disease, and the presence of a left occipital lesion combined with
another in the splenium of the corpus callosum is widely thought to be respon-
sible (N. Geschwind, 1965a, 1965b). Cases of pure alexia have been described
in MS (Doğulu et al., 1996; Jónsdóttir et al., 1998). Both patients in these reports
had widespread MRI lesions in the cerebral white matter; the case of Doğulu
and colleagues (1996) had plaques specifically within the left occipital lobe and
the splenium. A particularly elegant case report documented pure alexia in MS
associated with demyelinative lesions confined to the left occipital white matter
and the splenium of the corpus callosum (Mao-Draaver and Panitch, 2004).
DE V ELO PMENTAL DYSL EXIA
Developmental dyslexia, a disorder affecting about 10% of children, is an

impairment of the ability to read despite adequate intelligence and access to
instruction (Shaywitz, 1998). Although evidence exists to support a genetic
basis for the syndrome (Peterson et al., 2007), it has been difficult to detect an
unequivocal structural change in the brains of dyslexic individuals (Pennington
et al., 1999). In a recent study using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), Klingberg
and colleagues (2000) found a significant correlation between reading scores of
dyslexic adults and lower anisotropy in the left temporoparietal white matter.
This study is important in that it exploits an advanced MRI technique to sup-
port the role of white matter in a specific neurobehavioral domain, and its con-
clusions converge with Dejerine’s original ideas on the neuroanatomy of reading
(Filley, 2011). Intriguing supportive evidence of the role of white matter in
reading came from a DTI study of children who were poor readers; after inten-
sive remedial instruction, they showed improvements in reading ability paral-
leled by improvement in left cerebral white matter microstructure suggesting
increased myelination (Keller and Just, 2009).
GE R STMANN’S SYNDROME
The tetrad of agraphia, acalculia, finger agnosia, and right–left confusion has
been associated with left inferior parietal lesions since Gertsmann’s first descrip-
tion of this syndrome in 1924 (Filley, 2011). These lesions are typically ischemic
infarcts of the parietal cortex, and partial syndromes can occur, presumably
reflecting the degree of parietal damage. A case of Gerstmann’s syndrome was
described in a patient with a pure subangular white matter lesion (Mayer et al.,
1999). As with many syndromes, the white matter lesion was neuroanatomi-
cally related to the cortical region classically associated with the deficit. More
recently, a combined study of functional MRI and DTI in normal subjects
showed that the four cognitive domains of Gerstmann’s syndrome were not
related to the left parietal cortex but to a region of the left subparietal white
matter (Rusconi et al., 2009).
A GNOSIA
Agnosia is a modality-specific disorder of recognition that has most often been

ascribed to damage in relevant areas of sensory association cortex (Filley, 2011).
With the advent of MRI, it has been possible to detect agnosic syndromes in
patients with white matter lesions as well.
Visual Agnosia
In three cases of visual object agnosia with alexia presented by Feinberg

and colleagues (1994), CT scan analysis revealed that the left inferior longi-
tudinal (occipitofrontal) fasciculus was the critical structure involved. These
cases support the idea that associative visual agnosia can represent a unilateral
left temporal disconnection syndrome involving selective damage to white
matter. Okuda and colleagues (1996) described a case of visual form agnosia in
a patient with MS; this patient had bilateral occipitotemporal and callosal
lesions that were interpreted as interrupting the ventral stream of the visual
association system.
Auditory Agnosia
Auditory agnosia has been divided into two categories: auditory verbal agnosia
(pure word deafness) and auditory sound agnosia (Filley, 2011). A case of pure
word deafness from a left thalamic hemorrhage damaging white matter fibers
of the auditory system has been reported (Takahashi et al., 1992). The lesion
was interpreted as interrupting the input from both primary auditory regions
to Wernicke’s area. Auditory sound agnosia has been described in studies with
CT or MRI of patients with unilateral putaminal hemorrhage, all of whom
had either right or left white matter damage that was interpreted as disrupting
pathways between the medial geniculate nucleus and ipsilateral auditory
association cortex (Tanaka et al., 2002).
NE GL ECT
The literature on neglect generally points to cortical lesions of the right hemi-
sphere as responsible, with the right parietal lobe most often implicated (Vallar
and Perani, 1986). However, more detailed formulations of the pathogenesis of
neglect have postulated a distributed right hemisphere network for directed
attention that includes the parietal lobe, frontal cortex, cingulate gyrus, and
subcortical regions (Mesulam, 1981). White matter tracts are implicated because
of the connections linking these areas. Left hemineglect can occur in MS
patients who have large right hemisphere demyelinative lesions (Graff-Radford
Figure 17-1. T2-weighted MRI of a man with AIDS and left neglect. The large right
parietal white matter mass was found by biopsy to be lymphoma.
and Rizzo, 1987). This syndrome has been also described in patients with right
internal capsule infarcts, which were thought to deactivate the ipsilateral
parietal and frontal cortices (Bogousslavsky et al., 1988). The related syndrome
of anosognosia, in which the patient is unaware of his or her neurologic
deficit, has also been studied in this context. A CT study of patients with right
hemisphere infarcts found that those with denial of hemiplegia had signifi-
cantly more involvement of the white matter, particularly the corona radiata
(Small and Ellis, 1996). Studies with MRI indicate that left neglect patients
often have selective damage to right parietal white matter (Malhotra et al.,
2005). To illustrate, Figure 17-1 shows the MRI scan of a man with acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) who presented with left neglect, includ-
ing not shaving the left side of his face; the scan shows a large right parietal
white matter mass, which was diagnosed as lymphoma by brain biopsy.
DTI tractography studies of patients with right hemisphere stroke have found
that white matter damage may be more critical for left neglect than gray matter
injury (Urbanski et al., 2008). These investigations support a major role for the
parietal lobe white matter in a multifocal right hemisphere spatial attention
network (Doricchi et al., 2008), and in view of extensive parietal–frontal con-
nectivity, left neglect may qualify as a disconnection syndrome (Bartolomeo
et al., 2007).
V I S UOSPAT IAL D YSF UNCTION
Data on the role of white matter in visuospatial dysfunction are relatively

scanty, but advanced neuroimaging is helping address this deficiency.
Visuospatial dysfunction has been observed in patients with right cerebral
white matter lesions. A case of topographical disorientation was associated with
an infarct in the posterior limb of the right internal capsule, which was thought
to disrupt cortical metabolism in the overlying parietal lobe (Hublet and
Demeurisse, 1992). In another report, spatial delirium with reduplicative
paramnesia was ascribed to a white matter infarct in the right corona radiata
that extended into the retrolenticular portion of the internal capsule
(Nighoghossian et al., 1992). More recent studies with MRI have found that
spatial working memory can be selectively disrupted by lesions of the right
parietal white matter (Malhotra et al., 2005; Bartolomeo et al., 2007). Moreover,
DTI studies of young and older adults have disclosed that the integrity of white
matter tracts within frontoparietal attentional networks predicts visual search
performance (Bennett et al., 2012).
A K I NETIC MU TISM
Akinetic mutism has occasionally been ascribed to white matter lesions. In one
patient, the syndrome evolved after the removal of a tumor in the anterior
hypothalamus; this lesion was thought to destroy the medial forebrain bundle
(Ross and Stewart, 1981). Treatment with dopamine agonists alleviated this
syndrome, which was thought to result from dopamine depletion in the medial
frontal lobes. In another case, a patient with MS developed transient akinetic
mutism after the appearance of a midbrain plaque on MRI (Scott et al., 1995).
Although the presence of cerebral demyelination complicated interpretation,
involvement of dopaminergic transmission in the medial forebrain bundle
was also possible in this case. These observations introduce the possibility that
isolated lesions of subcortical white matter tracts that convey neurotransmitters
to the neocortex can result in specific neurobehavioral syndromes. In a more
recent case, bilateral fornical infiltration with an astrocytoma was thought
responsible for akinetic mutism (Oberndorfer et al., 2002).
E X E C U TIVE D YSFUNCTION
Executive dysfunction is most securely associated with frontal lobe lesions,

and an extensive literature supports this notion (Filley, 2011). Lesions of the
frontal white matter are as likely as those of gray matter to produce executive
dysfunction, and many chapters of this book discuss the prominence of this
domain in the behavioral neurology of white matter. In most clinical reports,
white matter changes impairing executive function are diffusely distributed
in the cerebrum, and few studies correlate selective frontal involvement with
executive dysfunction. However, some information is available on focal frontal
lesions.
In MS, executive dysfunction related to frontal demyelination can dominate
the clinical picture and by itself cause major disability (Filley, 2000). Pursuing
this idea experimentally, Arnett and colleagues (1994) examined the relation-
ship between focal white matter involvement in MS and performance on the
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), a test of conceptual reasoning generally
regarded as a measure of executive function. They found a significant correla-
tion between frontal white matter lesion area and impaired WCST performance.
This study was an important attempt to establish the impact of regional
white matter involvement in MS, and its results generalize to other white matter
disorders of other origin. In the cases reported by Tatemichi and colleagues
(1992; see above), apathy, abulia, and other frontal lobe features occurred in the
acute stages of capsular genu infarction that caused ipsilateral frontal lobe
deactivation. A patient with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and a focal lesion in
the ventral midbrain tegmentum had persistent executive dysfunction as a
component of a frontal lobe syndrome, and interference with dopamine
transmission from the brain stem to the frontal lobe via the medial forebrain
bundle was suggested as an explanation (Goldberg et al., 1989). Another report
described five patients with isolated brain stem stroke who exhibited promi-
nent executive dysfunction and other frontal lobe disturbances on neuropsy-
chological testing (Hoffman and Watts, 1998). Although details of neuroanatomy
were not provided, disruption of ascending neurotransmitter systems by
damage to white matter tracts was also implied by these cases. The possibility
that frontal cortex may be functionally deactivated by interruption of white
matter pathways deserves further investigation.
CA LLO SAL D ISCONNECTION
The corpus callosum is the largest white matter tract in the brain. Although its
clinical significance has been debated because of the relative paucity of signifi-
cant neurobehavioral deficits in many individuals with lesions of this tract, it
has been shown to have unequivocal importance is behavioral neurology, and
many convincing examples of hemispheric disconnection have been well
described (N. Geschwind, 1965a, 1965b; Gazzaniga, 2005). Callosal agenesis is
discussed in Chapter 5, and in Chapter 12; this section considers effects of some
other callosal lesions.
Cerebrovascular disease is a commonly reported cause of focal damage to
the corpus callosum, and other etiologies include demyelinative disease, TBI,
callosal neoplasm, corpus callosotomy, and Marchiafava-Bignami disease. In
their seminal case report, N. Geschwind and Kaplan (1962) described a patient
with the anterior four-fifths of the corpus callosum destroyed because of
a left anterior cerebral artery infarct after surgery for a glioblastoma, who had
apraxia and agraphia of the left hand. Graff-Radford and colleagues (1987)
described a patient who had left hand apraxia after rupture of a pericallosal
aneurysm. Studies of patients with infarction of the anterior portions of the
corpus callosum have correlated this region with the alien hand phenomenon
(D. H. Geschwind et al., 1995; Chan and Liu, 1999; Fisher, 2000). Left hemi-
alexia has been seen with vascular lesions of the splenium (Suzuki et al., 1998).
A report of an MS patient with callosal disconnection noted tactile anomia,
agraphia, and apraxia affecting only the left hand (Schnider et al., 1993).
In patients with TBI, corpus callosum damage was documented with the use of
MRI, while dichotic listening and tachistoscopic tests indicated disconnection
in the auditory and visual modalities (Levin et al., 1989; Benavidez et al.,
1999).
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18
Neuropsychiatric Dysfunction
Neurobehavioral manifestations of white matter disorders are not limited to

cognitive syndromes. Psychiatric dysfunction can also be seen, often arising ear-
lier in the course of the disorder and in some cases proving more problematic
than cognitive impairment. In this respect, white matter disorders resemble the
subcortical gray matter diseases, which also feature prominent psychiatric man-
ifestations (Salloway and Cummings, 1994). No adjectival term entirely suffices
to capture the diversity of conditions to be considered in this chapter, and while
the descriptor “psychiatric” can be assumed to have its conventional meaning,
the words “neuropsychiatric” and “emotional” will also appear when their use is
more appropriate to express the nuances of this challenging area. The most com-
prehensive information on neuropsychiatric disturbance in white matter disor-
ders comes from the study of multiple sclerosis (MS; Feinstein, 2007), but
observations of other disorders have also contributed to this topic. In addition,
a burgeoning literature is developing around observations of white matter
abnormalities in a variety of idiopathic psychiatric diseases and the potential
contribution of microstructural white matter changes to their pathogenesis.
This chapter explores the dauntingly complex neuropsychiatry of white
matter by considering first the psychiatric syndromes that can occur in patients
with known white matter disorders and then the emerging investigation of
white matter dysfunction in the pathogenesis of a variety of psychiatric
disorders. A unifying theme will be developed that white matter dysfunction
implicates disconnection within frontotemporal networks subserving normal
emotion (Davison, 1983; Filley and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 1995; Filley,
1998; Pearlson, 2000; Post, 2000; Walterfang et al., 2006; Filley, 2011). While
much remains unknown, the evidence that white matter neuropathology
contributes to a wide range of neuropsychiatric illness introduces a host of
intriguing clinical and research implications.
P S Y CHIAT R IC SYNDROMES IN W HITE

M ATTER D ISO R D ERS
Neurologists have long described psychiatric syndromes in patients with

neurologic disorders. These descriptions often derive from patients who have a
prominent degree of cerebral white matter neuropathology (Schmahmann
et al., 2008; Filley, 2010). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has proven invalu-
able in detecting white matter abnormalities, and the advent of advanced neu-
roimaging has added much new information. In particular, diffusion tensor
imaging (DTI) has offered a major advantage by virtue of its capacity to provide
detailed information on the integrity of myelinated tracts (Basser and Jones,
2002). Fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity are the main parameters used
to quantitate white matter integrity, and DTI also enables tractography, the
mapping of white matter pathways. Although some technical issues remain to
be resolved, DTI has substantially expanded white matter neuroimaging by
moving past the macrostructural lesions seen on computed tomography (CT)
and conventional MRI to the microstructure of myelin and axons. The capacity
to depict brain connectivity as never before has propelled DTI into the fore-
front of neuroimaging techniques that may help explicate idiopathic psychiatric
disorders (White et al., 2008; Thomason and Thompson, 2011). Box 18-1 lists
several prominent syndromes that have often been observed in patients with
disorders that prominently affect the cerebral white matter. While not exhaus-
tive, this list highlights the range of psychiatric syndromes that may occur and
suggests that myelinated tracts play an important role in the organization of
emotion. Selected examples of specific disorders will illustrate key points
below.
Box 18-1
Psychiatric Syndromes in White Matter Disorders
• Depression
• Mania
• Psychosis
• Disinhibition
• Euphoria
• Pathological laughter and crying
• Apathy
Depression
Depression appears to be the most common psychiatric syndrome among all

the white matter disorders discussed in this book. This observation should not
be surprising, as many of the afflictions of white matter have devastating
neurologic consequences that can naturally generate depression as a psycho-
logical reaction. However, the emerging correlation of white matter neuropa-
thology with cognitive dysfunction, reviewed in Part II of this book, has helped
stimulate interest in the possibility that depression might also originate in
structural brain involvement. Observations suggest that whereas reactive
depression is important, white matter pathology is also likely to participate in
the pathogenesis of depression.
To begin, depression has not been reported as prominent in dysmyelinative
diseases, largely because many of these diseases begin early in life and are domi-
nated throughout by devastating cognitive effects. With later-onset cases, depres-
sion has been reported (Vella et al., 1998), but personality change and psychosis
tend to be more prominent neuropsychiatric features (see below). In contrast,
brain demyelination is strongly associated with depression. Depression in MS
has been studied in detail, and many studies have shown it to be the most
frequent neuropsychiatric syndrome in patients with the disease (Feinstein,
2007). Estimates of the prevalence of depression in MS vary, but a useful overall
figure puts the lifetime prevalence of major depression in MS at 50% (Feinstein,
2007). Depression can be the dominant complaint of MS patients (Young et al.,
1976) and may represent the initial presentation of the disease (Salloway et al.,
1988). Its potential lethality is apparent from the remarkably high suicide risk
among MS patients (Sadovnick et al., 1991; Stenager et al., 1992), reported to be
seven times that in an age-matched normal population (Sadovnick et al., 1991).
The relationship of depression and demyelination in MS has generated con-
siderable debate. Surridge (1969), after comparing MS patients with a group of
muscular dystrophy patients and finding similar rates of depression, argued
that depression in MS is purely a psychological reaction to the illness. However,
Whitlock and Siskind (1980) noted a higher rate of depression in MS than in
other disabling neurologic diseases and concluded that the syndrome was likely
caused by cerebral MS lesions. Supportive evidence came from studies showing
that MS patients with cerebral involvement had more depression than those
with mainly spinal cord disease (Schiffer et al., 1983). Furthermore, MS patients
in general were found to have higher rates of affective disorder than patients
with temporal lobe epilepsy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Schiffer and
Babigian, 1984). Rabins and colleagues (1986) concluded that both brain
involvement and an emotional reaction contributed to depression in MS.
In a small study, Honer and colleagues (1987) suggested an association of
depression and temporal lobe lesions, and Reischies and colleagues (1988)
found a correlation between psychopathology and periventricular and frontal
white matter lesions. Conventional MRI studies have correlated severity of
depression with frontal atrophy and with T1 hypointensities (“black holes”) in
the frontal, temporal, and parietal white matter (Bakshi et al., 2000). It is now
thought that frontal and temporal neuropathology is clearly linked with depres-
sion in MS but that psychosocial factors also play a role (Feinstein, 2007).
Depression also occurs in the infectious, inflammatory, toxic, and metabolic
white matter disorders. About 10% of patients with human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) infection experience depression (Dubé et al., 2005), and in those
with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), depression commin-
gled with cognitive impairment can produce a complex clinical picture. In
many cases, apathy and cognitive slowing dominate the mental status of HIV
patients, and it can be difficult to determine if depression is present (Castellon
et al., 1998; Dubé et al., 2005). The pathogenesis of depression in this setting is
not clear, but leukoencephalopathy affecting limbic function has been sug-
gested (Schiffer, 1990). In systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), depression is
reported to be among the most common of many neuropsychiatric syndromes
(Wekking, 1993; Ainiala et al., 2001). The pathogenesis of depression in SLE is
even less understood than that of dementia, but a combination of vascular and
immunologic abnormalities affecting white matter regions may be involved
(Schiffer, 1990; West, 1994). Depression has been noted in toluene abusers, and
the initiation of drug abuse by young persons was initially interpreted to be a
result of the mood disorder (Masterson, 1979). However, other investigators
found that some abusers have no premorbid psychiatric history, suggesting that
the depression may be a consequence rather than a cause of the drug abuse (Zur
and Yule, 1990). Depression has also been observed as a significant feature of
both cobalamin (Penninx et al., 2000) and folate (Hutto, 1997) deficiency,
possibly related to white matter involvement.
The relationship between depression and vascular white matter changes in
older people has been studied intensively. In patients with Binswanger’s disease
(BD), depression is more frequent than in comparably demented patients with
Alzheimer’s disease (AD; Bennett et al., 1994). Depression in BD may be revers-
ible, suggesting that disruption of ascending monoaminergic pathways may be
causative (Venna et al., 1988). Depression may also occur as a prominent
feature of cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts
and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), in some cases preceding cognitive
impairment and dementia (Harris and Filley, 2001). Many reports, beginning
in the late 1980s, have also documented associations between geriatric
depression and leukoaraiosis (Jeste et al., 1988; Krishnan et al., 1988; Coffey
et al., 1990; Zubenko et al., 1990; Lesser et al., 1991; Salloway et al., 1996;
Hickie et al., 1997; Kramer-Ginsberg et al., 1999; Lloyd et al., 2001; Teodorczuk
et al., 2007; Thomas and O’Brien, 2008; Herrmann et al., 2008, Lamar et al.,
2010). In one intriguing case, Lesser and colleagues (1993) described a medi-
cally healthy man who developed major depression in temporal association
with an increase in the number and size of MRI white matter lesions. O’Brien
and colleagues (1998) later found that elderly depressed patients with severe
white matter changes on MRI had a poorer psychiatric prognosis. In AD
patients, Lopez and colleagues (1997) found that depressive symptomatology
correlated with severity of MRI white matter lesions, particularly when they
occurred in the frontal lobes. Among patients with AD, vascular dementia,
and dementia with Lewy bodies, frontal lobe leukoaraiosis was found to be
associated with depression irrespective of diagnosis (O’Brien et al., 2000).
A review of neuroimaging studies in patients with mood disorders concluded
that the best-replicated structural brain abnormality in depression was an
increase in subcortical and periventricular white matter hyperintensities (Soares
and Mann, 1997). Because these changes likely result from cerebral ischemia,
the term vascular depression was proposed as a subtype of mood disorder
(Steffens and Krishnan, 1998). Ischemic white matter disease contributes
directly to depression in older people (Thomas and O’Brien, 2008), whether
visible as leukoaraiosis or detectable as altered white matter integrity on DTI
(Lamar et al., 2010). Depression can occur earlier in life with white matter
involvement from a range of insults, but may be particularly common in old
age, when cerebrovascular disease is superimposed on white matter already
undergoing age-related changes (Sullivan and Pfefferbaum, 2006). The pres-
ence of leukoaraiosis implies a more refractory form of depression with
a less favorable outcome, and considerable evidence suggests that white matter
ischemia may predispose to AD as well as play a role in depression (Thomas
and O’Brien, 2008; Bartzokis, 2011).
A depressed mood may also afflict individuals with traumatic brain injury
(TBI), tumors of the white matter, and normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).
Depressive symptoms are common in the aftermath of TBI, and any level of
severity can produce disabling depression (McAllister, 1992). A review con-
cluded that major depression was the most common psychiatric disorder fol-
lowing TBI, occurring in 44% of patients (van Reekum et al., 2000). Tumors of
the cerebral white matter may be associated with depression, and mood change
appearing before the diagnosis indicates that early cerebral neuropathology
may be causative (Galasko et al., 1988). Depression and other neuropsychiatric
syndromes have been reported as more likely with tumors of the frontal or
temporal lobes (Filley and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 1995) or the corpus
callosum (Nasrallah and McChesney, 1981). A recent review of glioma con-
cluded that depression is associated with cognitive impairment in patients with
this tumor (Rooney et al., 2011). Depression can also be seen as a presenting or
prominent feature of NPH (Rice and Gendelman, 1973; Moss et al., 1987;
Chopra et al., 2002). This syndrome may be difficult to distinguish from
the apathy or abulia that more often characterizes NPH (Kito et al., 2009).
However, improvement of depression after shunt procedures for NPH (Rice
and Gendelman, 1973; Chopra et al., 2002) indicates that depression in this
disease may result from damage to cerebral white matter tracts compromised
by hydrocephalus.
Mania
Neurologic diseases can produce manic behavior, a phenomenon known as

secondary mania (Mendez, 2000). A range of disorders have been associated
with secondary mania, including stroke, MS, neurosyphilis, Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease, postinfectious demyelination, SLE, TBI, benign and malignant
neoplasms, and frontotemporal dementia (Mendez, 2000), and many affected
patients have lesions specifically involving cerebral white matter. A common
localization for focal lesions associated with secondary mania is within the
right anterior temporal and orbitofrontal regions, and selective white matter
involvement of these areas has been reported (Starkstein et al., 1988; Paskavitz
et al., 1995).
Mania or the full syndrome of bipolar disorder is often reported in individu-
als with white matter disorders. As is true of depression, mania has not been
emphasized in clinical descriptions of many of the dysmyelinative diseases. An
exception is adult-onset adrenoleukodystrophy, in which features of mania may
be common at the time of presentation (Rosebush et al., 1999). Both mania and
bipolar disorder, however, have often been observed in patients with demyeli-
native disease. Epidemiologic data indicate a higher-than-expected prevalence
of bipolar disorder in MS (Schiffer et al., 1986); one study found a 10-fold
increase compared with the normal population (Joffe et al., 1987). Bipolar dis-
order can be the presenting manifestation of MS (Asghar-Ali et al., 2004), and
in one autopsy-verified case, a woman had bipolar disorder as the dominant
syndrome of MS for more than 30 years (Casanova et al., 1996). Feinstein (2007)
concluded that mania occurs in MS more often than expected from chance
alone and is associated with bilateral temporal lobe plaques. Mania may also
complicate acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (Paskavitz et al., 1995).
Manic behavior has also been observed with greater-than-chance frequency
in patients with HIV and especially AIDS (Dubé et al., 2005). A consecutive
series of patients with HIV infection and mania found that the mood disorder
could occur early in the disease course, when cognition was normal, or later,
when psychomotor slowing or dementia was present (Lyketsos et al., 1997).

Another study found that zidovudine therapy was protective against the devel-
opment of mania in individuals with HIV infection, suggesting that AIDS neu-
ropathology may contribute to mania (Mijch et al., 1999). Mania or hypomania
develops in some patients with SLE, although accurate prevalence figures are
not available (West, 1994). In toxic disorders, mania is not commonly observed,
although the euphoria of acute intoxication may mimic mania (Filley and
Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 2001). Mania does appear in metabolic disorders,
and manic features are among the psychiatric presentations of both cobalamin
and folate deficiency (Hutto, 1997).
In the realm of vascular disease, many observations suggest that bipolar dis-
order is associated with ischemic white matter changes on neuroimaging. As
with depression, bipolar disease has frequently been associated with leukoarai-
osis (Soares and Mann, 1997). Dupont and colleagues (1995) found that fron-
tally predominant white matter changes were more common in young patients
with bipolar disorder than those with unipolar mood disorder and normal con-
trol subjects. However, some investigators have not found a link between white
matter lesions and bipolar disorder (Krabbendam et al., 2000). Despite this
uncertainty, the term vascular mania has been proposed as a subtype of mood
disorder that can result from leukoaraiosis (Steffens and Krishnan, 1998).
Mania may be explainable in part by the interruption of cerebral white matter
tracts in the frontal and temporal lobes that subserve mood regulation.
In patients with TBI, mania can occur either as an isolated feature or as part
of bipolar disorder (McAllister, 1992). The review of van Reekum and col-
leagues (2000) found a strong association of TBI with bipolar affective disorder,
such that 4% of TBI patients could be expected to develop this mood disorder,
compared with less than 1% of the general population. Some studies have sug-
gested that secondary mania after TBI may preferentially involve the right fron-
tal and temporal regions (McAllister, 1992), but the diffuse neuropathology of
TBI renders this observation difficult to verify. Mania has also been observed
with glioblastoma multiforme infiltration of temporal lobe white matter (Filley
and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 1995). NPH is uncommonly associated with
mania, but this syndrome has been observed as an initial presentation, and
improvement with neurosurgical intervention suggests that structural white
matter involvement was responsible (Kwentus and Hart, 1987).
Psychosis
A link between psychosis and the cerebral white matter has long been sus-
pected. A study using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory in
normal men, for example, found a strong correlation between elevated schizo-
phrenia scale score and reduced frontal lobe white matter volume on MRI
(Matsui et al., 2000). The frontal lobes contribute importantly to personality
(Filley, 2011), and subtle or overt changes in frontal white matter may predis-
pose to psychosis.
A variety of white matter disorders have been observed to produce schizo-
phrenia-like psychosis (Walterfang et al., 2005). The leukodystrophies are the
best studied of this group, in particular metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD),
in which psychosis regularly precedes dementia in late-onset cases (Filley and
Gross, 1992; Hyde et al., 1992; Black et al., 2003; Walterfang et al., 2005).
Involvement of the temporal lobe, frontal lobe, or both has been implicated in
the psychosis of MLD (Filley and Gross, 1992; Hyde et al., 1992; Black et al.,
2003). Merriam and colleagues (1989) hypothesized that damage to ascending
white matter tracts produces psychosis in MLD by causing disinhibition of
limbic catecholaminergic systems. The close similarity of psychosis in MLD
and schizophrenia has led to MLD being proposed as a model for the neurobi-
ology of psychosis (Hyde et al., 1992), and an important research goal is to
compare details of white matter connectivity in MLD and schizophrenia (Black
et al., 2003).
MS and other demyelinative disorders, SLE, and white matter tumors includ-
ing astrocytoma and oligodendroglioma may also present with psychosis (Filley
and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 1995; Filley et al., 2003; Walterfang et al., 2005).
In MS, psychosis may not occur with a frequency any greater than chance
(Feinstein, 2007), but a prevalence of 5% has been cited (Grant, 1986). As is true
for mania, psychosis can occasionally be the initial manifestation of MS
(Feinstein, 2007). The presence of psychotic symptoms has been linked with
bilateral temporal lobe plaques on MRI scans (Feinstein et al., 1992). Psychosis
is rare in HIV infection but can be seen in association with florid mania (Navia
et al., 1986; Dubé et al., 2005). In SLE, however, psychosis is seen in 5–15% of
patients (West, 1994). Paranoid psychosis has been noted as a persistent prob-
lem in some individuals with toluene abuse (Byrne et al., 1991), and although it
has been speculated that toluene abuse is linked with schizophrenia (Lewis et al.,
1981), persistent apathy is more common (Filley and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters,
2001). Psychosis has been observed in cobalamin deficiency and pernicious
anemia (Smith and Oliver, 1967), and folate deficiency may actually be more
closely associated with psychosis than cobalamin deficiency (Hutto, 1997).
Late-onset psychosis has often been noted in association with vascular white
matter disease. In BD, psychosis may appear as an early clinical feature, preced-
ing the onset of dementia (Lawrence and Hillam, 1995). Leukoaraiosis has also
been associated with psychosis by some (Breitner et al., 1990; Miller et al., 1991)
but not all (Howard et al., 1995; Symonds et al., 1997) investigators. Current
data indicate that depression is a far more common problem in patients with
leukoaraiosis (Herrmann et al., 2008). In TBI, there appears to be little increased
risk of psychosis as a late sequel (van Reekum et al., 2000). However, psychotic
symptoms may occur in the acute recovery period after TBI, and discrete
psychotic episodes may also occur in the postacute phase (McAllister, 1992).
Cerebral tumors have often been associated with psychosis, again most often
with frontal and temporolimbic sites of origin (Galasko et al., 1988; Filley and
Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 1995). Prominent features of psychosis with tumors
are delusions, typically simple and with a paranoid flavor, and hallucinations,
most commonly visual (Galasko et al., 1988). Finally, psychosis, often with a
paranoid component, can be seen in patients with NPH (Rice and Gendelman,
1973; Lying-Tunnell, 1979). Shunt placement has been reported to effect
complete or substantial recovery from psychosis in patients with this disease
(Rice and Gendelman, 1973; Lying-Tunnell, 1979), implying that injury to
cerebral white matter may be important in its etiology.
Disinhibition
The erosion of comportment can be a devastating neurobehavioral disorder with

a host of medical, psychiatric, social, and legal consequences. A clinical descrip-
tor for this condition is disinhibition, and orbitofrontal involvement is typical in
these cases (Mesulam, 2000). A tendency for disinhibition to be particularly
associated with right anterior cerebral lesions has been noted (Starkstein and
Robinson, 1997). Either white or gray matter lesions within orbitofrontal–sub-
cortical circuits may be responsible (Tekin and Cummings, 2002), as demon-
strated by recent studies of disinhibition in behavioral variant frontotemporal
dementia (Hornberger et al., 2011). Although qualitatively distinct, disinhibition
has much in common with mania, and the overlapping cerebral localizations of
these syndromes likely reflect a similar pathogenesis. White matter disorders
associated with disinhibition include adrenoleukodystrophy (Garside et al.,
1999), MS (Benedict et al., 2004), vascular dementia (Jonsson et al., 2010), TBI
(McAllister, 1992), and neoplasia (Filley and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 1995).
Euphoria
One of the most striking syndromes in behavioral neurology, euphoria is a state

of remarkable unconcern and even elation that arises in the setting of severe
physical disability. Encountered mainly in patients with MS, of whom about
10% are affected (McDonald and Ron, 1999), euphoria is seen predominantly
in advanced demyelinative disease. Loss of insight and impaired judgment are

prominent, and the syndrome resembles frontal lobe personality disturbance
from any etiology. The affective display of these patients may be misleading.
Although euphoria may mimic mania, the persistent cheerfulness of euphoric
patients is a fixed mental state that occurs without the transient motor overac-
tivity of mania (Feinstein, 2007). Indeed, euphoric patients may actually be
simultaneously depressed (Mahler, 1992). Although corticosteroid therapy
may precipitate mania in MS patients (Minden et al., 1987), treatment with
corticosteroids is not a risk factor for euphoria (Mahler, 1992). Structural
neuroimaging studies have been consistent in correlating this syndrome with
white matter disease. Rabins and colleagues (1986) found that euphoric MS
patients were more likely than those without euphoria to have cerebral involve-
ment, enlarged ventricles on CT, more severe cognitive impairment, worse
neurologic function, and greater social disability. Ron and Logsdail (1989)
found that elation correlated with the presence of widespread MRI white matter
changes. Correlations were subsequently observed between euphoria and
frontal (Reischies et al., 1993) and frontotemporal (Diaz-Olavarrieta et al.,
1999) white matter lesion burden on MRI. In summary, euphoria is associated
with cognitive decline and widespread white matter demyelination most prom-
inent in the frontal lobes (McDonald and Ron, 1999; Feinstein, 2007).
Pathological Laughter and Crying
Pathological laughter and crying, recognized by neurologists as a component of

pseudobulbar palsy, is often called pseudobulbar affect and sometimes emo-
tional lability or emotional incontinence. It refers to uncontrollable episodic
laughter or weeping that is out of proportion to the degree of happiness or
sadness patients experience (Parvizi et al., 2009). The exaggerated and dispro-
portional expression of affect is disturbing to patients and their families and
complicates the assessment of mood (Mahler, 1992). Pathological laughter and
crying is commonly seen in patients with MS and is associated with more severe
cognitive impairment, implying that affected patients have greater white matter
involvement (Feinstein, 2007). Classically considered the result of corticobul-
bar tract involvement, recent localization analysis has found basis pontis lesions
to be most closely associated with the syndrome, with internal capsule and
cerebral peduncle lesions also implicated in many cases (Parvizi et al., 2009).
In addition to MS, pathological laughter and crying occurs in patients with
cerebrovascular disease, CADASIL, and TBI, highlighting the importance of
white matter tract disruption in this syndrome.
Apathy
The amotivational state of apathy can be distinguished from the mood disorder
of depression, although doing so often requires careful clinical assessment.
Apathy is typical of many patients with medial frontal involvement, particularly
in the region of the anterior cingulate gyrus (Cummings, 1990). Focal white
matter lesions in this region can produce apathy, as can diffuse white matter
changes from disorders such as the toxic leukoencephalopathies (Filley and
Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 2001). Apathy was one of the first recognized neu-
ropsychiatric features of the AIDS dementia complex (Castellon et al., 1998)
and is also prominent in cognitively impaired older people who have vascular
dementia with MRI white matter hyperintensities (Jonsson et al., 2010). Apathy
in the setting of white matter changes is closely related to the cognitive slowing
that occurs as part of the profile of white matter dementia (Filley et al., 1988;
Schmahmann et al., 2008; Filley, 2010).
P S Y C HIATRIC D ISEASES W ITH W HITE MATTER

A B NOR MALITIES
The etiology and pathogenesis of several major psychiatric diseases remain

poorly understood despite advances in treatment over the last half century.
Standard neuropathologic investigation has been applied with little success to
the investigation of schizophrenia, depression, and other psychiatric illnesses.
In recent years, largely stimulated by advances in structural and functional neu-
roimaging, the study of psychiatric diseases has focused more on putative net-
work dysfunction and away from lesion-based models of pathogenesis. This
emphasis has naturally implicated the cerebral white matter as a tissue of much
interest regarding disconnection of neural networks subserving normal emo-
tion. Such altered connectivity can be estimated with CT and MRI when leu-
koaraiosis or lacunar stroke damages the macrostructure of white matter, but
detection of microstructural changes, implying less obvious neuropathology in
myelin, axons, and glial cells, requires more sensitive technologies. Among
newer structural neuroimaging methods, including magnetic resonance spec-
troscopy (MRS) and magnetization transfer imaging (MTI), DTI has proven
most useful in probing the microstructure of white matter in idiopathic psychi-
atric disorders (White et al., 2008), permitting direct investigation of relevant
tracts at a resolution beyond that of conventional neuroimaging. Box 18-2 lists
common psychiatric diseases being investigated for the potential contribution
of white matter neuropathology.
Box 18-2
Psychiatric Diseases with White Matter Abnormalities
• Schizophrenia
• Depression
• Bipolar disorder
• Obsessive–compulsive disorder
• Posttraumatic stress disorder
• Autism
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia continues to perplex neuroscientists because of a paucity of

distinctive neuropathologic findings, despite much evidence that the disease
has a neurobiological basis (Harrison, 1999; Pearlson, 2000; Post, 2000). In light
of this dilemma, many researchers have adopted a fresh effort to consider myeli-
nated systems as an attractive possibility. Many decades ago, Elvidge and Reed
(1938) noted postmortem changes in the white matter and oligodendrocytes of
schizophrenic brains. The MRI era stimulated further observations, and
Keshavan and colleagues (1996) noted a significant burden of white matter
hyperintensities in the right posterior white matter of older schizophrenics,
while Sachdev and Brodaty (1999) found increased periventricular hyperi-
ntensities in late-onset schizophrenia. In those studies, however, the age of the
patients raised the possibility that the white matter lesions might be of vascular
origin. When young schizophrenic patients were investigated, many MRI stud-
ies showed a reduction in white matter volume in the frontal lobes and corpus
callosum, although concurrent changes in gray matter were also evident (Breier
et al., 1992; Pearlson, 2000; Walterfang et al., 2006). With DTI, microstructural
changes were detected in the frontal lobes and corpus callosum and diffusely in
the hemispheric white matter (Buchsbaum et al., 1998; Lim et al., 1999). Recent
reviews have concluded that frontal and temporal lobe white matter and the
corpus callosum are most affected in schizophrenia; the most often reported
measure is fractional anisotropy, which was decreased in most but not all
studies (Walterfang et al., 2006; White et al., 2008). MRS in schizophrenics
detected a reduction in white matter N-acetyl-aspartate, a marker of axonal
integrity (Lim et al., 1998), and MTI found white matter abnormalities in the
temporal lobes (Foong et al., 2000). Neuropathologically, reduced numbers of

oligodendrocytes in white matter have been observed (Walterfang et al., 2006).
Downregulation of oligodendrocyte and myelin genes has also been noted,
although it is unclear whether these genes are susceptibility genes or whether
their downregulation is only an epiphenomenon of a more pervasive neurode-
velopmental process that leads to mood disorders (Walterfang et al., 2006).
Taken together, these findings are consistent with a disorder of white matter in
schizophrenia that is most evident in the frontal and temporal lobes. A disrup-
tion of connectivity may thus produce the clinical syndrome of psychosis.
Depression
The inclusion of depression in this section as well as the last highlights a general
uncertainty: This mood disorder is investigated as both a psychiatric sequel of
white matter disorders and a psychiatric disease in which white matter pathol-
ogy may play a major role. Whereas schizophrenia has been called the grave-
yard of neuropathology, the mood disorders—including depression and bipolar
disorder—have been likened to an uncharted wilderness (Harrison, 2002).
However, neuropathologic and neuroimaging evidence is accumulating to
suggest the occurrence of gray and white matter abnormalities, microscopic
and macroscopic, in the mood disorders (Harrison, 2002). The microscopic
neuropathology of depression is evident in the frontal cortices, where abnor-
malities of synapses and glial cells are found, and the neuropathologic study of
white matter has not been as revealing (Harrison, 2002). The impact of vascular
white matter disease on neuroimaging has garnered much attention, however,
particularly in view of the observation that depression is frequently accompa-
nied by cognitive loss that may also be caused by these lesions. The consistent
association of depression with leukoaraiosis in older people (Herrmann et al.,
2008; Thomas and O’Brien, 2008; Lamar et al., 2010), described above, has led
to the concept of vascular depression (Herrmann et al., 2008), although a
genetic contribution to late-onset depression also has support. Longitudinal
study of older people without cerebrovascular disease using conventional MRI
has disclosed an association between depressive symptoms and loss of left
frontal white matter volume, but the white matter changes could be either a
cause or a result of depressive symptoms (Dotson et al., 2009). DTI is also being
explored for evidence of microscopic white matter changes, and a majority of
studies of affective disorder, conducted in childhood through old age, find
reduced fractional anisotropy in the frontal and temporal white matter (White
et al., 2008; Sexton et al., 2010).
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder has been found to feature neuropathologic findings in the

cerebral cortex similar to those of depression, but white matter has not been
subjected to such detailed study (Harrison, 2002). As in depression, however, a
strong association of leukoaraiosis, commonly in the frontal lobes, with bipolar
disorder has been observed using conventional MRI, suggesting the concept of
vascular mania (Mahon et al., 2010). A genetic contribution to bipolar disorder
also has considerable support; similar to recent findings in schizophrenia,
reduced numbers of oligodendrocytes and decreased white matter volume have
been found in bipolar disorder, and genetic evidence exists for altered expres-
sion of oligodendrocyte and myelin genes (Mahon et al., 2010). Moreover, a
reduction in white but not gray matter volume has been observed in first-
episode bipolar disorder patients (Vita et al., 2009). DTI studies probing micro-
scopic white matter neuropathology in bipolar disorder suggest abnormalities
in the frontal lobes (White et al., 2008).
Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive–compulsive disorder has recently been viewed as involving a distur-

bance of frontal–subcortical circuits, including areas of the frontal cortices, the
basal ganglia—most notably the caudate—and the thalamus. White matter
tracts within this circuit have attracted attention with respect to this anxiety
disorder, because they establish the connectivity of the component regions.
While conventional MRI studies have found areas of gray matter volume loss in
frontal cortical regions, bilaterally decreased prefrontal white matter volume
has also been noted (van den Heuvel et al., 2009). DTI studies of this disorder
have found microstructural changes in the cingulum (White et al., 2008;
Ha et al., 2009).
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Posttraumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that is receiving renewed

attention as current military conflicts have produced many more affected
individuals. The most compelling recent evidence for brain abnormalities
exists for the amygdala and hippocampus, limbic structures in which studies
suggest that severe stress may produce structural damage that leads to a range
of anxiety disorders (Nemeroff et al., 2006; LeDoux, 2007). However, white
matter changes have also been noted in this condition, as in a recent DTI study
reporting that frontal and limbic tracts are primarily affected (Schuff et al.,
2010). Consistent with the theme of network disconnection, microstructural
white matter abnormalities may occur in networks dedicated to the regulation
of anxiety that include medial temporal gray matter structures, the frontal
lobes, and associated tracts (Schuff et al., 2010).
Autism
Although a substantially increased prevalence of autism has been observed in

recent years, its neurobiology remains obscure. In contrast to schizophrenia
and other psychiatric diseases, which often exhibit reductions in white matter,
autism has been found in most volumetric MRI studies to feature increased
white matter volume, with a concomitant increase in head size (Herbert et al.,
2004; D. H. Geschwind and Levitt, 2007; Minshew and Williams, 2007). The
frontal lobes may show the largest expansion of white matter, but temporal and
parietal lobe expansion have also been reported. DTI studies generally show
white matter abnormalities in frontal, temporal, and parietal white matter as
well as the corpus callosum (White et al., 2008). An analysis of pooled DTI data
indicated that increased white matter volume occurs specifically in tracts
important for language and social cognition (Radua et al., 2011). The pathogen-
esis of autism has been speculated to involve altered connectivity that interferes
with the processing of complex information requiring multiple neural networks
(Minshew and Williams, 2007). Herbert (2005) pointed out that despite an
overabundance of white matter, the brains of autistic children paradoxically
manifest underconnectivity related to weak central coherence and impaired
complex processing. Whereas white matter changes have been frequently
detected, autism often involves seizures suggesting cortical involvement, and
indeed, abnormal cortical synaptic function may occur in parallel with white
matter changes (Minshew and Williams, 2007). However, the fact that increased
white matter volume is the most replicated structural brain abnormality in
autism deserves close attention.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has long defied understand-

ing despite the availability of commonly prescribed medications suggesting a
neurobiological pathogenesis. Recent structural and functional neuroimaging
studies have led to the hypothesis that in ADHD white matter neuropathology
may disrupt connectivity in distributed networks underlying attention and
working memory (Konrad and Eickhoff, 2010). Conventional MRI has shown
a reduction in white matter volume compared with controls (Castellanos et al.,
2002). DTI studies have shown alterations, either bilateral (Silk et al., 2009) or
more prominent on the right (Makris et al., 2008), in frontal–parietal networks
subserving attention and executive function. These frontal–parietal white
matter changes suggest delayed maturation of brain networks, and adults with
a history of childhood ADHD may show an increase of white matter volume
that could represent a compensatory response to reduced neural network
efficiency (Konrad and Eickhoff, 2010).
THE RELEVANCE OF WHITE MATTER TO PSYC H I ATRY
Psychiatry is the discipline of medicine devoted to mental illness, and

increasing evidence, some discussed above, implicates brain dysfunction in the
pathogenesis of psychiatric disease. Yet the familiar distinction persists between
neurologic disease—in which a brain lesion can be demonstrated—and psychi-
atric disease—in which no obvious lesion can be found. In this context, the
potential role of white matter pathology assumes special importance. Just as the
cognitive aspects of white matter disorders have been obscured by a focus on
gray matter, so too might the pathogenesis of emotional dysfunction be revealed
by abnormalities of white matter.
Clinicians and researchers alike have long observed that damage to the fron-
tal and temporal lobes is often associated with behavioral disturbances (Davison,
1983; Filley and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, 1995; Filley, 1998; Pearlson, 2000;
Post, 2000; Walterfang et al., 2006; Filley, 2011). Given the prominent role of
those regions in attention, comportment, social cognition, memory, and limbic
function, it is logical to assume that dysfunction there is more likely to affect
emotional regulation than is damage to posterior cerebral regions. The massive
connectivity of the frontal lobes also immediately implicates white matter lying
within and between the cerebral hemispheres in emotion. As considered above,
a wide range of idiopathic psychiatric disorders are being examined with the
idea that white matter dysfunction may explain some and perhaps all aspects of
pathogenesis. The coming years will doubtless shed light on how much can be
learned from this approach.
The task of assessing psychiatric aspects of white matter necessarily assumes
that traditional boundaries of diagnosis may need to be suspended while an open-
minded query proceeds to address key clinical questions. While standard psychi-
atric nosology can serve many purposes, it may be productive to turn to familiar
clinical complaints that do not fit into a psychiatric category but which may offer
important insights into white matter–behavior relationships. Two clinical issues
will be discussed here to illustrate this process. These problems—personality

change and fatigue—are not traditional psychiatric entities but are common clin-
ical complaints that raise the possibility of mental illness or neurologic disease. A
focused review of these problems in light of white matter dysfunction may help
elucidate how they arise as complaints with psychiatric overtones but a potential
neurologic basis. Ultimately, whether these problems are considered psychiatric
or neurologic is less critical than determining their neurobiological foundation.
Although difficult to define, personality generally refers to the characteristic
repertoire of behavioral responses an individual uses to deal with the world.
As with many other cerebral lesions, a change in personality can occur with
white matter disorders, typically ones with a predilection for frontotemporal
structures (Filley, 2011). The symptoms and signs associated with personality
change are often vague and nonspecific, and the best efforts by informants may
yield only the description that a person is not his or her “normal self.” Apathy,
irritability, lassitude, inattention, drowsiness, memory lapses, and emotional
lability may all contribute to this picture. As is evident from Part II of this book,
these and related symptoms may characterize all the disorders of white matter,
particularly in their early stages before more specific symptoms and signs
develop. How many patients with early neuropathology related to demyelina-
tion, toxic leukoencephalopathy, leukoaraiosis, glioma, or hydrocephalus, to
consider only some examples, experience a subtle but clear change in personal-
ity before any other clinical feature is manifest? The clinician is thus well advised
to recall that such a personality alteration, especially in adulthood, may require
prompt investigation regardless of whether other neurologic features can be
detected.
Personality changes with more recognizable implications may of course also
be seen in white matter disorders. The syndromes of euphoria, pathological
laughter and crying, and apathy were discussed above, and the contribution of
white matter dysfunction to their pathogenesis is increasingly suspected. These
relatively obvious syndromes may be examples of a wide array of personality
change syndromes, many more subtle, that follow the onset of white matter
pathology. A recent MRI study, for example, correlated injury of frontal lobe
white matter with personality changes in children and adolescents after TBI
(Max et al., 2006). DTI holds much promise for illuminating the role of
white matter in personality, and studies are now appearing that explore these
relationships in the normal and abnormal brain. One intriguing recent DTI
study detected microstructural abnormality in the uncinate fasciculus of
psychopaths (Craig et al., 2009), a finding that may inform the understanding
of aggressive behavior as a manifestation of cerebral neuropathology. Studies
are also appearing in normal subjects using DTI to correlate personality traits
with various aspects of white matter structure (Roberts et al., 2010; Xu and
Potenza, 2012).
Fatigue is a ubiquitous symptom caused by a great variety of disorders
affecting the brain and many other organs; indeed, the nonspecific nature of
fatigue is one of the barriers to its successful study. Whereas nervous system
involvement may implicate neuromuscular dysfunction, structural involve-
ment of the brain, or many psychological issues (often in combination), the
potential role of white matter neuropathology in fatigue is illustrated by three
disorders: MS, chronic fatigue syndrome, and the Gulf War syndrome. In each,
white matter lesions have been proposed to be important determinants of
fatigue, while it is unclear how much psychological factors contribute.
Fatigue is common and frequently disabling in MS (Feinstein, 2007). Little is
known about the origin of this complaint, which may occur independently of
disease relapses. Three causes of fatigue in MS have been proposed: depression,
motor dysfunction, and cognitive impairment. Krupp and colleagues (1988)
found no relationship between fatigue and depression, but Feinstein (2007)
expressed reservations about whether fatigue could exist in isolation from psy-
chiatric symptoms. Motor dysfunction has been suggested by Colombo and
colleagues (2000), who found that fatigue correlated with MRI plaque burden
in descending motor tracts. However, several studies have shown that white
matter lesion burden and cerebral atrophy on conventional MRI do not corre-
late with fatigue severity (van der Werf et al., 1998; Bakshi et al., 1999; Mainero
et al., 1999). A relationship with cognitive impairment was suggested by the
amelioration of fatigue in some MS patients by amantadine (Sailer et al., 2000).
Other investigators, however, have found no correlation between fatigue and
cognitive dysfunction nor any improvement in fatigue with stimulant drugs
(Geisler et al., 1996). Some support for “cognitive fatigue” has recently appeared
in studies of MS patients who demonstrated a significant decline in neuro-
psychological performance during a test of sustained attention (Schwid et al.,
2003) or after a continuous effortful cognitive task (Krupp and Elkins, 2000).
The origin of fatigue in MS thus remains uncertain; as it is conceivable that
white matter disease burden could underlie all the proposed etiologies of
fatigue, further study with newer MRI techniques is warranted.
Far more uncertainty surrounds the neurobiological aspects of chronic
fatigue syndrome (Goshorn, 1998). This puzzling condition is characterized by
unexplained and persistent fatigue (Fukuda et al., 1994), and because no
satisfactory clinical assessment scale, established pathology, or laboratory test
assists with diagnosis, debate has centered on whether this disorder is medical
or psychiatric in origin (Tiersky et al., 1997). While chronic fatigue syndrome
is putatively associated with various infections, such as Epstein-Barr virus,
convincing evidence has not appeared that it has a viral or other infectious
etiology, and similarities to other vague clinical entities such as fibromyalgia

and the 19th-century syndrome neurasthenia have been noted (Tiersky et al.,
1997). Support for brain dysfunction in chronic fatigue syndrome has come
mainly from neuropsychological and MRI studies. Despite methodological
limitations, a fairly consistent pattern of impaired speed and efficiency in pro-
cessing complex information emerges in these patients (Tiersky et al., 1997;
Cockshell and Mathias, 2010). Several MRI studies have found a higher
incidence of white matter hyperintensities (Tiersky et al., 1997), including one
study demonstrating excessive frontal lobe white matter changes in patients
who did not have a coexisting psychiatric diagnosis (Lange et al., 1999).
However, a recent longitudinal study of chronic fatigue syndrome found no
cerebral abnormality of any kind (Perrin et al., 2010). Some patients have
neither cognitive dysfunction nor white matter changes (Cope et al., 1995), and
when present, both subtle neuropsychological and MRI findings can have
explanations other than chronic fatigue syndrome. Many studies report a high
frequency of preexisting psychiatric disorders, primarily depression (Tiersky
et al., 1997) in chronic fatigue syndrome patients, and some evidence suggests
a higher likelihood of malingering as well (van der Werf et al., 2000). Thus it
remains to be established that chronic fatigue syndrome involves the brain
white matter or indeed can be considered a distinct disease entity at all.
Most recently, the Gulf War syndrome has been investigated as an illness
affecting at least 25% of the US veterans who served in the 1990–1991 Gulf War
(Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses, 2008). Fatigue
is among the many features of this syndrome; persistent memory and concen-
tration complaints, headache, widespread pain, and gastrointestinal problems
are also common. Evidence has been gathered that the syndrome results from a
combined toxic effect of pyridostigmine, used for protecting military personnel
from the effects of nerve gas, and pesticides used during deployment (Research
Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses, 2008). Some MRI studies
support reduced cerebral white matter volume in highly symptomatic Gulf War
veterans, but abnormalities in gray matter areas such as the basal ganglia and
hippocampus have also been seen, and no neuropathologic data are available to
clarify the issue (Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses,
2008). The Gulf War syndrome is thus another example of the complexity of
understanding common complaints such as fatigue in relation to potential
white matter pathology.
The relevance of white matter to psychiatry, while fraught with a host of
theoretical and clinical uncertainties, remains worthy of study in light of so
much neuropsychiatry that is all but unknown. A great deal of work lies ahead,
but it is conceivable that a major shift in emphasis to white matter may alter
psychiatry as much as the idea of disconnection changed neurology some
45 years ago (N. Geschwind, 1965a, 1965b). Attention is being increasingly paid
to white matter systems in clinical (Kumar and Cook, 2002) and research
settings (Fields, 2008), and advances are rapidly appearing in white matter
neuroanatomy (Schmahmann and Pandya, 2006) and neuroimaging (Sullivan
and Pfefferbaum, 2006). The genetic basis of myelination is also being investi-
gated as a means of understanding the role of white matter in psychiatric illness
(Lee and Fields, 2009). Indeed, a new perspective is emerging that considers the
“connectome” as a counterpart to the synaptome, and network causes of
idiopathic brain diseases as diverse as schizophrenia, autism, and AD are being
investigated in this light (Bartzokis, 2005, 2011a; Bohland et al., 2009; Kennedy,
2010; Williams, 2010; Sporns, 2011). Whereas excitement must be tempered
by the recognition that these ideas are still theoretical, practical implications
are already being pursued. For example, atypical antipsychotic drugs may be
efficacious in psychiatry because of their capacity to enhance myelination
(Bartzokis, 2011b). Another insight comes from evidence that deep brain
stimulation of a frontal lobe white matter tract can lift intractable depression
(Mayberg et al., 2005)—a dramatic demonstration that considering myelinated
systems in psychiatry may have inestimable clinical importance.
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19
Neurologic Aspects
This book is devoted to the behavioral neurology of white matter, but the
general neurology of white matter also merits attention to provide a broader
perspective. White matter in the brain makes a vital contribution to the
function of the central nervous system (CNS), and its breakdown in disease,
intoxication, and injury invokes a host of clinical and research issues that
concern general neurologists, internists, geriatricians, pediatricians, physia-
trists, pharmacologists, neurosurgeons, and basic scientists as well as behav-
ioral neurologists and their colleagues. This chapter briefly considers the general
neurology of white matter—also called elemental neurology, to distinguish
sensorimotor function from higher function—followed by an overview of
prognosis, plasticity, and treatment.
GA I T D ISO R D ER
Neurologists are well versed in the many clinical features of CNS white matter
disease, and neurology textbooks provide excellent accounts of sensory deficits
including hemianopia, quadrantanopia, afferent pupillary defect, diplopia,
internuclear ophthalmoplegia, hemihypesthesia, and dysesthesia, and motor
findings such as hemiparesis, quadriparesis, spasticity, hyperreflexia, extensor
plantar responses, ataxia, nystagmus, dysarthria, and incontinence (Ropper
and Samuels, 2009). Gait disorder is another problem encountered in CNS
white matter disorders, and recent findings have clarified this area of neuro-
logic deficit, which previously was not as well appreciated. Gait disorder has
special importance because of its well-recognized propensity to culminate in
falls among older people, a potentially catastrophic problem.
The possibility that white matter lesions affect gait in a selective pattern
should not be surprising in view of well-recognized neurologic syndromes in
other diseases. In children who have had periventricular leukomalacia, for
example, spastic diplegia is a common sequel (Chapter 11). Magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) clearly shows extensive white matter lesions in these patients,
and recent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have found strong correla-
tions of corticospinal tract dysfunction with motor dysfunction (Lee et al.,
2011). Similarly, in adults with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), gait
disorder is a key diagnostic feature that relates to cerebral white matter dys-
function and may be the feature most responsive to surgical intervention
(Chapter 14). In many older adults without NPH, gait disorder may involve a
similar localization but a different pathogenesis. Several MRI studies in older
people have now correlated cerebral white matter lesion burden with gait
dysfunction (Soumaré et al., 2009; Srikanth et al., 2009, 2010). These lesions,
most likely ischemic in origin as discussed in Chapter 11, are generally
interpreted as interrupting motor and sensory tracts involved in motor control,
most notably the corticospinal tracts descending from their cortical site of
origin in the frontal lobes, passing close to the lateral ventricles, and entering
the internal capsule before reaching the brain stem and spinal cord (Srikanth
et al., 2009). Some studies have found that periventricular lesions are
more likely to disturb gait than are deep subcortical lesions (Soumaré
et al., 2009). These descending corticospinal fibers are also thought to be
involved in NPH, in which gait apraxia is commonly present as a result of
mechanical compression of periventricular tracts, often commingled with
ischemic damage.
Most recently, DTI studies have suggested that gait disorder in elderly people
can also result from damage to the normal-appearing white matter (de Laat
et al., 2011). This microstructural injury, beyond the resolution of conventional
MRI, is nevertheless also likely to be related to ischemic small-vessel disease (de
Laat et al., 2011), and motor tracts are presumably among those involved. Taken
together, these MRI and DTI investigations support the notion that both nor-
mal-appearing and ischemic white matter in the brain can be associated with
troublesome gait disorder and a higher risk of potentially injurious falls. As in
the case of cognitive dysfunction, therefore, it appears that microstructural
as well as macrostructural cerebral white matter disease can have clinically
significant functional consequences in affected patients. Efforts to preserve
healthy white matter and normal gait thus gain further justification in older
people, who are already likely to be less mobile because of other medical condi-
tions. In particular, overweight and obesity stand out as problems that contrib-
ute to the risk of falls by exacerbating white matter attrition (Chapter 11) and
impeding normal mobility.
P R OG NO SIS
The prognosis of white matter disorders is a very broad topic that involves many
neuropathologic entities and permits only tentative generalizations. Clearly, the
prognosis of individual patients depends heavily on the specific disease, intoxi-
cation, or injury and on factors such as age, length of illness, and coexistent
neurologic, psychiatric, and medical conditions. Details of these variables lie
within the realm of general neurology and are crucial for patient care (Ropper
and Samuels, 2009).
However, one can tentatively say that the prognosis of white matter disorders
is generally more favorable than that of gray matter disorders. This assertion is
based on indirect evidence from study of many neuropathologic entities.
In essence, the basic microscopic neuroanatomy of myelinated fibers would
predict that unless axonal loss has occurred (Trapp et al., 1998; Medana and
Esiri, 2003), a lesion that damages myelin has substantial potential for recovery
if the myelin can be restored. Many patients with many disorders cannot expect
such favorable outcome, as in the case of axonal loss in multiple sclerosis (MS),
widespread damage from severe toxic leukoencephalopathy, and multiple white
matter infarction—but in contrast to gray matter disorders such as Alzheimer’s
disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases, white matter lesions often
affect myelin only. The literature on remyelination in MS is relevant in this
regard, and although spontaneous remyelination seems to result in little clinical
benefit, new medications are being proposed to enhance this process (Kotter
et al., 2011). A convincing example of a good prognosis after white matter dys-
function is the repeated observation, now supported by data from a variety of
neuroimaging techniques, that abstinence can at least partially reverse white
matter damage from alcoholism (Bühler and Mann, 2011). Moreover, as will be
considered below, new findings indicating that white matter exhibits unex-
pected plasticity may offer a host of options for treatment and rehabilitation.
An exciting new development in neurobiology may radically alter all of these
formulations. In contrast to the long-held belief that the brain cannot produce
new neurons after development, it has recently become clear that the brain has
the remarkable capacity to generate new neurons throughout life (Zhao et al.,
2008). As this understanding is further elaborated, the prognosis for all brain
disorders may become much more favorable. Two brain areas where neurogen-
esis is known to occur are the subventricular zone adjacent to the lateral ven-
tricles and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus (Zhao et al., 2008). The first of
these areas is especially relevant to white matter disorders, as neural precursor
cells in myelinated subcortical regions of the cerebral hemispheres would seem
ideally located to restore structural and functional integrity to tracts frequently
damaged in those disorders. Also compelling in this context is the detection of
oligodendrocyte precursor cells, which opens the possibility of enhancing

remyelination by inducing these cells to become mature myelinated cells
(Franklin and ffrench-Constant, 2008). These extraordinary prospects,
inconceivable only a few years ago, require much more work but may lead to
treatments far more efficacious than those to be discussed below.
P LA ST ICIT Y
Before considering the treatment of white matter disorders, another key obser-
vation about myelin deserves comment. This relates to plasticity, an intrinsic
property of the brain contributing not only to normal adaptive behavior such as
learning and memory but also to the response to challenges induced by brain
damage. A central tenet of neurobiology, plasticity has typically been consid-
ered a cerebral cortical phenomenon founded on features such as dendritic
growth and the strength of synapses (Pascual-Leone et al., 2005). The study of
memory has been particularly influential in developing this concept, and the
model of long-term potentiation in the hippocampus and neocortex has
considerable experimental support (Kandel, 2006).
In a remarkable recent development, however, plasticity has also come to be
seen as a feature of brain white matter. It is now apparent that learning can be
associated with alterations in white matter structure (Fields, 2005, 2008).
A compelling example of this plasticity has been demonstrated in piano players,
in whom DTI studies demonstrated correlation of time spent practicing the
instrument in early life with increased fractional anisotropy of callosal
and hemispheric white matter (Bengtsson et al., 2005; Figure 19-1). DTI trac-
tography has shown musicians to also have enhanced right cerebellar
white matter volume, consistent with use-dependent structural adaptation
(Abdul-Kareem et al., 2011). In other DTI studies, normal subjects learning a
complex motor skill developed enhanced frontoparietal connectivity in as little
as one week from the onset of training (Scholz et al., 2009; Taubert et al., 2011).
Again in normal subjects. the amount of training in working memory was
correlated with increased fractional anisotropy in parietal and callosal white
matter, consistent with activity-dependent myelination (Takeuchi et al., 2010).
Observations such as these are not limited to younger individuals. In older
subjects, the microstructure of the anterior corpus callosum was modified by
training in working memory, episodic memory, and perceptual speed (Lövdén
et al., 2010), and increased fractional anisotropy in left frontal white matter was
observed after memory training that enhanced verbal memory performance
(Engvig et al., 2011). White matter plasticity may also contribute to brain
reserve capacity, as DTI has shown white matter integrity of medial temporal
Age -11 FA
L Corpus callosum
0.6 (isthmus)
0.4
0.2
0.0
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
z = 24 Practice (x 103 h)
Age 12–16 FA Corpus callosum

L (splenium)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
1 2 3 4 5 6
z = 20 Practice (x 103 h)
Age 17- FA Arcuate fasciculus

0.6
0.4
0.2
x = 43
0.0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Practice (x 103 h)
Figure 19-1. DTI data from pianists of different ages showing correlations between
number of hours practiced and fractional anisotropy (FA) of the corpus callosum and
the arcuate fasciculus. (Reprinted with permission from Fields, 2005.)
and association tracts to be greater in adults with more education (Teipel

et al., 2009).
Plasticity of white matter is also evident in individuals with brain disorders
affecting cognition. In a DTI study of patients with Broca’s aphasia from left
cerebral infarction, for example, the number of fibers and overall size of the
right arcuate fasciculus increased after a course of melodic intonation therapy
that improved language function; the more arcuate fasciculus fibers that were
detected after therapy, the greater was the language improvement (Schlaug
et al., 2009). Consistent with these findings, reading-impaired children who
improved with remediation had concomitantly increased fractional anisotropy

in the left centrum semiovale (Keller and Just, 2009).
These results can be interpreted as evidence of activity-dependent myelina-
tion in the brain, for which substantial experimental evidence also exists
(Fields, 2005, 2008; Wake et al., 2011). Although the mechanisms of this
process are not fully elucidated, recent in vitro studies have found that action
potentials enhance release of glutamate from synapses between axons and
oligodendrocytes, which in turn increases local synthesis of myelin basic
protein, a major protein within the myelin sheath (Wake et al., 2011). These
data support the remarkable statement that increased electrical activity leads
directly to enhanced myelination. Many fascinating implications arise from
these findings, including not only the improved understanding of cognitive
development as a function of brain structure but also the possibility of enhanc-
ing recovery after white matter lesions by using specifically targeted interven-
tions to repair damaged tracts by activity-dependent myelination.
In a more theoretical context, the observation that white matter can change
with experience leads to the novel idea that learning and memory may be
features of white as much as gray matter (Fields, 2011). In the long-standing
search for the neural mediation of memory, investigators will now turn their
attention inward from the cerebral cortex to the white matter as another region
where learning can manifest in structural alterations in the brain. Here the
distinctions between types of memory become relevant. As reviewed in
Chapter 15 and in many other chapters, white matter disorders typically disrupt
declarative memory retrieval and working memory while leaving declarative
memory encoding and procedural memory relatively intact. The capacity of the
cortex to encode new information is robustly supported by evidence acquired
from many clinical and experimental models over many years (Kandel, 2006).
White matter, in contrast, appears to contribute to the speed and efficiency of
information transfer within distributed neural networks dedicated to learning
and memory (Fields, 2011). White matter therefore serves a complementary
role to gray matter in memory as in other neurobehavioral domains: Information
transfer interacts with information processing to maximize the operational
capacity of the system (Schmahmann et al., 2008; Filley, 2010).
TR E ATMENT
The current treatment of white matter disorders can be considered in three

contexts: prevention; standard neurologic treatment of the primary disease,
injury, or intoxication itself; and symptomatic treatment for aspects of the
clinical syndrome. All of these are relevant to the neurobehavioral features of
these disorders, as preventive, primary, and symptomatic strategies can be

beneficial for many cognitive and emotional disturbances. However, as a rule, a
relative paucity of data exists to guide interventions of this kind, since the
elemental neurologic features of a given disorder have traditionally dominated
investigation of the optimal treatment regimen. In MS, for example, treatment
to prevent relapses has assumed major importance, and because these clinical
episodes are defined mainly by motor and sensory problems, attention to
cognitive and emotional deficits has been less emphasized (Chapter 6). In many
cases, therefore, the administration of treatment for neurobehavioral dysfunc-
tion is empirical and requires considerable clinical judgment. As the neurobe-
havioral manifestations of white matter disorders become more thoroughly
recognized and understood, a more sophisticated approach should develop and
help standardize their treatment to a greater extent. The newer treatments may
well involve advanced technologies such as deep brain stimulation (DBS), gene
therapy, and the use of stem cells.
Prevention of white matter disorders is a broad topic that applies to many
categories discussed in Part II. While it may become possible to prevent any
white matter disorder, prevention at present is most applicable to some infec-
tions, the toxic leukoencephalopathies, metabolic disturbances, cerebrovascu-
lar disease, and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Successful prevention of these
problems may primarily implicate the medical care of individual patients or
public health initiatives applicable to large populations. For example, early
counseling of a patient at risk for alcohol abuse may be the best way to prevent
alcoholic dementia. Conversely, prevention of TBI may be improved by imple-
mentation of helmet and seat belt laws, stricter regulation of contact sports,
and the like. Perhaps the most important category for prevention, however, is
vascular disease, since leukoaraiosis is virtually ubiquitous in aging and may
represent a major opportunity to prevent or diminish the impact of a variety of
dementia syndromes (Chapter 11).
Recent observations have strongly suggested that white matter can be opti-
mally maintained by adoption of certain lifestyle measures. First, it is well
known that leukoaraiosis is associated with traditional vascular risk factors such
as hypertension and diabetes (Longstreth et al., 1996; De Groot et al., 2000), and
as reviewed in Chapter 11, progression of leukoaraiosis to Binswanger’s disease
is increasingly accepted as more likely if these problems are not addressed. In
addition, it has become clear that other vascular risk factors also affect white
matter. Cigarette smoking has been associated with leukoaraiosis in middle-
aged and older adults (Kim et al., 2011). Much attention has been devoted to the
problem of obesity as a vascular risk factor, and central obesity has been found
to increase the severity of leukoaraiosis (Jagust et al., 2005). Moreover, studies
with both magnetic resonance spectroscopy (Gazdzinski et al., 2008) and DTI
(Marks et al., 2011) have documented microstructural white matter abnormali-

ties associated with obesity in cognitively normal adults. Consistent with these
observations, volumetric MRI has shown that physical activity is associated
with increases in cerebral white matter volume (Colcombe et al., 2006; Ho et al.,
2011). Thus evidence is mounting that adherence to habits conducive to vascu-
lar health may also be beneficial for the white matter and by implication may
prevent the accumulation of leukoaraiosis or its advance to Binswanger’s dis-
ease. Moreover, if the myelin model of AD (discussed in Chapter 16) proves to
be accurate, even in part, prevention of white matter vascular involvement
might spare an enormous segment of the population the ravages of that dement-
ing disease.
Medical treatment of course begins with identification of the correct diagno-
sis, and the extraordinary diversity of white matter disorders implicates an
equally wide range of potential treatments. These approaches are beyond the
scope of this book, and general neurology textbooks can be consulted for details
(Ropper and Samuels, 2009). Depending on the problem, the treatment may
involve neurologic, neurosurgical, psychiatric, medical, or rehabilitative inter-
vention, alone or in some combination. An issue that deserves more study, how-
ever, is the impact of isolated white matter lesions on neurobehavioral function
and how best to treat them. Examples from the regular practice of neurology
include demyelinative plaques in MS and white matter vascular disease, both of
which may have purely cognitive manifestations while sparing motor and sen-
sory function. As the consequences of white matter lesions for higher functions
have usually been underappreciated, recognition of these potential adverse neu-
robehavioral effects will introduce the prospect of identifying them more accu-
rately and improving patient outcomes by enabling earlier treatment.
Among the emerging treatments that hold much promise is DBS. The most
remarkable success has been found in treatment-resistant depression, which,
while not confirmed as a white matter disorder, has nevertheless been dramati-
cally improved by DBS applied to the subgenual white matter (Mayberg et al.,
2005). This approach was justified by observations of metablic overactivity of
cortical–limbic circuits involved with mood, and indeed stimulation of this
white matter region was effective (Mayberg et al., 2005). The interpretation of
this observation was that DBS deactivated the subgenual cingulate region, an
area previously shown to mediate negative mood states (Mayberg et al., 2005).
Further study is needed, but these data support the role of white matter in mood
disorder and offer exciting new prospects for therapy.
Gene therapy has elicited much excitement, but success has thus far been
elusive. The genetic white matter diseases discussed in Chapter 5 are most
relevant in this context, and the first to serve as a model for gene therapy was
Canavan’s disease, in which the aspartoacylase gene was transferred into affected
children using the adeno-associated virus (Leone et al., 2000). Despite initial
enthusiasm, clinical benefit has been disappointing, and work continues on
finding a more effective approach to gene therapy in this disease (Kumar et al.,
2006). The goal of replacing abnormal genes in leukodystrophies, however,
remains a legitimate possibility. Other genetic white matter disorders may also
be found to be effectively treated in this manner.
Finally, the field of stem cell therapeutics has made steady advances, and
stem cells may prove helpful for many brain diseases, wherever their neuropa-
thology may be found. One of the most remarkable recent discoveries in neu-
roscience is that the adult brain harbors multipotent neural stems cells that can
give rise to both neurons and glia (Goldman, 2005). Thus the long-held belief
that damaged brain tissue cannot be restored requires reconsideration. As dis-
cussed above, stem cells in the subventricular zone lining the lateral ventricles
may prove crucial for treating cerebral white matter disorders of any etiology.
Not only may endogenous neural progenitor cells prove therapeutically useful
because they can be differentiated with appropriate stimulation to become
functional cells, but transplantation of neuronal or oligodendrocyte progeni-
tors from exogenous sources may also prove feasible (Goldman, 2005). As
might be expected, work on stem cell therapeutics is being most thoroughly
investigated in MS (Karussis and Kassis, 2007), but many other disorders are
attracting such attention. In animal studies of stroke, for example, white matter
reorganization has been seen after injection of neural progenitor cells into the
infarcted region (Jiang et al., 2006). Unfortunately, the enthusiasm for stem cell
therapy far outpaces the evidence for its safety and efficacy, and the claims of
some unscrupulous practitioners that this kind of treatment can currently be
offered are deplorable. The therapeutic potential of stem cells, as with any pro-
posed treatment, must be evaluated with rigor and great care to avoid what
could be enormous mischief.
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20

of White Matter
The foregoing chapters were intended to elucidate various aspects of brain white
matter and the afflictions to which it is vulnerable. The remaining task is to
assemble this diverse collection of details into a coherent whole. As discussed
at the outset, studying white matter connectivity and its implications can be
difficult. Much of the information at hand is descriptive, derived as it is from
clinical and basic scientific aspects of individuals with white matter disorders.
As such, detail regarding functional aspects of disordered white matter remains
incomplete. Thus although a solid clinical data base can inform a preliminary
framework for developing a more sophisticated understanding, much of this
chapter will be speculative. The intent is to present a broad portrait of the white
matter and its role in human behavior that can foster further interest and
investigation. The many gaps in existing knowledge can serve to generate a
wealth of testable hypotheses to stimulate further study.
WHI T E MAT T ER– BEHAVIOR REL ATIONSH I PS
Behavioral neurology is a clinical discipline, and its first responsibility is to

patients presenting with behavioral complaints presumably related to brain
dysfunction. The study of white matter expands the clinical spectrum falling
within the scope of behavioral neurology, and several implications can be
derived from this perspective.
One conclusion to be drawn from this book is that the term “higher
cortical function” is inadequate to describe the neural basis of mental activity.
Despite continuing and appropriate emphasis on the association and limbic

cortices as substrates of cognitive and emotional capacities, it is now abundantly
clear that subcortical structures, including both gray and white matter areas,
are also centrally involved in the elaboration of the mind’s activity. Thus the
term “higher cerebral function” more satisfactorily captures the realm of behav-
ioral neurology (Filley, 2011a). Even this term may need to be revisited as more
information appears about contributions to mental processes from the brain
stem (Katz et al., 1987; Price and Mesulam, 1987; Hofmann and Watts, 1998)
and cerebellum (Schmahmann, 1991; Schmahmann and Pandya, 2008).
The neurologic diseases, intoxications, and injuries discussed in Part II con-
vincingly demonstrate that white matter disorders are regularly associated with
specific neurobehavioral syndromes. Cognitive impairment is well documented
and may result from diffuse or multifocal involvement producing syndromes
ranging from mild cognitive dysfunction to severe dementia (Chapter 15), or
focal lesions, causing neurobehavioral syndromes closely resembling classic
syndromes traditionally ascribed to cortical lesions (Chapter 17). What this
book refers to as emotional dysfunction also occurs, with protean manifesta-
tions that may produce a host of neuropsychiatric syndromes (Chapter 18).
Legitimate questions can be raised about the selectivity of white matter neuro-
pathology in some of these conditions, and it is not always possible to rule out
coexistent gray matter involvement in the pathogenesis of neurobehavioral
dysfunction. Criticism may also arise from the uncertainty generated by the
often impressionistic and nonstandardized assessments of clinical status that
bedevil much of the existing literature. Still, the assignment of cognitive and
emotional importance to the white matter is supported by an impressive number
of diseases, intoxications, and injuries in which the common denominator of
white matter neuropathology is associated with consistent and recognizable
clinical manifestations. Just as cortical dysfunction produces recurrent clinical
patterns, so do the many white matter disorders, and this conclusion becomes
especially apparent when they are considered as a group. In short, a sufficient
clinical data base exists to justify a behavioral neurology of white matter (Filley,
1998; Schmahmann et al., 2008).
Given that there is good reason to associate white matter lesions with
neurobehavioral disturbances, the next task then becomes the correlation of
these lesions with the clinical picture. Establishing such correlations is the best
available method for determining the participation of white matter in a given
function, although it must be remembered that correlation is not causation.
Cognitive impairment and dementia are increasingly correlated with the sever-
ity of white matter lesion burden, and on this basis the concept of white matter
dementia was formulated and developed (Filley et al., 1988; Filley, 1998;
Schmahmann et al., 2008). Similarly, focal syndromes appear to correlate with
white matter lesions that are either predicted by the findings of classic
behavioral neurology or are neuroanatomically plausible. And whereas
evidence to date supports stronger correlations with cognitive syndromes than
with emotional disorders, the rapid application of advanced neuroimaging to
the study of white matter microstructure may soon alter this situation.
White matter–behavior relationships are most securely founded on the lesion
method, well known as the organizing principle of behavioral neurology. With
modern neuroimaging and neuropathologic methods, the selective role of
white matter dysfunction in disrupting behavior is increasingly evident. Studies
of this kind can help find a solution to a central conundrum: The potential role
of coexistent gray matter neuropathology may weaken the arguments for a rela-
tionship of white matter and behavior. Reports are now appearing that demon-
strate selective white matter dysfunction—with minimal or absent gray matter
involvement—that has clear neurobehavioral relevance. Examples can be found
in cases of focal damage detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; Arnett
et al., 1996; Van Zandvoort et al., 1998); macrostructural disruption demon-
strated by volumetric MRI studies (Juhasz et al., 2007; Northam et al., 2011);
microstructural disturbances shown by advanced neuroimaging techniques
such as magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS; Filley et al., 2009), magnetiza-
tion transfer imaging (MTI; Iannucci et al., 2001), and diffusion tensor imaging
(DTI; Gold et al., 2010); and neuropathologic analysis of white matter (Al-Hajri
and Del Bigio, 2010; Del Bigio, 2010). In all, the relative contribution of white
and gray matter has been considered, and the conclusion has been that
neurobehavioral significance can be attributed to disordered white matter
alone. While not likely to come as a surprise to neurologists and others who
examine brain–behavior relationships, demonstrations that white matter by
itself disrupts neurobehavioral competence have been remarkably uncommon
until recently. Studies of this kind are most welcome, as such information is
crucial for understanding the unique contribution of white matter to behavior.
The relationship of white matter to behavior affects clinical practice in
several respects. The diagnosis of white matter disorders is of course a major
concern. Previous chapters have demonstrated the subtlety of clinical features
that may occur early in the course of such disorders, when treatment may be
most efficacious. While research is proceeding on the category of mild cogni-
tive dysfunction that may formalize this stage of impairment (see below),
clinical acumen can often prove decisive. The first objective is to consider the
possibility of a white matter disorder during the history taking. Clues may be
obvious, such as the infantile onset of the disease with a relevant family history,
documented exposure to a leukotoxic substance, or significant traumatic brain
injury (TBI), or less apparent, such as the initial symptoms of multiple sclerosis
(MS), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, Binswanger’s disease
(BD), or normal pressure hydrocephalus. Early clinical features typically include

confusion, inattention, fatigue, memory dysfunction, and personality change.
Careful testing of mental status reveals important information, and measures of
cognitive speed, executive function, and attention are likely to be most sensitive
to subtle white matter dysfunction. In contrast to disorders primarily involving
the cortex, language, praxis, and perception are rarely affected; the usual pres-
ervation of language is important because affected individuals may thus appear
cognitively intact when in fact they have significant deficits in other neurobe-
havioral domains. Personality and emotional changes are common, often
leading to the suspicion that the patient may suffer from a primary psychiatric
disorder. Elemental neurologic findings such as hemiparesis and visual loss
may suggest diagnoses in which these features are expected, such as MS.
In many cases, the office mental status examination may need supplementation
by neuropsychological testing. A brain MRI scan is crucial, because this
technique is superior to computed tomography (CT) in its excellent visualiza-
tion of the cerebral white matter and its capacity to suggest specific etiologies;
T2-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequences are
the most useful for these purposes. The diagnosis is usually more straightfor-
ward with more extensive white matter involvement: Somnolence, apathy,
memory loss, and dementia then occur, and with more severe damage, abulia,
akinetic mutism, stupor, coma, the minimally conscious state, the vegetative
state, and death are possible.
Despite the frequent difficulty in their diagnosis, white matter disorders offer
the refreshing prospect of a relatively good prognosis in many cases. Although
the outcome of many patients remains disappointingly poor, white matter dis-
orders frequently have a less pervasive neuropathologic impact than gray matter
disorders, including many neurodegenerative processes such as Alzheimer’s
disease (AD). Indeed, because white matter disorders may completely spare
neuronal elements other than myelin, spontaneous recovery may be complete
or nearly so if the neuropathologic process is identified and treated early enough
in the course. Axons are frequently preserved, and thus remyelination or other
functional compensation can potentially occur in many disorders. Even if axons
are destroyed, the brain may be able to recover lost function through alternate
white matter pathways that can reconnect relevant gray matter regions
(Terayama et al., 1993; Alexander, 1997; Johansen-Berg et al., 2010).
As for treatment, again the prospects appear to be favorable. Prevention
holds considerable promise, because many white matter disorders are acquired
through lifestyle, injury, or iatrogenesis. This approach may avert any signifi-
cant white matter involvement, and recognition of the potential problem will
assist in primary care and counseling. There are major opportunities for clinical
benefit in the prevention of HIV infection, vascular white matter disease, and
TBI, among other conditions. Even after early involvement has taken place,
intervention to prevent further damage may often be successful, particularly if
axonal loss has not occurred. When a syndrome is fully established, a wide
range of treatment options are available in the white matter disorders, and
new ones are rapidly being developed. Emerging modalities include bone
marrow transplantation, gene therapy, stem cell therapeutics, and deep brain
stimulation, and as the detailed elucidation of neuropathology and pathogene-
sis proceeds, the therapeutic armamentarium for patients with white matter
disorders will no doubt expand substantially
DI S TRIBU TED NEURAL NETW ORKS
In theoretical terms, the study of brain white matter leads immediately to the
notion of distributed neural networks. Evolving from the seminal work of
Geschwind (1965a, 1965b) on disconnection, the study of white matter now
encompasses the concept of connectivity more generally. Connectivity, in
turn, implies the notion of hodology (from the Greek hodos, for path), which
encompasses hyperconnection, as postulated in autism, for example, as well as
classical disconnection (Catani and ffytche, 2005), and also includes the notion
of white matter dementia, which presumes a complex admixture of damage in
multiple white matter regions (Filley et al. 1988; Schmahmann et al., 2008;
Filley, 2010). All of these concepts rest squarely on the existence of many
neural assemblies in the brain that are widely distributed anatomically yet
structurally interconnected and functionally integrated to subserve specific
neurobehavioral roles. These distributed neural networks (Mesulam, 1990,
1998, 2008) are closely allied with the structural assemblies known as frontal–
subcortical circuits (Cummings, 1993). By invoking the idea of such multifocal
cerebral networks, this notion stands as a modern resolution of the timeworn
controversy in behavioral neurology between localizationists and equipotential
theorists. The former believe higher functions to be strictly localized in specific
brain regions, while the latter argue that the entire brain is equally capable of
organizing these activities. Despite much debate, evidence from the last several
decades has suggested a reasonable middle ground: Whereas many higher
functions are indeed represented to variable extents in specific brain regions,
those cognitive or emotional operations also depend on support from other
areas. From the arguments advanced in this book, it is clear that the white
matter participates significantly in all of these networks.
Several neural networks can be plausibly identified, each subserving a dis-
tinct neurobehavioral domain. Many have been characterized in considerable
detail from clinical and neuroanatomic studies (Mesulam, 1990, 1998, 2008).
In recent years, the notion of a default mode network (DMN) has also been
developed from functional neuroimaging studies; the DMN is a collection of
functionally connected cerebral regions mediating the baseline activity of
the waking brain (Raichle et al., 2001; Greicius et al., 2003). In humans, these
networks are best known by their key gray matter structures, and the white
matter tracts connecting those structures are not as well defined. However,
recent studies of network connectivity that combine data from functional and
structural investigations have generally shown convergent results, supporting
the role of white matter tracts in linking distant cortical regions into distributed
neural networks (Damoiseaux and Greicius, 2009). Table 20-1 gives an over-
view of the essential gray matter components of neural networks and the white
matter tracts by which they are putatively interconnected.
First, arousal is maintained by the reticular activating system, which
originates in the upper pons and midbrain and sends projections to the intrala-
minar nuclei of the thalamus or directly to the cortex (Filley, 2011a). These
pathways convey a variety of important neurotransmitters. The neuroanatomy
of these connections is complex, but the medial forebrain bundle and diffuse
thalamocortical projections are prominently involved. Second, a spatial atten-
tion network, dominant in the right hemisphere, includes the parietal cortex,
prefrontal cortex (frontal eye field), and cingulate gyrus (Mesulam, 1990); the
superior occipitofrontal fasciculus and the cingulum interconnect these areas.
Third, abundant evidence supports the existence of a medial temporal-
diencephalic-basal forebrain network for recent memory (Mesulam, 1990). The
hippocampus is a key structure in this network, and connections include the
fornices and mammillothalamic tracts. Fourth is the best-known neural
network: the language region, usually in the left hemisphere, in which Broca’s
and Wernicke’s areas are connected by the arcuate fasciculus and the extreme
capsule (Mesulam, 1990). Fifth, visuospatial function is subserved in most
individuals by a network in the right hemisphere consisting of the parietal lobe
and the frontal lobe (Filley, 2011a), which are linked by the superior occipitof-
rontal fasciculus. Sixth, visual recognition is organized by a number of cortical
zones in the inferior temporal and occipital lobes, which are joined by the
inferior occipitofrontal fasciculus; specializations for facial recognition on the
right and object recognition on the left have been observed (Mesulam, 2000).
Seventh, executive function can be envisioned as arising from a network includ-
ing the dorsolateral prefrontal cortices and the parietal lobes, connected by the
superior occipitofrontal fasciculi. Eighth, an extensive network for emotion
and personality can be conceived to include the temporolimbic system, with its
central structure, the amygdala, interacting with the orbitofrontal cortices and
the hypothalamus (Filley, 2011a). Prominent tracts in this network include the
medial forebrain bundle and the uncinate fasciculi. Structures related to
Table 20-1. Distributed Neural Networks
Domain Gray Matter Structures Connecting Tracts

Arousal Reticular activating system Medial forebrain bundle
Thalamus Thalamocortical radiations
Cerebral cortex
Spatial Attention Parietal lobe (right) Superior occipitofrontal
Prefrontal cortex (right) fasciculus (right)
Cingulate gyrus (right) Cingulum (right)
Memory Hippocampus Fornix
Diencephalon Mammillothalamic tract
Basal forebrain
Language Broca’s area Arcuate fasciculus
Wernicke’s area Extreme capsule
Visuospatial ability Parietal lobe (right) Superior occipitofrontal
Frontal lobe (right) fasciculus (right)
Visual recognition Temporal lobes Inferior occipitofrontal
Occipital lobes fasciculus
Executive function Dorsolateral prefrontal cortices Superior occipitofrontal
Parietal cortices fasciculus
Emotions and Temporolimbic system Medial forebrain bundle
personality Orbitofrontal cortices Uncinate fasciculus
Resting state (Default Anterior cingulate Cingulum
mode network) Posterior cingulate
Precuneus
Medial temporal cortices
this network on the right have recently been described as a “salience network”
dedicated to social cognition (Zhou et al., 2010). Last, the DMN includes pos-
terior and anterior cingulate regions, the precuneus, and the medial temporal
lobes, with the cingulum being recently identified as a key connecting tract
(Teipel et al., 2010). These formulations of the architecture of cognition and
emotion are to some extent speculative, and a pressing need exists for research
to establish further details of connectivity within these networks.
A complete discussion of distributed neural networks must of course con-
sider the corpus callosum and other cerebral commissures. Much has been writ-
ten about the relevance of cerebral disconnection to the nature of consciousness,
and the split brain research suggests that the corpus callosum normally provides
for the feeling of conscious integration that may enable the human condition
(Gazzaniga, 2000, 2005). The corpus callosum and the other commissures can
thus be seen to play a central role in consciousness, integrating all aspects of
cognitive and emotional experience into a unified whole. In this sense, the com-
missural connections can be seen as involved in all the constituent networks
that collectively compose the fabric of human conscious awareness. Yet as dis-
cussed heretofore, there is also much evidence that abnormalities of these tracts
do not routinely disrupt consciousness. Resolution of this paradox presents an
important research agenda in the neurosciences. Wherever the findings in this
area may lead, the cerebral commissures and their role in interhemispheric
communication provide yet more evidence of the importance of white matter in
higher function.
NE URAL NETWO RK DISCONNECTION
Disconnection of cerebral regions offers the most plausible organizing principle

for the behavioral neurology of white matter. The idea of cerebral disconnec-
tion has an honored position in behavioral neurology (Geschwind, 1965a,
1965b), but details of the pathogenesis of this phenomenon are exceedingly
complex and incompletely understood. Whereas neural network disconnection
can occur because of gray matter lesions, an improved understanding can
clearly be achieved by a more directed emphasis on white matter dysfunction.
Interference with the normal operations of distributed neural networks by
white matter lesions may disturb all aspects of neurobehavioral function.
A discussion of the neuropathology of white matter lesions is a critical first
step. The specific process is clearly important, as discussed in Part II. Many
general aspects of neuropathology also influence the origin and clinical rele-
vance of disconnection. It is important to consider whether the white matter
lesion is (1) focal or diffuse, (2) static or progressive, (3) associated with edema
or mass effect, (4) severe enough to cause axonal loss or frank necrosis, and (5)
combined with significant cortical or subcortical gray matter neuropathology.
These variables need all be included in the interpretation of the effects of white
matter damage on neural network function.
At the microscopic level, the burden of white matter neuropathology may
be conceptualized to involve one or more of five components: the myelin
sheath, the oligodendrocyte, the axon, the vascular system, and the astrocyte
(Figure 20-1). Injury to these structures produces variable clinical effects, and
although the diversity of neuropathologic lesions makes generalizations
difficult, a spectrum of major categories can be discerned. The toxic leukoen-
cephalopathies (Chapter 9) offer a specific example of this principle, anll white
matter disorders can be categorized in this manner. At one end of this spectrum
are mild changes of patchy intramyelinic edema without demyelination
or axonal loss. This stage may be asymptomatic or associated with minimal
OL
M
A
AS
C
Figure 20-1. Schematic diagram of microscopic constituents of the white matter that are
vulnerable to neuropathologic processes. A—axon; AS—astrocyte; C—capillary;
M—myelin sheath; OL—oligodendrocyte.
clinical sequelae. Edema may be detected as scattered white matter hyperinten-

sity, or leukoaraiosis, on neuroimaging scans, and MRI is considerably more
sensitive to these changes than CT, because it readily detects the presence of
excess water in brain tissue. More pronounced neuropathologic involvement
takes the form of widespread edema with secondary demyelination, which may
result from many neuropathologic processes, or the defective formation of
myelin that defines dysmyelination. These changes produce more prominent
clinical dysfunction. The neuroimaging appearance at this stage may involve
confluent white matter changes or diffuse hyperintensity, often in specific
patterns that have diagnostic utility. Finally, the most severe white matter injury
involves axonal loss, oligodendrocyte destruction, necrosis, or infarction, all of
which regularly result in marked and largely irreversible clinical deficits. These
changes are typically widespread and dramatic on neuroimaging, manifesting
as severe degrees of white matter hyperintensity, “holes” on T1-weighted MRI,
or areas of necrosis and infarction visible on both CT and MRI. Astrocytes
are implicated in many disorders, either because of their vulnerability to meta-
bolic derangements or by virtue of their propensity to form gliotic scars in the
vicinity of white matter lesions.
Much as this approach may assist in organizing thinking about white matter
neuropathology, recent advances in neuroimaging (Chapter 3) have introduced
significant insights that are profoundly influencing this field. Most importantly,
the normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) may not in fact be normal but
rather may have microstructural lesions that were formerly not appreciated by
conventional MRI. In a host of disorders considered in Part II, it is clear that the
NAWM can often be shown to be affected early in the course with modalities
such as MRS, MTI, and DTI. The pathogenesis of these NAWM changes derives
from the particular disorder, but much is uncertain given the still evolving
exploration of what findings on advanced neuroimaging actually reveal about
white matter microstructure. Similarly, the consequences of these alterations
for behavior need more investigation. What is abundantly evident is that new
neuroimaging techniques will continue to expand our knowledge of both the
causes and consequences of white matter neuropathology. Understanding the
wide range of white matter involvement, including within the NAWM, leads to
deeper appreciation of how diffuse or multifocal neuropathology can affect
neurobehavioral function (Figure 20-2).
The pathogenesis of disconnection caused by white matter dysfunction
can be approached in light of available knowledge of the neuroanatomy of
distributed neural networks and the neuropathologic changes by which they
Normal
Mild
Moderate
Severe
Figure 20-2. Schematic diagram of hierarchical cerebral white matter neuropathology.

While an isolated region may be affected in white matter disorders, damage is typically
diffuse or multifocal, and more extensive neuropathology predicts greater
neurobehavioral impairment. With mild or moderate involvement, mild cognitive
dysfunction may occur, and white matter dementia is more likely with moderate or
severe disease burden.
Box 20-1
Pathogenesis of White Matter Disconnection
• Slowed conduction
• Absent conduction
• Focal neural network disruption
• Diaschisis
• Wallerian degeneration
• Transsynaptic degeneration
are disrupted. Several functional sequelae can be envisioned (Box 20-1). These
processes are in many ways interrelated, and their effects in individual patients
are not likely to be mutually exclusive.
Slowed Conduction
First and most obviously, white matter lesions reduce the conduction velocity of
cerebral neurons. Incomplete lesions of myelinated fibers may interfere with
but not completely eliminate axonal conduction. This slowing of conduction
may render the function of a neural network inefficient but not impair the
system to a point where it is inoperative. In clinical terms, this disturbance may
thus mean that an individual will be able to complete a task accurately if given
enough time to allow the effective engagement of the slowed neural network
(Filley and Cullum, 1994). Although caution is advisable in reducing cognition
directly to neurophysiology, considerable reason exists to believe that slowing
of central conduction velocity corresponds to slowing of cognition (Turken
et al., 2008; Kochunov et al., 2010; Penke et al., 2010). This type of change would
logically apply to early stages of white matter involvement, including that asso-
ciated with normal aging, and the potential for effective therapy would appear
to be promising.
Absent Conduction
Another possibility is that the white matter lesion may be sufficiently severe to
completely block axonal conduction. Conduction block is well known in the
peripheral nervous system and can be detected by electrophysiologic studies as
a sign of demyelinative neuropathy, but conduction block also occurs in central
white matter (Kolappan et al., 2009). Marked demyelination and, of course,

axonal loss in the brain could have this effect. In this instance, a distinct
neurobehavioral deficit might emerge clinically that cannot be corrected by the
provision of adequate time to complete a task. A change such as this would be
expected in more advanced cases of white matter involvement, and the clinical
expectation would be more severe clinical impairment. Similarly, the expecta-
tion of benefit from therapeutic interventions is likely to be less optimistic than
it is for slowed conduction. In the usual case, slowed or absent conduction
would both be expected to produce diffuse neurobehavioral syndromes
because of the predilection of white matter disorders to affect widespread
cerebral areas.
Focal Neural Network Disruption
Focal white matter involvement can produce specific effects on cerebral

function by selectively interfering with the operations of distributed neural
networks. A focal lesion in a white matter tract that leads to an eloquent cortical
zone can prevent incoming information from reaching the area where appro-
priate processing normally occurs (Chapter 17). A good example of this phe-
nomenon is auditory verbal agnosia (pure word deafness) from a left temporal
white matter lesion, a syndrome in which adequately perceived auditory input
cannot be forwarded to the cortical area normally responsible for interpreting
the meaning of the sounds. Alternatively, the white matter lesion can interrupt
communication leaving a cortical area, so that adequately processed informa-
tion does not reach its intended site. A classic example of this phenomenon is
conduction aphasia, characterized by a prominent disturbance of the capacity
to repeat language. In the traditional interpretation of this syndrome, a lesion
in the connecting white matter separates the intact comprehension of language
in Wernicke’s area from the production of language mediated by Broca’s area.
Diaschisis
Disconnection of cerebral regions may also occur through the mechanism of

diaschisis. This phenomenon, first described by von Monakow a century ago,
has traditionally referred to the remote effects of an acute lesion on other
regions of the brain (von Monakow, 1914/1969). Because the remote area is
itself intact, recovery from the acute insult eventually leads to partial or com-
plete return of function in the temporarily deactivated region. The notion
of diaschisis has thus been used to help explain why patients with marked
disability after acute cerebral lesions may recover dramatically as the acute
phase resolves. However, it has become clear that the concept of diaschisis
can be applied to chronic lesions that cause lasting dysfunction of neural
networks.
Many varieties of diaschisis are postulated, and whereas most implicate
primary lesions in gray matter areas, white matter pathways are clearly involved
in this phenomenon (Nguyen and Botez, 1998). When the primary lesion lies
in a cortical region, the role of white matter most likely relates to transient or
permanent deafferentation that reduces the excitation of normal cortex,
producing the “functional standstill” described by von Monakow (Feeney and
Baron, 1986). In other words, there is an interruption of normal input travelling
from one cortical region to another along white matter tracts. Modern physio-
logic analysis has demonstrated that diaschisis disrupts cerebral oxygen
metabolism, glucose metabolism, and blood flow in the affected cortical area
(Feeney and Baron, 1986; J. S. Meyer et al., 1993). The importance of white
matter in this process was well recognized by von Monakow, who listed three
types of diaschisis that correspond to the three major categories of cerebral
white matter tracts: “diaschisis cortico-spinalis,” “diaschisis commissuralis,”
and “diaschisis associativa” (Feeney and Baron, 1986).
More pertinent for this discussion, white matter lesions themselves have also
been observed to produce diaschisis. In patients with MS, for example, studies
with positron emission tomography (PET) have shown widespread cortical
hypometabolism, particularly in the frontal lobes, attributed to diaschisis
(Bakshi et al., 1998). Studies in MS found correlations between cortical hypo-
metabolism, total MRI T2 lesion area, and cognitive dysfunction, implying that
disruption of cortical metabolism by white matter lesions interferes with cogni-
tive function (Blinkenberg et al., 2000). Diaschisis from white matter lesions
has also been investigated in individuals with cerebrovascular disease. Studies
of patients with white matter ischemia and infarction indicate that these lesions
may induce functional neuroimaging deficits in neuroanatomically connected
cortical regions that are structurally normal (Metter et al., 1985; Sultzer et al.,
1995). In a patient with BD whose neocortex was normal at autopsy, persistent
left hemineglect was ascribed to white matter ischemic demyelination that pro-
duced cortical deafferentation (Mayer et al., 1993). A study of patients with
multiple lacunar infarctions using diffusion-weighted MRI and single-photon
emission computed tomography suggested that reduced diffusional anisotropy
in the anterior corpus callosum was related to frontal cortical hypometabolism
and cognitive dysfunction (Ishihara et al., 2000). Most recently, DTI has been
employed to identify white matter tract lesions consistent with diaschisis.
J. Kim and colleagues (2005) used DTI and PET to study the most familiar
form of the phenomenon, crossed cerebellar diaschisis, and showed that
patients with a unilateral cerebral infarct had decreased fractional anisotropy
in the contralateral middle cerebellar peduncle along with cerebellar hypome-
tabolism on that side. Similarly, a case study of thalamic infarction with
DTI and PET showed reduced fractional anisotropy in ipsilateral thamalo-
cortical tracts together with hypometabolism of overlying cortex (Stenset
et al., 2007).
Wallerian Degeneration
The neurobehavioral effects of white matter lesions may also be related to

Wallerian degeneration: axonal injury in a white matter tract remote from the
primary site of neuropathology (Waller, 1850). This phenomenon is seen in a
wide variety of demyelinative, vascular, degenerative, toxic, metabolic, and
neoplastic diseases. A white matter lesion that is severe enough to injure axons
at the site of the lesion may also produce damage in other regions of the tract.
Wallerian degeneration may proceed distally through the length of the axon or
proximally to the cell body, and the time course may be months to years. MRI
studies have suggested that Wallerian degeneration can be seen after a variety of
brain lesions (Sawlani et al., 1997; Mesaros et al., 2008), and its presence cor-
relates with persistent functional disability (Sawlani et al., 1997). Using serial
longitudinal MRI, Simon and colleagues (2000) demonstrated Wallerian degen-
eration developing in appropriate regions within 12–18 months in individuals
with demyelinative lesions. This finding implies that a demyelinative plaque can
destroy the axons in the immediate vicinity and then cause subsequent degen-
eration of the tract. Neuropathologic study has confirmed that Wallerian degen-
eration is a major component of axonal pathology in MS (Dziedzic et al., 2010).
Wallerian degeneration may also occur in gray matter disorders, as suggested,
for example, by MRI studies showing a high incidence of leukoaraiosis in
patients with AD (Filley et al., 1989; Leys et al., 1991). More recently, a DTI
study of AD patients demonstrated a significant reduction in the integrity of
association and commissural fibers, while the pyramidal tracts were normal
(Rose et al., 2000). The clinical significance of this phenomenon needs further
exploration, particularly with regard to its neurobehavioral effects. An impor-
tant question, for example, is whether Wallerian degeneration simply repre-
sents a marker of the initial injury or in fact can be associated with progressive
dysfunction. It seems clear, however, that Wallerian degeneration from a white
matter lesion can account for structural disruption of a neural network for a
period long after the initial lesion
Transsynaptic Degeneration
A final possible result of white matter lesions is transsynaptic degeneration, in

which secondary damage can be seen in neurons linked to those that undergo
primary injury. This process can be considered to be allied with Wallerian
degeneration, because it involves a delayed loss of nervous tissue after a focal
lesion, but it differs in that its effects extend beyond the initially damaged neu-
rons to adjacent ones. Neuropathologically, transsynaptic degeneration refers
to neuronal cell loss and reactive gliosis in neurons deprived of synaptic input
by lesions in adjacent neurons (Duchen, 1984). As a general phenomenon,
transsynaptic degeneration may follow lesions in gray or white matter, and an
essential requirement is that the primary damage is to axons or cell bodies. This
phenomenon may occur in a retrograde or anterograde fashion, and it is
thought to evolve over many years or decades (Beatty et al., 1982). Transsynaptic
degeneration has been well documented in the visual system. MRI (Uggetti
et al., 1997) and neuropathologic (Beatty et al., 1982) studies have shown neu-
ronal loss in the lateral geniculate bodies that followed both pregeniculate and
postgeniculate lesions; these data thus support both anterograde and retrograde
transsynaptic degeneration. More recently, MRI has been used to show retro-
grade transsynaptic degeneration of the optic tract after damage to the primary
visual cortex producing hemianopia (Bridge et al., 2011). Clinical examples of
neurobehavioral effects of transsynaptic degeneration have been presented
(Medina et al., 1974), but the importance of this process relative to other mech-
anisms is difficult to assess. MRI studies of patients with subcortical ischemic
vascular disease have found hippocampal and cortical atrophy that could be a
result of transsynaptic degeneration following primary subcortical white matter
injury (Fein et al., 2000). Similarly, studies using MRS in patients with ischemic
vascular dementia have reported cortical abnormalities that might represent
transsynaptic degeneration (Capizzano et al., 2000). However, direct ischemia
or coexistent AD could be responsible for these findings. Further studies
of transsynaptic degeneration are clearly needed, but the possibility of this
mechanism helping to explain neurobehavioral manifestations of white matter
lesions is intriguing.
In most white matter disorders, it is likely that a combination of lesions and
lesion effects occurs that is unique to each patient. Nature’s experiments are not
so easily interpretable as the discrete, localized, and uncomplicated lesions that
one can produce under experimental conditions. This reality introduces an
imposing degree of complexity in the interpretation of clinical data. For clinical
observers, therefore, it is particularly important to devote attention to early
and mild white matter involvement that could prove informative about the
effects of isolated lesions. In the more typical case of multifaceted white matter
dysfunction, the challenge will be to disentangle the contributions to neural

network disruption using all the methods currently available.
FUT U RE D IR ECT IONS
The ample descriptive information available on the behavioral neurology of

white matter points out many clinical and research areas that invite further
investigation. Indeed, the white matter disorders represent a largely untapped
resource for productive clinical and basic research.
Neuroanatomy
At the level of neuroanatomy, many details of brain white matter are in need of
clarification. The fine structure of axonal tracts in the brain requires investiga-
tion to determine which ones are or are not myelinated. These data would be
important for targeting efforts at remyelination now under way. At the gross
neuroanatomic level, more understanding of the origins, courses, and destina-
tions of association and commissural fibers is clearly needed. Neuroanatomy
textbooks describe details of these tracts only cautiously, because relatively little
is known of them in humans. A major advance in recent years is an elegant atlas
of white matter pathways in the monkey brain (Schmahmann and Pandya,
2006), and application of this knowledge to the human brain is a necessary next
step. A more complete picture of the intricate connectivity of the human brain
can now be more readily developed with the use of sophisticated neuroimaging,
particularly DTI. Intracortical white matter also deserves study with these tech-
niques, as virtually nothing is known of the neurobehavioral significance of
these tiny fascicles. These investigations should not be confined to the cere-
brum, as it is clear that white matter tracts in the brain stem and the cerebellum
participate in higher function (Schmahmann and Pandya, 2008). All of these
connections are now included within the emerging notion of the connectome,
defined by analogy to the genome of genetics as the comprehensive structural
description of the connections forming the human brain (Sporns, 2011).
Armed with these insights, investigators will be able to more precisely deter-
mine the clinical correlates of white matter lesions. Understanding how a white
matter lesion interrupts cognition or emotion requires knowledge of where the
tract originates, its course through the brain, and where it terminates. Among
many areas in which neuroanatomic research can clarify clinical issues are the
role of the left arcuate fasciculus in language repetition (Arnett et al., 1996), the
participation of the fornix in memory encoding (D’Esposito et al., 1995), and
the contribution of the uncinate fasciculi to memory retrieval (Markowitsch,

1995). Research of this sort will contribute to the development of more com-
plete descriptions of distributed neural networks.
Neurophysiology
As the neuroanatomic details of cerebral white matter tracts become clearer,

there is a need for parallel research on functional aspects of these fiber systems.
Although neurobehavioral domains have not been readily accessible to investi-
gation with evoked potential or event-related potential techniques, continued
refinement of these and similar methods may permit reliable assessment of
white matter neurophysiology. For example, the prefrontal regions are impli-
cated in the origin of the P300 (Daffner et al., 1998), a feature that may render
the use of this measure particularly well suited to the study of frontal lobe dys-
function in white matter disorders. Event-related potential study of patients
with focal cerebral lesions has also disclosed a frontal–parietal network mediat-
ing attention to novel events (Daffner et al., 2003). In addition to the long-
latency P300 evoked potential, the middle-latency P50 may be applicable to the
study of hippocampal white matter connections (Arciniegas et al., 2000). The
kinds of analyses provided by electrophysiologic techniques may permit the
assessment of damaged tracts for clinical purposes, especially in conjunction
with neuroimaging techniques that can help identify the structures responsible
for generating the electrophysiologic potentials. Ultimately, this process
will likely lead to an improved understanding of the functional architecture of
distributed neural networks.
Nature and Nurture
An area that has recently come to neuroscientific attention is the relative

contributions of genetics and environment to the structure and function of
white matter in health and disease. Chapter 2 reviewed evidence for strong
genetic control of normal fiber architecture (Chiang et al., 2009). Chapter 11
cited new information on a novel locus on chromosome 17 associated with
leukoaraiosis (Fornage et al., 2011), and some evidence also supports a role of
apolipoprotein E ε4 genotype in leukoaraiosis (Godin et al., 2009). Chapter 19
reviewed a substantial body of information now developing in parallel with
these observations, on the plasticity of white matter in both normal individuals
(Bengtsson et al., 2005) and those suffering from brain disorders (Schlaug et al.,
2009). Both genetics and environment can naturally be expected to exert an
influence in any tissue, and white matter is no exception. Advances in these

areas will have important implications for the ontogeny of myelinated systems,
the understanding of white matter–behavior relationhips, and the potential for
restoration of white matter after neuropathologic insult.
Clinical Assessment
One of the pressing needs in clinical practice is for improved sensitivity to

and recognition of mental status changes in patients with white matter
disorders. As demonstrated many times in this book, these changes are often
not obvious, as they typically are not manifest in the realm of language, may be
confused with psychiatric disorders, and are often overshadowed by other
manifestations of neurologic dysfunction. In addition, behavioral neurology
and neuropsychology have tended to devote less attention to syndromes in
which nonverbal dysfunction dominates the clinical picture. But the clinician
should recall that the subtlety of clinical problems does not imply their
insignificance. In many disorders, cognitive or emotional syndromes are the
principle source of overall disability (Hormes et al., 1986; Franklin et al., 1989;
Janardhan and Bakshi, 2000).
In clinical practice, improving detection of these syndromes necessitates
increased time for appropriate mental status examinations, a requirement that
is often difficult to meet in busy clinics with many competing demands. Advances
in the clinical assessment of cognitive impairment offer some assistance.
Neuropsychological testing can provide invaluable data, and the capacity of
such assessment to detect white matter dementia or its precursor states has been
shown many times in this book. But because this level of evaluation is often
unavailable, the clinician is frequently left with the task of office or bedside
testing. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE; Folstein et al., 1975) is
relatively insensitive to many white matter disorders, although this measure
remains useful in monitoring the progression of AD. One measure sensitive to
white matter neuropathology is the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB; Dubois
et al., 2000), scores on which correlated with DTI measures of microstructural
white matter involvement in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus
(Kanno et al., 2011). Another useful test is the Clock Drawing Test (CDT), as
impairment on this task has been related to periventricular white matter hyper-
intensities in dementia patients (Y. S. Kim et al., 2009). The Montreal Cognitive
Assessment (MoCA; Nasreddine et al., 2005) combines advantages of both the
FAB and CDT. In a 3.0-T DTI study of older people with leukoaraiosis, the MoCA
detected executive dysfunction in association with microstructural white matter
changes, while the MMSE results were normal (Griebe et al., 2011).
Finding these clinical disturbances, however, may still be problematic.

No simple and completely reliable method for detecting white matter dementia
or cognitive dysfunction can be endorsed, and clinical suspicion based on care-
ful neurologic assessment may often be the most helpful clue to the diagnosis.
Often the MRI scan confirms this suspicion, but it must be acknowledged
that white matter changes can appear unexpectedly on a scan obtained for
another purpose. Further work is needed to develop more sensitive and specific
methods of neurobehavioral assessment.
In the area of clinical trials, incorporating mental status and neuropsy-
chological data into outcome assessments is increasingly recognized as an
important means of exploring the potential salutary effects of new drugs. The
example of MS is most revealing in this context, as the cognitive benefits of
immunomodulatory agents can be recognized only if neuropsychological
data are collected and analyzed in clinical trials (Chapter 6). In essence, these
drugs may be more efficacious than conventional trials can prove, because
those trials do not adequately assess potential cognitive benefits. Thus neurobe-
havioral as well as elemental neurologic parameters should be used as markers
of clinical response to therapy (Cutter et al., 1999).
Mild Cognitive Dysfunction
These considerations lead to a discussion of the cognitive impairment that

often precedes white matter dementia. As emphasized above, the opportunity
to intervene is most crucial at an early stage of any disorder. While more
sensitive cognitive measures are surely needed, neuroimaging of white matter
microstructure can provide critical diagnostic information, perhaps even
yielding a neuroimaging biomarker of an early stage of cognitive impairment
from white matter involvement before dementia develops. The category of
mild cognitive dysfunction (MCD), analogous to mild cognitive impairment,
has recently been proposed to formalize this concept (Kozora and Filley,
2011; Chapter 15). As a first example, MCD associated with systemic lupus
erythematosus (SLE) features processing speed, executive function, and
attentional deficits that correlate with microstructural frontal white matter
involvement on MRS (Filley et al., 2009). In this case, frontal myelinopathy
alone may be sufficient to produce MCD (Filley et al., 2009). Although much
more work is necessary, MCD-SLE may thus serve as a model syndrome for all
white matter disorders in which evolving cognitive impairment can be detected
at an early stage. Continued research on this syndrome is under way, and given
the impressive number of clinical examples in which the NAWM is not normal,
a substantial number of disorders with subtle but evolving white matter
dysfunction may be detectable and reversible before white matter dementia

develops.
Neuroimaging
Neuroimaging will likely continue to show the extraordinarily rapid progress of

recent years. Although the clinical encounter remains the cornerstone of neu-
rologic practice, it is not an overstatement to assert that neuroimaging has rev-
olutionized the clinical and basic neurosciences in a remarkably short period of
time. As repeatedly emphasized in this book, advances in MRI have proven to
be a major stimulus to work on white matter and its many disorders. The impor-
tance of neuroimaging for the many challenging problems of neuropsychiatry
is also evident, as a connectionist perspective holds much promise for improved
understanding of emotional dysfunction (Kumar and Cook, 2002; Filley,
2011b). Systematic efforts to develop topographic parcellations of cerebral
white matter with conventional MRI are under way and may provide a firmer
basis for white matter–behavior correlations (Makris et al., 1999; J. W. Meyer
et al., 1999). Newer MRI techniques including MRS, MTI, and DTI are provid-
ing ever more detailed views of the white matter, allowing in turn increasingly
accurate clinical–neuropathologic correlations. DTI clearly has the most prom-
ise in this regard, as the increasing precision with which it identifies the loca-
tion and integrity of specific tracts enables their participation in distributed
neural networks to be better characterized and a wide range of normal and
abnormal states to be more completely understood (Catani, 2006; Sullivan and
Pfefferbaum, 2006; White et al., 2008). As this work proceeds, better under-
standing of the details of white matter microstructure can be expected. One
important clinical application of both conventional and advanced neuroimag-
ing is the potential development of biomarkers signifying specific white matter
neuropathology and possibly predicting response to treatments (Johansen-
Berg, 2010).
In a broader context, an exciting prospect is emerging with the use of com-
bined neuroimaging techniques. When used together with functional MRI, the
newer structural MRI techniques offer the advantage of mapping out the white
matter connectivity that clarifies the architecture of the brain’s distributed
neural networks (Conturo et al., 1999; Andrews-Hanna et al., 2007; Staempfli
et al., 2008; Greicius et al., 2009). An unprecedented opportunity is thus emerg-
ing to develop a more complete portrayal of the brain in its mediation of all
aspects of behavior. Mapping of the brain must incorporate its connectivity as
well as its cortical and subcortical gray matter hubs (Mesulam, 2005).
Neuropathology
Neuropathology is an essential foundation for the study of white matter disor-

ders. A fundamental step is establishing the neuropathologic origin of clinical
syndromes to support their relationship to white matter dysfunction. Among
the many tasks lying ahead, one of the more challenging is to define more
precisely the neuropathologic basis of white matter lesions seen on neuroimag-
ing studies. The study of leukoaraiosis illustrates the challenges of establishing
the neuropathologic correlates of white matter changes. Another key impera-
tive is to ascertain the relative impact of each neuropathologic process on
myelin, axons, glial cells, and vascular structures. In general, improved knowl-
edge of the neuropathology of all the white matter disorders will contribute
significantly to establishing meaningful brain–behavior correlations. This goal
will be notably enhanced by the neuropathologic study of changes in white
matter that are apparent only with advanced neuroimaging techniques. Thus
the NAWM will be an appealing target of neuropathologic investigation.
Another critical task is to ascertain the relative contributions of neuropathol-
ogy in the white matter and in the subcortical gray matter to the pathogenesis
of cognitive impairment and dementia. As discussed throughout this book, the
subcortical dementias have been insufficiently examined with this question in
mind, and the common failure to separate white and gray matter neuropathol-
ogy obscures any potential distinctions that could come to light. Details of
this kind will be essential for the assignment of neurobehavioral functions to
the white matter, which can often only be estimated with currently available
information.
Neuropharmacology
The neuropharmacology of white matter has enjoyed little systematic investiga-

tion. White matter projections convey a number of important neurochemical
systems —including cholinergic, dopaminergic, noradrenergic, and serotoner-
gic fibers—from subcortical sites to their destinations in the cerebral cortex and
hippocampus, but much detail about these neurotransmitter systems remains
obscure. Areas of uncertainty include the exact origins, courses, and termina-
tions of tracts conveying these neurotransmitters and the degree to which
many ascending subcortical pathways are myelinated. The assumption that
white matter lesions disrupt neurotransmitter delivery is reasonable, and under-
standing the effects of various neuropathologic processes on neurotransmitter
function will be revealing.
The effects of white matter lesions on specific systems, however, can only be
hypothesized at this point. The findings of Selden and colleagues (1998) on the
trajectories of cholinergic pathways in the white matter were a welcome devel-
opment in this area, and such studies could assist in the design of treatment
regimens for patients with lesions of these tracts. Thus the cholinergic agent
donepezil may prove helpful for cognitive loss in MS (Krupp et al., 1999), BD
(Demaerschalk and Wingerchuk, 2007), TBI (Arciniegas et al., 1999), and other
disorders of white matter. In the case of dopamine, evidence that homovanillic
acid is reduced in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with HIV infection raises
the possibility that dopaminergic dysfunction is relevant to cognitive dysfunc-
tion from white matter involvement (Di Rocco et al., 2000). Experience with
stimulant drugs such as methylphenidate (Weitzner et al., 1995; Watanabe et al.,
1995) and bromocriptine (Ross and Stewart, 1981) also suggests that dopamin-
ergic systems are affected in white matter disorders. Rational attempts at phar-
macology depend on knowledge of these systems, and the potential for
alleviating the symptoms of many neurobehavioral syndromes appears to be
considerable.
Neuropsychology
The neurobehavioral profiles of individual white matter disorders need further

elaboration, and neuropsychological study is an essential component of this
process. The idea of white matter dementia has been proposed and refined
(Filley et al., 1988; Filley, 1998; Schmahmann et al., 2008) to establish a clinical
entity that captures the deficits of many individuals with diverse diseases, intox-
ications, and injuries (Chapter 15). Further investigation of this concept could
proceed fruitfully with controlled neuropsychological and neuroimaging stud-
ies of different white matter disorders and more comparisons of these condi-
tions with cortical and subcortical disorders. The cognitive impact of white
matter changes in aging also deserves further study, and this field has rapidly
advanced in recent years (Chapter 4). When feasible, studies of focal lesions can
also contribute important information, as the lesion method has proven useful
in the analysis of white matter disorders (Arnett et al., 1994; Van Zandvoort
et al., 1998). Use of MRS, MTI, and DTI will bring improved sensitivity to
white matter abnormalities and allow better correlations between behavioral
phenomena and structural changes.
While a complete account of neuropsychological measures relevant to white
matter dysfunction is beyond our scope, the development of sensitive and
specific measures is an obvious goal. One promising test among many is the
Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), which provides information on
processing speed, sustained attention, and executive function. Performance on

the PASAT has been correlated with frontal microstructural white matter
changes (Benedict et al., 2008; Kozora and Filley, 2011). The PASAT may also
be useful in sorting out the complex issue of fatigue in white matter disorders
(Schwid et al., 2003). Continued study of measures such as the PASAT will
further improve the detection of white matter dementia, and the PASAT may be
particularly well suited to the identification of MCD in a wide range of white
matter disorders (Kozora and Filley, 2011).
The proposed nonverbal learning disability syndrome (Rourke, 1995;
McDonald, 2002) also merits further investigation, as it may provide a useful
model of the cognitive effects of white matter dysfunction in children and per-
haps adults as well (Chapter 15). If the concept of the nonverbal learning dis-
ability syndrome is to prove useful in understanding the behavioral neurology of
white matter disorders, a meaningful description of its clinical phenomenology
is first necessary, followed by careful correlation with neuropathologic and neu-
roradiologic data to confirm or reject the presence of white matter pathology.
Although the child and adult neurology and neuropsychology literatures often
lack terminological consistency, an integrated approach to describing and inves-
tigating the white matter disorders over the entire life span is a laudable goal.
Clinical Outcomes
The care of patients with neurobehavioral syndromes will also be enhanced by

more complete knowledge of the natural history and treatment of the white
matter disorders. An early advance in the understanding of their natural his-
tory occurred with recognition that improvement of cognitive function corre-
lated with restitution of white matter in patients with TBI and diffuse axonal
injury (Terayama et al., 1993). Conventional MRI is already critical in assessing
outcome, and advanced neuroimaging will play an increasingly important role
in the follow-up of many disorders, including MS (Zivadinov et al., 2008), TBI
(Bosnell et al., 2008), and cerebrovascular disease (Debette and Markus, 2010).
At the basic science level, intensive study is being devoted to the processes by
which axons can recover function once myelin has been damaged; information
indicates that remyelination of denuded axons can occur (Kotter et al., 2011)
and that demyelinated axons can develop increased numbers of sodium
channels in areas of myelin loss (England et al., 1991). A deeper understanding
of these phenomena may lead to enhancement of clinical recovery by pharma-
cologic or other means.
In terms of treatment of the disease process itself, improved knowledge
of the etiology and pathogenesis of white matter disorders can lead to more
effective treatment that is specifically targeted to the neuropathologic

process. Pharmacotherapy is one of many approaches, and the use of immuno-
modulatory drugs in MS is a good example of how disease-modifying therapy
might significantly improve cognition (Comi, 2010). Other promising treat-
ments include bone marrow transplantation (Krivit et al., 1999) gene therapy
(Leone et al., 2000), stem cell therapeutics (Goldman, 2007; Tran et al. 2010),
and deep brain stimulation (Mayberg et al, 2005). Because the absence of a clear
understanding of the mechanisms of many white matter disorders precludes
curative treatment in most cases, more data are desirable on symptomatic
treatment of the white matter disorders, so that more effective therapy for such
symptoms as cognitive slowing, fatigue, inattention, memory loss, visuospatial
impairment, executive dysfunction, and neuropsychiatric syndromes can be
used in everyday practice. Stimulants, antidepressants with specific neurotrans-
mitter effects, cholinergic agents, anticonvulsants, and antipsychotic drugs all
need careful evaluation in double-blind, controlled studies to clarify their use
in the white matter disorders. The increasing recognition of clinically signifi-
cant syndromes that were previously overlooked in individuals with white
matter disorders serves as an additional stimulus for rapid movement in this
direction.
W HI T E MAT T ER AND THE MIND
At the conclusion of this book, it is appropriate to return to the larger picture of

the human mind. The concept of the mind has but lately been admitted to the
vocabulary of neuroscience, an overdue but appropriate development. The idea
that the mind—long considered the province of philosophy, and later psychol-
ogy and psychiatry—can be meaningfully subjected to neuroscientific scrutiny
has firmly taken hold only in recent decades (Kandel and Squire, 2000).
Reflecting a remarkable shift in thinking, neuroscientists now commonly speak
of the mind in terms of neurons, neurotransmitters, cortical gyri, and lobes.
Symposia, conferences, and journals are increasingly devoted to the study of
this topic. As the new century proceeds, the problem of the relation between
mind and body can be seen to have evolved from a speculative philosophical
issue to a legitimate scientific question (Searle, 1999, 2004).
This development does not of course imply that the ancient and thorny prob-
lem of defining the mind has been solved. As with many of the terms used to
discuss the qualities of human experience, the word continues to defy precise
definition. Notwithstanding this difficulty, neuroscience is offering a fresh
approach to exploring the basis of mental life. In this context, a working
definition of the mind becomes essential in the daily pursuit of its complexities.
While acknowledging the views of those who approach this issue from other
perspectives, neuroscientists must possess a means of identifying in some
practical sense what they are considering. In the language of behavioral neurol-
ogy, then, the mind may be regarded as the totality of cognitive and emotional
experience that forms the foundation of the human behavioral repertoire
(Filley, 2011a).
The major proposition in this book has been that white matter should be
added to the list of brain regions regularly included in neurobiological discus-
sions of the mind. In ways that can only be glimpsed at present, the white matter
participates in the higher functions that Gall and Spurzheim once slavishly
assigned to specific cortical areas under palpable landmarks on the skull.
Correct as these early investigators were in identifying the presence of white
matter deep in the brain (Schmahmann and Pandya, 2006), they were generally
unaware of its importance for human behavior. Classical neurologists of the
19th century began to recognize the neurobehavioral importance of white
matter, and Geschwind reaffirmed and expanded this growing awareness in the
20th, but today a focus on the cerebral cortex continues to exert a powerful
influence on neuroscientific thinking. All too often, the preconceived notion
that the cerebral cortex is the singular repository of higher function acts as a
default position when doubt exists. MS provides a telling example of this linger-
ing tendency: Recognition of cortical involvement leads many neurologists
to the uncritical conclusion that dementia in MS must be explained by this
neuropathology, despite 150 years of evidence supporting the neurobehavioral
importance of white matter demyelination.
A crucial issue then becomes how the brain is connected to itself, and the
macroconnectivity of white matter, subserving information transfer, must be
regarded as equally important to the microconnectivity of gray matter mediat-
ing information processing. Distributed neural networks organize cognition
and emotion, and require both gray and white matter to do so. An often cited
comment of Mesulam (2005)—“Nothing defines the function of a neuron more
faithfully than the nature of its inputs and outputs” (p. 5)—proclaims the
primacy of neuronal connectivity in the explanation of neuronal function
(Catani and ffytche, 2005). The data now accumulated, albeit far from com-
plete, are increasingly persuasive in compelling an alternative to the corticocen-
tric tendency of neuroscience, and not including the white matter in exploring
brain-behavior relationships must surely be seen as a perilous omission (Filley,
1998; Fields, 2008; Schmahmann et al., 2008; Parvizi, 2009; Filley, 2010, 2011b;
Sporns, 2011). If the brain is the organ of the mind, an assumption that has
proven to be of great theoretical and practical value, the importance of includ-
ing nearly one half of its volume in the study of mental activity seems not just
reasonable but unquestionable.
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INDEX
Absent conduction, 383–384, 383t Agnosia

Abulia in Alzheimer’s disease, 11
in Binswanger’s disease, 203 auditory agnosia, 322
in CADASIL, 213 in Binswanger’s disease, 205
in capsular genu infarction, 325 descriptions, 9, 322–323
in carbon monoxide poisoning, 176 in NPH, 265
depression vs., 336 in PML, 141
in toxic leukoencephalopathy in tumefactive MS, 127
spectrum, 179t visual agnosia, in MS, 122, 122t, 322
Action potentials, 34–35, 35f, 366 Agraphia
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis alexia with, 122, 122t, 314t, 320
(ADEM), 124–125, 169, 336 from corpus callosotomy, 232
Acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis Gerstmann syndrome and, 321
(AHL), 125 in MS, 326
Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), 85–87, AIDS dementia complex (ADC),
171, 336, 339 136–139
causes, 85–86 antiretroviral treatment, 139–140
characteristics, 85 characterizations of, 138–139
neuroimaging studies, 86 memory impairment in, 287
phenotypic variants, 86 neuroimaging studies, 137–138
treatment modalities, 87 neuropathologic features, 136–137, 139
Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), 87 AIDS encephalopathy. See AIDS dementia
Afferent pupillary defect, 361 complex
Age-related white matter changes, 68–73 AIDS-related dementia. See AIDS
in Alzheimer’s disease, 70–71 dementia complex
brain cell loss, 68–69 Akinetic mutism
“classical” aging pattern, 73 from antimicrobials, 169
cognitive changes, 68–69, 72–73 in Behçet’s disease, 155
IQ/PIQ measures, 73 described, 324
neuroimaging studies, 69–72 from heroin, 175
406 INDEX
Akinetic mutism (Cont’d) Amyloidoma, 251

neuroimaging studies, 324 Angiokeratoma corporis diffusum (Fabry’s
in toxic leukoencephalopathy disease), 98
spectrum, 179t Anomic aphasia, 318–319
Albert, Martin, 11, 12 Anterior corpus callosum, 10, 15, 250f,
Alcoholic dementia, 173 286, 364, 385
ALD. See adrenoleukodystrophy Anticonvulsant drugs, 190, 396
Alexander’s disease, 89 Antidepressant drugs, 396
Alexia (pure alexia), 9, 314t Antimicrobial treatment-related toxicity,
description, 320 168–169
in MS, 122, 122t Antineoplastic drug-related
in PML, 141 leukoencephalopathy, 167
visual object agnosia with, 322 Antiphospholipid syndrome, 152
Alexia with agraphia, 314t Antipsychotic drugs, 350, 396
description, 320 Antiretroviral therapy (ART), for AIDS
in MS, 122, 122t dementia complex, 136, 139–140
Alopecia (premature), in CARASIL, 214 Anxiety
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) callosal abnormalities in, 103
attentional deficits, 285 in callosal agenesis, 103
causes of, 279 in cocaine use, 175
cerebrovascular risk factors, 304 in cognitive dysfunction, 278
cognitive reserve studies, 292–293 in leukoencephalopathy with
dementia with Lewy body neuroaxonal spheroids, 92
comparison, 308 in obsessive-compulsive disorder, 344
and HIV-related cognitive decline, 139 in posttraumatic stress disorder, 344–345
interstitial neurons/white matter in SLE, 152
synapses and, 33 in toxic leukoencephalopathy, 171
MS cognitive impairment vs., 114–115 Apathy
neuroimaging studies of, 304 in AIDS dementia complex, 138
observation/interpretation, 305t in amyloidoma, 251
PET studies, 306 in Binswanger’s disease, 203, 205
subcortical dementia vs., 11 depression comparison, 341
vascular dementia relationship with, 305 in focal white matter tumors, 251
white matter change studies, 304–306 in frontal lobotomy, 235
Aminoacidurias in gliomatosis cerebri, 248
maple syrup urine disease, 94–95 in NPH, 262, 265
phenylketonuria, 93–94 in SSPE, 142
Amnesia in subacute encephalopathy, 143
in alcoholics, 173 in toluene abuse, 338
in Alzheimer’s disease, 11, 114 in toxic leukoencephalopathy
causes/forms, 314–315 spectrum, 179t
in MS, 122t, 314 in vascular dementia, 341
in stroke, 315 Aphasia
in TBI, 226–227 in Alzheimer’s disease, 11
Amphotericin B-induced descriptions, 9, 316
leukoencephalopathy, 168 in tumefactive MS, 127
INDEX 407
Aphasia syndromes, 306 in benign astrocytomas, 243

Broca’s aphasia, 18, 122, 122t, 316–317 in Binswanger’s disease, 285
conduction aphasia, 122, 122t, 317, 384 in central pontine myelinolysis, 192
global aphasia, 122, 122t, 317–318 in early hydrocephalus in children, 259
mixed transcortical aphasia, 122, in leukoaraiosis, 209
122t, 319 in Lyme encephalopathy, 144
primary progressive aphasia, 307 in MS, 285
transcortical motor aphasia, 122, in myotonic dystrophy, 100
122t, 318 in neurofibromatosis, 96
transcortical sensory aphasia, 318 in NLD syndrome, 278
Wernicke’s aphasia, 317 in PCNSL, 250
Apraxia. See also Callosal apraxia; in phenylketonuria, 94
Ideomotor apraxia in PML, 141
in Alzheimer’s disease, 11 retrieval deficit comparison, 288–289
from corpus callosotomy, 232 in traumatic brain injury, 226, 229
early descriptions, 9 in white matter dementia, 280
in tumefactive MS, 127 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Aqueductal stenosis, 258 (ADHD), 345–346
Arnold-Chiari malformation, 258 Auditory agnosia, 322
Arsenic-induced leukoencephalopathy, Autism
177–178 distributed neural networks and, 377
Asperger’s syndrome, 103 in FXTAS, 92
Astrocytomas neuroimaging studies, 345
bilateral fornical infiltration with, 324 in NLD disorders, 278
diffuse fibrillary astrocytoma, 247 Autopsy-proven gliomatosis cerebri, 248
giant cell astrocytomas, 97 Axial rigidity, in progressive supranuclear
neurobehavioral manifestations, 243, palsy, 309
251, 338
neuroimaging study, 244f Baillarger, Jules Gabriel François, 8
origins of, 242 Balint’s syndrome, 141
Asymptomatic neurocognitive Balò’s concentric sclerosis, 126, 318
impairment, 136 BCNU (1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-
Ataxia nitrosourea)-induced
in Cockayne’s syndrome, 89 leukoencephalopathy, 168
in high-altitude cerebral edema, 196 Becker muscular dystrophy, 99–100
in leukoencephalopathy with Behavioral neurology of white matter
intracranial calcifications and absent conduction, 383–384, 383t
cysts, 92 diaschisis, 383t, 384–386
in PRP, 142 distributed neural networks, 377–380,
in toluene toxicity, 170 379t
Ataxia syndrome. See Fragile X tremor/ focal neural network disruption,
ataxia syndrome 383t, 384
Attention deficit. See also Impaired future research directions
sustained attention clinical assessment, 390–391
in Alzheimer’s disease, 285 clinical outcomes, 395–396
in Behçet’s disease, 155 mild cognitive dysfunction, 391–392
408 INDEX
Behavioral neurology of white Brain atrophy

matter (Cont’d) in cobalamin deficiency, 189
nature and nurture, 389–390 in ethanol poisoning, 173
neuroanatomy, 388–389 in hydrocephalus ex vacuo, 260–261
neuroimaging, 392 in MS, 116–117, 119, 121, 123
neuropathology, 393 Brain stem auditory potential (BAEP), 36
neuropharmacology, 393–394 Brain stem meningoencephalitis, 155
neurophysiology, 389 Brief Repeatable Battery of
neuropsychology, 394–395 Neuropsychological Tests
white matter and the mind, 396–397 for MS, 115
neural network disconnection, 380–383 Broca, Paul, 9, 13
slowed conduction, 383, 383t, 384 Broca’s aphasia
transsynaptic degeneration, 383t, as cortical syndrome, 18
387–388 in MS, 122, 122t, 316–317
Wallerian degeneration, 98, 226–227, neuroimaging studies, 316, 365–366
304, 305t, 383t, 386–387 plasticity and, 365
white matter-behavior relationships, Broca’s area, 32, 379t, 384
373–377
Behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD), 306–307 CADASIL (cerebral autosomal dominant
Behçet’s disease, 155–156 arteriopathy with subcortical
Bielschowsky, Max, 9 infarcts and leukoencephalopathy),
Bilateral acoustic neuromas, 95 158, 287, 334, 340
Bilateral angiomas, 97 BD similarity to, 211–212
Binswanger, Otto, 201 cause of, 211
Binswanger’s disease (BD), 12, 201–206 diagnostic challenges, 213
Alzheimer’s disease vs., 202–203 Huntington’s disease similarity, 214
challenges as a clinical-pathology neuroimaging studies, 212f, 213
entity, 202 treatment limitations, 213–214
cognitive impairment in, 205 Callosal agenesis, 15, 231–232, 278,
hypertension/vascular risk factors, 203 319–320
ischemia vulnerability in, 203–204 developmental callosal abnormalities,
neuroimaging studies, 49t, 205, 206 102–103
radiation-induced dementia in, 164–165 MRI scan of, 102f
Bipolar disorder, 342t. See also Mania neurobehavioral consequences,
associated white matter changes, 337 101–102
callosal abnormalities in, 103 related white matter disorders, 101
description, 344 Callosal apraxia, 319–320
in MS, 123 Callosal disconnection, 325–326
Blast injury, 230 Canavan’s disease, 87–88, 368–369
Blood supply of white matter, 33–34 CARASIL (cerebral autosomal recessive
Bone marrow transplantation arteriopathy with subcortical
for globoid cell leukodystrophy, 85 infarcts and leukoencephalopathy),
for metachromatic leukodystrophy, 84 214
Borrelia burgdorferi. See Lyme Carbon monoxide-induced
encephalopathy leukoencephalopathy, 176–177,
Bradyphrenia, 11 287, 288. See also Hypoxia
INDEX 409
Carbon tetrachloride-induced Cholestanol xanthomas, 90

leukoencephalopathy, 178 Cholinergic drugs, 230, 304, 306. See also
Central pontine myelinolysis (CPM), Donepezil
191–192 Chorea
Cerebellar ataxia, in vanishing white in Huntington’s disease, 308
matter disease, 90–91 Chronic fatigue syndrome, 349
Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), Cisplatin-induced leukoencephalopathy,
210–211, 304, 305t 168
Cerebral disconnection (Geschwind), Cobalamin deficiency, 49t, 187–190,
14–15 283t, 338
Cerebral hemispheric ependymomas, 245 Cocaine-induced leukoencephalopathy,
Cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis, 90 175
Charcot, Jean-Martin, 9, 10f, 113. See also Cocaine toxicity, 175
Multiple sclerosis Cockayne’s syndrome, 88–89
Charles Bonnet syndrome, 157 Cognitive dysfunction/impairment.
Chemotherapeutic agent toxicity, 168–169 See also Mild cognitive dysfunction;
Children Mild cognitive impairment;
ADEM studies, 125 Vascular cognitive impairment
ALD studies, 86 in AIDS dementia complex, 138–139
callosal agenesis studies, 102 assessment tests, 115, 275–278
Canavan’s disease studies, 88 in benign astrocytomas, 243
CMD studies, 100 in CADASIL, 213
congenital hydrocephalus MRI in central pontine myelinolysis, 192
studies, 367 differentiation from dementia, 274–275
congenital rubella studies, 142 in early hydrocephalus in children, 259
DTI/fMRI studies, 67–68 in eclampsia, 195–196
hypomelanosis of Ito in, 98 in folate deficiency, 191
leukoencephalopathy with intracranial in fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome, 93
calcifications and cysts in, 92 in gliomas, 243, 245
MLD studies, 84 in HIV, 136–139
MSUD studies, 94–95 in hypoxia, 194
neurofibromatosis studies, 95–96 identification challenges, 275
PKU studies, 94 in leukoaraiosis, 208, 209, 210
P300 latency cognitive impairment, 37 in leukoencephalopathy with
radiation leukoencephalopathy in, 92 intracranial calcifications and
radiation leukoencephalopathy studies, cysts, 92
164–166 in Lyme encephalopathy, 144–145
Schilder’s disease in, 125 in MS, 37, 114, 117–119, 121, 274
SSPE in, 142 in myotonic dystrophy, 100, 101
Sturge-Weber syndrome in, 97 in neurofibromatosis, 95, 96
syndrome of nonverbal learning neuroimaging studies, 124, 138
disabilities, 16 neuropsychological perspective,
vanishing white matter disease in, 90 277–278
white matter brain radiation damage, pathogenesis in white matter disorders,
166–167 276–277
Chlorpromazine, 235 in periventricular hemorrhage, 217
410 INDEX
Cognitive dysfunction/impairment gliomas and, 242–243

(Cont’d) initial recognition of, 7
in periventricular leukomalacia, major tracts (drawing), 29f
215–216 Meynert’s classification of, 8
predictors in adults, 96 myelination, 66
in primary angiitis of the CNS, 158 “split brain” experiments, 15
in progressive multifocal Computed tomography (CT). See also
leukoencephalopathy, 140 Single-photon emission computed
reason for absence of, 292–293 tomography (SPECT)
in shaken baby syndrome, 231 benefits of, 43–44
in SLE, 152–155, 154, 275 bifrontal lobotomy scans, 234
in traumatic brain injury, 173 Binswanger’s disease studies, 204
treatment advances, 136 brain MRI scan comparison, 376
in tuberous sclerosis, 97 in Broca’s aphasia, 316
in tumefactive MS, 127 Broca’s aphasia studies, 316
in vanishing white matter disease, for central pontine myelinolysis, 192
90–91 CPM studies, 192
in VZV, 143 diaschisis studies, 385
Cognitive reserve for early hydrocephalus, 258
defined, 292–293 gliomatosis cerebri studies, 247
influence in MS, 120–121 HIV infection studies, 137
influence in white matter lesions, introduction of, 43
210, 292 meta-analysis of studies, 72
synaptic density mediation of, 121 MLD dysmyelination studies, 83
Cognitive slowing, 11, 282, 284 normal older people brain studies, 72
as aging symptom, 72 in PCNSL, 249
apathy/inertia vs., 203 SLE studies, 152
assessment of, 284 TBI studies, 227
in Binswanger’s disease, 205 Conduction aphasia
in cobalamin deficiency, 188 characteristics of, 384
in HIV infection, 139 in MS, 122, 122t, 290, 317
neuroimaging studies, 71, 282 Confusion
in NPH, 262, 265 in acute disseminated
in SLE, 155 encephalomyelitis, 124
in subcortical dementia, 282, 284 in antimicrobial agent toxicity, 169
in toxic leukoencephalopathy in Balò’s concentric sclerosis, 126
spectrum, 179t in central pontine myelinolysis, 191
in traumatic brain injury, 230 in gliomatosis cerebri, 248
in white matter dementia, 280 in high-altitude cerebral edema, 196
Coma in Marburg’s disease, 126
in PRP, 142 in radiation leukoencephalopathy, 164
in SSPE, 142 in SLE, 152
in vanishing white matter disease, 91 Congenital hydrocephalus, 257–258
Commissural tracts Congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD), 100
DTI study of AD patients, 386 Connecting tracts (distributed neural
function of, 29, 233, 380 networks), 379t
INDEX 411
Connectome, 16–17, 350, 388 Cranial arteritis. See Temporal arteritis

Cornelia de Lange syndrome, 278 Cranial radiation. See Radiation
Corpus callosotomy, 15, 102, 231–233, 326 leukoencephalopathy
Corpus callosum Crying, pathological, 123, 332t, 340, 347
in alexia, 320 Cyclosporine-induced
in Alzheimer’s disease, 306 leukoencephalopathy, 168
in autism, 345 Cyst formation, in periventricular
blood supply, 33–34 leukomalacia, 215–216
in callosal agenesis, 102f Cytomegalovirus (CMV) encephalitis, 143
in callosal apraxia, 320 Cytosine arabinoside-induced
callosal disconnection and, 325–326 leukoencephalopathy, 168
cerebral disconnection research,
14–15 Dandy-Walker syndrome, 101, 258
consciousness role of, 379 De Humani Corporis Fabrica (Vesalius),
Dejerine’s research, 10 5–6, 6f
in depression, 325 Dejerine, Jules, 9, 10
in early hydrocephalus, 259–260 de la Peyronie, François Gigot, 7
fractional anisotropy measure, 53–54 Dementia. See also Frontotemporal
Gigot de la Peyronie’s beliefs, 7 dementia; Frontotemporal lobar
in gliomatosis cerebri, 246, 247f dementia; Ischemic vascular
in HIV-infected brains, 137 dementia; Subcortical dementia;
in impaired sustained attention, 286 Subcortical ischemic vascular
incomplete development anomaly, 101 dementia; Vascular dementia;
Liepmann’s research, 10 White matter dementia
lipomas, 101 in Alexander’s disease, 89
necrosis of, in ethanol poisoning, 174 in amyloidoma, 251
plasticity and, 364 in antimicrobial agent toxicity, 169
in primary CNS lymphoma, 249, 250f in Behçet’s disease, 155
in pure alexia, 320 in CADASIL, 211
in schizophrenia, 342 in CARASIL, 214
in shaken baby syndrome, 231 in cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis, 90
Vesalius’s beliefs, 6 in chemotherapeutic agent toxicity,
Cortical dementia, 11, 16, 119, 265, 279 167–168
Cortical tubers, 97 in cobalamin deficiency, 187–188
Corticobasal degeneration (CBD), 309 in Cockayne’s syndrome, 89
Corticospinal dysfunction definitions, 279
in Behçet’s disease, 155 in ethanol alcohol toxicity, 173
in SSPE, 142 in folate deficiency, 190–191
in toluene poisoning, 170 in FXTAS, 92
Corticosteroid treatments in gliomatosis cerebri, 248
in acute disseminated in leukoencephalopathy with
encephalomyelitis, 125 neuroaxonal spheroids, 91–92
in adrenoleukodystrophy, 87 in Lyme encephalopathy, 144
in MS, 121 in membranous lipodystrophy, 90
in SLE, 152 in multiple sclerosis, 114
in temporal arteritis, 157 in myotonic dystrophy, 100
412 INDEX
Dementia (Cont’d) Development and aging

in normal pressure hydrocephalus, age-related white matter changes, 68–73
257, 262 white matter development, 65–68
in polyarteritis nodosa, 157 Devic’s syndrome. See Neuromyelitis
in progressive supranuclear palsy, 309 optica
in PRP, 142 Diabetes
in radiation leukoencephalopathy, in Alzheimer’s disease, 304
164–165, 167 in leukoaraiosis, 208
in Sjögren’s syndrome, 156 in toxic leukoencephalopathy, 165
in SLE, 153 Diaschisis, 383t, 384–386
in SSPE, 142 Diffuse axonal injury (DAI), 48. See also
in toluene toxicity, 170 Traumatic axonal injury (TAI)
in vanishing white matter disease, 91 characteristics, 226–227
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), clinical impact of, 229
308, 335 description, 226
Demyelinative diseases, 113–127. See also neuroimaging studies, 227–229
Multiple sclerosis pathophysiology of, 227
acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, in TBI, 226, 281
124–125, 169, 336 Diffuse fibrillary astrocytomas, 247
acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis, 125 Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
Balò’s concentric sclerosis, 126 ADC studies, 138
Marburg’s disease, 125–126 Alzheimer’s disease studies, 304
neuromyelitis optica, 123–124 autopsied older brain studies, 71–72
Schilder’s disease, 125–126 benefits of, 4, 15–16, 37
tumefactive multiple sclerosis, 126–127 Binswanger’s disease studies, 204
Demyelinative neuropathy CADASIL studies, 213
absent conduction and, 383–384 developmental dyslexia study, 321
in Cockayne’s syndrome, 89 DWMRI comparison, 53
Depression, 333–336 early hydrocephalus studies, 259
in Alzheimer’s disease, 290, 335 gait disorder studies, 362
in Binswanger’s disease, 203, 290 Gerstmann syndrome studies, 321
in CADASIL, 213 glioma studies, 246
callosal abnormalities in, 103 fundamentals of, 51–56
in cobalamin deficiency, 188 MTI comparison, 51
in frontal lobotomy, 234 of neuromyelitis optica, 124
in gliomatosis cerebri, 248 normal cerebrum images, 55f
in leukoencephalopathy with Parkinson’s disease studies, 307–308
neuroaxonal spheroids, 92 Sjögren’s syndrome studies, 156
in Lyme encephalopathy, 144 twin studies, 33
in MS, 122–123, 289 vascular dementia studies, 204–205
in myotonic dystrophy, 100–101 visuospatial dysfunction studies, 324
neuroimaging studies, 335 Diffusion-weighted MRI (DWMRI)
in NPH, 265, 335 in acute stroke, 53
in Sjögren’s syndrome, 156 fundamentals of, 52
in temporal arteritis, 157 small infarct image, 52f
in traumatic brain injury, 229–230, 335 Diffusor tensor imaging (DTI)
Developmental dyslexia, 314t, 321 Diplopia, 361
INDEX 413
Disconnection, 14–15, 380–388 in radiation leukoencephalopathy, 166

Disinhibition, 332t use of, in MS, 120
in Behçet’s disease, 155 use of, in toxic leukoencephalopathy, 172
described, 339 Evoked potentials (EPs), 36–37, 49, 389
in frontotemporal dementia, 307 Executive dysfunction
in metachromatic leukodystrophy, 84, 338 in central pontine myelinolysis, 192
in TBI, 229 defined/described, 284, 324–325
in vascular dementia, 339 differential diagnosis, 285
Distal myopathy, in myotonic in leukoaraiosis, 210
dystrophy, 100 in Lyme encephalopathy, 144
Donepezil, 230 in MS, 122, 122t, 325
Dopamine agonists, 324 in PCNSL, 250
Drug-related leukoencephalopathy in periventricular hemorrhage, 217
drugs of abuse, 169–176 in TBI, 325
therapeutic drugs, 167–169 in toxic leukoencephalopathies, 284
Duchenne muscular dystrophy, 99 in traumatic brain injury, 229
Dysarthria in vascular dementia, 284
in central pontine myelinolysis, 191 in white matter dementia, 281
in gait disorder, 361 Extended Disability Status Scale (EDSS),
in MS, 290 114–115
Dysphagia, in central pontine Extraaxial hemorrhages, in TBI, 226
myelinolysis, 191 Extrapontine myelinolysis, 191
Early hydrocephalus, 257–260, 278 Fabry’s disease (angiokeratoma corporis

causes of, 258 diffusum), 98
defined, types of, 257–258 Fasciculus pathways, 26
neuroimaging studies, 258–259, 258f Fatigue, 376, 395
Eclampsia, 195–196 in central pontine myelinolysis, 191
Encephalitis periaxialis diffusa. See in gliomatosis cerebri, 248
Schilder’s disease in high-altitude cerebral edema, 196
Environmental toxin-related white matter in Lyme encephalopathy, 144
injury in MS, 122–123, 348
arsenic, 177–178 in SLE, 153
carbon monoxide, 176–177 in toxic leukoencephalopathy, 171
carbon tetrachloride, 178 Ferrier, David, 13
Enzyme replacement therapy, 84 Fetal alcohol syndrome, 101, 174
Ependymomas, 241, 243, 245 5-fluorouracil-induced
Ethanol-induced leukoencephalopathy, leukoencephalopathy, 168
172–174 FK-506 (tacrolimus)-induced
Euphoria, 332t, 347 leukoencephalopathy, 168
in Behçet’s disease, 155 FLAIR (fluid-attenuated inversion
description, 339–340 recovery) imaging
in MS, 123 high CSF signal and, 47
in toluene inhalation, 169–170 MS studies, 115
Event-related potentials (ERPs) of patient with MS, 48f
described, 36–37 periventricular white matter, 48
in MS, 120 usefulness of, 376
414 INDEX
Flechsig, Paul, 8–9 Gerstmann’s syndrome studies, 321

Fludarabine-induced memory retrieval deficit studies, 257
leukoencephalopathy, 168 normal individual, BOLD technique, 58f
Focal cortical contusions psychiatric disease studies, 341
in gliomatosis cerebri, 248
in TBI, 226 Gait disorder
Focal neural network disruption, 383t, 384 in adrenoleukodystrophy, 85
Focal neurobehavioral syndromes. See in Binswanger’s disease, 203
Agnosia; Akinetic mutism; Alexia in cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis, 90
(pure alexia); Alexia with agraphia; in Cockayne’s syndrome, 89
Amnesia; Aphasia; Aphasia consequences for elderly people, 361
syndromes; Apraxia; Callosal in FXTAS, 92
disconnecction; Executive in IV heroin use, 175
dysfunction; Gertsmann’s in leukoaraiosis, 208, 210
syndrome; Neglect; Visuospatial in metachromatic leukodystrophy, 83
dysfunction neuroimaging studies, 362
Focal white matter tumors, 250–251 in NPH, 262–263, 266, 362
Folate deficiency, 190–191, 337–338 Galen of Pergamus, 5
Folstein, Marshall, 11 Gall, Franz Joseph. 7
Fractional anisotropy (FA), 53, 177, 263, Gazzaniga, Michael, 15
308, 332, 342–343, 364, 365f, Gene therapy, 84, 88, 367–369, 377, 396
366, 386 Genetic disorders, 81–103
Fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome aminoacidurias, 93–95
(FXTAS), 92–93 callosal agenesis, 15, 101–103, 102f,
Fritsch, Gustav, 13 231–232, 278, 319–320
Frontal lobe dysfunction, 389 Fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome,
in acute disseminated 92–93
encephalomyelitis, 124 leukodystrophies, 49t, 82–92
in metachromatic leukodystrophy, 84 mucopolysaccharidoses, 98–99
in NLD syndrome, 278 muscular dystrophy, 99–101
in younger patients, 72 phakomatoses, 95–98
Frontal lobotomy, 233–235 Gennari, Francesco, 7
Frontal systems dementia, 11 Gerstmann’s syndrome, 127, 315t, 321
Fronto-subcortical dementia, 11 Geschwind, Norman, 10, 14–15
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), 306–307 Giant cell arteritis. See Temporal arteritis
Frontotemporal lobar dementia (FTLD), Giant cell astrocytomas, 97
303, 306–307 Glasgow Coma Scale, 227
Fukuyama-type CMD, 100 Glatiramer treatment, in MS, 121
Functional magnetic resonance imaging Glioblastoma multiforme, 243
(fMRI) Gliomas, 49t, 241–248. See also
ADHD studies, 345–346 Astrocytomas; Ependymomas;
advantages of, 13, 57–58 Oligodendroglioma
combined with DTI, 59, 67–68, 71 defined, types of, 241–242
diaschisis studies, 385 neuroimaging studies, 242–243, 244f
DMN studies, 378 optic glioma, 95
focal white matter studies, 251 origins of, 242–243
INDEX 415
progenitor cell distribution, 243f HIV-associated mild neurocognitive

radiation treatment study, 165 disorder (MND), 136
Gliomatosis cerebri, 246–249, 283t HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder
defined, 246 (HAND), 136, 140
microscopic/immunohistochemical Hunter’s syndrome (MPS II), 99
studies, 247 Huntington’s disease, 11, 214, 279,
neurobehavioral changes, 248 308–309
neuroimaging studies, 247–248 Hurler’s syndrome (MPS I), 99, 101
treatment modalities, 246 Hydrocephalus, 89, 257–266
Global aphasia, 122, 122t, 317–318 callosal agenesis in, 101
Globoid cell leukodystrophy (GCL) causes of, 217
(Krabbe’s disease), 85, 101 congenital hydrocephalus, 67
Gratiolet, Louis Pierre, 7 defined, 257
Gray matter structures (distributed neural early hydrocephalus, 257–260, 278
networks), 379t hydrocephalus ex vacuo, 257, 260–261
normal pressure hydrocephalus, 49t, 89,
Headache 165, 205, 261–266
in Behçet’s disease, 155 sarcoidosis and, 159
in gliomas, 242 Hydrocephalus ex vacuo, 257, 260–261, 261f
in leukoencephalopathy with Hyperlipidemia, in Alzheimer’s
intracranial calcifications and disease, 304
cysts, 92 Hypertension
in temporal arteritis, 157 in Alzheimer’s disease, 304
in VZV, 142 in Binswanger’s disease, 203
Hemialexia in CADASIL, 211
from callosal disconnection, 325 in eclampsia, 195
from corpus callosotomy, 232 in hypertensive encephalopathy,
Hemianopia, 317–318, 361, 387 194–195
Hemihypesthesia, 361 in leukoaraiosis, 208
Hemiparesis, 317–318, 361, 376 in shaken baby syndrome, 231
Heroin-induced leukoencephalopathy, in white matter disease of prematurity,
174–175 217 Hypertensive encephalopathy,
Hexachlorophene-induced 194–195
leukoencephalopathy, 169 Hypomelanosis of Ito, 98
High-altitude cerebral edema (HACE), 196 Hypoxia, 176, 192–194, 196, 215, 231. See
Higher cerebral function, 374 also Carbon monoxide-induced
Hippocrates, 6 leukoencephalopathy
Hitzig, Eduard, 13 Hypoxic-ischemic lesions, in TBI, 226
HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus
type 1), 135–140 Ideomotor apraxia, 319
AIDS dementia complex in, 136–139 Immunomodulatory drugs, in MS, 121
MRIstudies, 137 Immunosuppressive drug-related
MTI studies, 51 toxicity, 168
risk factor for PCNSL, 248–249 Immunosuppressive treatments
HIV-associated dementia (HAD), in acute disseminated
49t, 136 encephalomyelitis, 125
416 INDEX
Immunosuppressive treatments (Cont’d) in leukoencephalopathy with

ineffectiveness in neuroaxonal spheroids, 92
adrenoleukodystrophy, 85 in shaken baby syndrome, 231
side effects of, 168, 194–195 in subacute sclerosing
Impaired sustained attention, 155, 285–286 panencephalitis, 142
Impulsivity Ischemic vascular dementia, 287, 291
in amyloidoma, 251
in metachromatic Jackson, John Hughlings, 9
leukoencephalopathy, 84
Inertia Klinefelter’s syndrome, 278
in Binswanger’s disease, 203 Krabbe’s disease (globoid cell
in gliomas, 241 leukodystrophy), 85, 101
Infectious diseases, 135–145. See also
HIV-1 Labrune’s syndrome, 92
cytomegalovirus encephalitis, 143 Language, relative preservation of in white
lyme encephalopathy, 143–145 matter disorders, 290
progressive multifocal Language deficits. See also Aphasia
leukoencephalopathy, 49t, 140–141 in benign astrocytomas, 243
progressive rubella panencephalitis, in early hydrocephalus in children, 259
125, 141–142 in NLD syndrome, 278
subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, Laughter, pathological, 123, 332t,
125, 141–142 340, 347
varicella zoster vasculopathy, 142–143 Left hand tactile anomia, from corpus
Inflammatory diseases, 151–159 callosotomy, 232
Behçet’s disease, 155–156 Left hemineglect, 122, 122t, 314t, 323f
polyarteritis nodosa, 157 Left hemisphere glioma, 245
primary angiitis of the CNS, 158 Left parietal amyloidoma, 251
sarcoidosis, 159 Lemniscus pathways, 26
scleroderma, 158 Leukoaraiosis (LA), 206–210
Sjögren’s syndrome, 156 cerebrovascular risk factors, 208
systemic lupus erythematosus, 49t, in elderly people, 15
151–155, 275, 283t, 334, 391 ischemic origins of, 207–208
temporal arteritis, 157 mortality/neurologic morbidity in, 210
Wegener’s granulomatosis, 156–157 name derivation, 206
Interferon-alpha-induced neurobehavioral significance of,
leukoencephalopathy, 168 208–209
Interferon β-1a treatment, in MS, 121 neuroimaging studies, 49t, 53, 206–207,
Interferon β-1b treatment, in MS, 121 209
Interleukin-2-induced Leukodystrophies, 49t, 82–92
leukoencephalopathy, 168 adrenoleukodystrophy, 49t, 85–87, 171,
Internuclear ophthalmoplegia, 361 336, 339
IQ (intelligence quotient), age-related adrenomyeloneuropathy, 87
changes, 73 Alexander’s disease, 89
Irritability Canavan’s disease, 87–88, 368–369
in acute disseminated cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis, 90
encephalomyelitis, 124 Cockayne’s syndrome, 88–89
INDEX 417
globoid cell leukodystrophy (Krabbe’s corticobasal degeneration studies, 309

disease), 85, 101 CT compared with, 43–44
leukoencephalopathy depression studies, 335
with intracranial calcifications and early hydrocephalus studies, 258
cysts, 92 FLAIR MRI scan, MS patient, 48f
with neuroaxonal spheroids, 91–92 focal white matter tumors studies, 251
membranous lipodystrophy, 90 gait disorder studies, 362
metachromatic leukodystrophy, 49t, genetic disease identification studies, 81
82–84, 83f, 177, 278, 283t, 338 glioma studies, 242
Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease, 88–89 gliomatosis cerebri studies, 247–248
vanishing white matter disease, Huntington’s disease studies, 309
90–91, 91f multiple sclerosis studies, 115
Leukoencephalopathy normal older people brain studies, 72
with intracranial calcifications and oligodendroglioma studies, 243–244
cysts, 92 introduction, 44
with neuroaxonal spheroids, 91–92 Parkinson’s disease studies, 308
toxic leukoencephalopathy, 163–179 PCNSL studies, 249
with vanishing white matter (See Pelizaeus-Mersbacher disease
Vanishing white matter disease) studies, 88
Levamisole-induced leukoencephalopathy, periventricular hemorrhage studies, 217
168 progressive supranuclear palsy
Lewy bodies, 307. See also Dementia with studies, 309
Lewy bodies proton density MRI scan, 47f
Liepmann, Hugo, 9 radiation leukoencephalopathy
Lisch nodules, 95 studies, 166
Lissauer, Heinrich, 9 sarcoidosis studies, 159
Lorenzo’s oil treatment, for ALD, 87 scleroderma studies, 158
Lower-back vertebral and intervertebral selected white matter features, 49t
disc disease, in CARASIL, 214 TBI studies, 227–228
Lupus cerebritis, 152 toxic leukoencephalopathy studies, 163
Lyme encephalopathy, 143–145 T2-weighted MRI scan, 47f
types of generated images, 46
Macrocephaly vascular dementia studies, 205
in Alexander’s disease, 89 visuospatial dysfunction studies, 324
in Canavan’s disease, 87 volumetric MRI studies, 32
in neurofibromatosis, 95 Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS),
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 9, 15, 4, 15, 50–51
44–49. See also Functional ADC studies, 138
magnetic resonance imaging Alzheimer’s disease studies, 304
akinetic mutism studies, 324 benefits of, 4, 341
Alzheimer’s disease studies, 304 CADASIL studies, 213
astrocytoma studies, 244f cocaine use detection, 175
benefits of, 4 gliomatosis cerebri studies, 247–248
Binswanger’s disease studies, 205, 206 microstructural change detection, 204,
CADASIL studies, 212f, 213 367–368
central pontine myelinolysis studies, 192 MS studies, 118
418 INDEX
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy in cortical dementia, 287t

(MRS) (Cont’d) declarative memory retrieval,
of N-acetyl-aspartate in AD, 304 impairments, 287–288, 288f
neuronal dysfunction measures, 154 in early hydrocephalus, 260
schizophrenia studies, 342–343 in gliomatosis cerebri, 248
uses of, 50–51, 93 in Lyme encephalopathy, 144
vascular dementia studies, 204 in PCNSL, 250
Magnetization transfer imaging (MTI) in PML, 141
benefits of, 4, 15–16 in radiation leukoencephalopathy, 164,
Binswanger’s disease studies, 204 166–167
CADASIL studies, 213 in subcortical dementia, 287t
fundamentals of, 51 in total leukoencephalopathy
MS studies, 118 spectrum, 179t
neural network disruption studies, 382 in traumatic brain injury, 226, 229
schizophrenia studies, 342 in VZV, 143
Malignant aqueductal stenosis, 246 in white matter dementia, 138, 141, 167,
Malpighi, Marcello, 6–7 281, 287t
Mammillothalamic tract, 7 Mental retardation
Mania. See also Bipolar disorder in callosal agenesis, 102
described, 336–337 in Cockayne’s syndrome, 89
disinhibition similarity, 339 in congenital muscular dystrophy, 100
euphoria mimicking, 340 in myotonic dystrophy, 100
in glioblastoma multiforme, 243 in tuberous sclerosis, 97
in gliomas, 243 Merosin-deficient CMD, 100
in HIV/AIDS, 336–337 Metabolic disorders, 187–196
in MS, 123, 336, 338 central pontine myelinolysis, 191–192
in SLE, 337 cobalamin deficiency, 49t, 187–190,
in TBI, 337, 338 283t, 338
Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD), 94–95 eclampsia, 195–196
Marburg’s disease, 125–126 folate deficiency, 190–191, 337–338
Marchiafava-Bignami disease, 174, 326 high-altitude cerebral edema, 196
MCD-SLE (mild cognitive impairment hypertensive encephalopathy, 194–195
SLE), 275 hypoxia, 176, 192–194, 196, 215, 231
McHugh, Paul, 11 Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD),
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphe- 177, 283t, 338
tamine)-induced associated white matter disorders, 278
leukoencephalopathy, 175 course in adults, older children, 84
Membranous lipodystrophy, 90 neuroimaging studies, 49t, 83f, 376
Memory, procedural, 291 NLD relationship, 278
Memory retrieval deficits, 286–289, 292t onset/causes, 82–83
in AIDS dementia complex, 138 treatment modalities, 84
in astrocytomas, 251 Methotrexate-induced
attentional dysfunction comparison, 288 leukoencephalopathy, 167
in Balò’s concentric sclerosis, 126 Methylene-tetrahydrofolate reductase
in Behçet’s disease, 155 deficiency, 191
in Binswanger’s disease, 203, 205 Migraine, 211–213, 214–215
in central pontine myelinolysis, 192 Mild cognitive dysfunction, 275, 391–392
INDEX 419
Mild cognitive impairment, 274, 304, 391 neurobehavioral deficits in, 12

Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), neuropsychiatric syndromes, 122–123
275–276 PET studies, 385
in MS, 115 as prototype for white matter
in SLE, 153 dementias, 120
in white matter disorders vs. AD, 390 transcortical motor aphasia in, 122,
Mixed transcortical aphasia, 122, 122t, 319 122t, 318
MLD. See metachromatic leukodystrophy tumefactive multiple sclerosis,
Monoclonal antibody treatment, 140 126–127
Mood disorders. See also Anxiety; Bipolar visual agnosia in, 122, 122t, 322
disorder; Depression; white matter dementia in, 281
Posttraumatic stress disorder Muscle-eye-brain disease, 100
in CADASIL, 211 Muscular dystrophy
in Sjögren’s syndrome, 156 Becker muscular dystrophy, 99–100
in SLE, 152 congenital muscular dystrophy, 100
Movement disorder, 89, 205, 280, 290–291. Duchenne muscular dystrophy, 99
See also Corticobasal degeneration; myotonic dystrophy, 100–101
Huntington’s disease; Parkinson’s Myotonic dystrophy, 100–101
disease
Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs), 98–99. Natalizumab treatment
See also Hunter’s syndrome; in MS, 121
Hurler’s syndrome as a cause of PML, 140
Multifocal diffuse axonal injury Neglect, 322–323. See also Left
(DAI), 230 hemineglect
Multiple sclerosis (MS), 82 Neoplasms, 241–251
Alexander’s disease similarity, 89 focal white matter tumors, 250–251
assessment measurements, 114–115, 289 gliomas, 49t, 241–248
attentional deficits, 285 gliomatosis cerebri, 246–249, 283t
axonal transection in, 116 HIV infection vulnerability to, 140
brain atrophy in, 116–117 neuroimaging studies, 53
Broca’s aphasia in, 122, 122t, 316–317 primary CNS lymphoma, 248–250
Charcot’s contributions, 9–10 Neural network mapping, 58–59
cognitive dysfunction in, 114, 117–121, Neuroanatomy of white matter
275 blood supply, 33–34
cortical lesions in, 119 glial cells, 24, 25–26, 136, 175, 215, 241,
ERP measurements, 37, 120 247, 341, 343, 393
focal neurobehavioral syndromes, myelin, 24–25, 25f
122, 122t tracts, 26, 27t–28t, 29–33
global aphasia in, 122, 122t, 317–318 Neurofibromatosis (NF-1), 95–96, 101
interstitial neurons and, 33 Neuroimaging. See Computed
intracortical demyelination, 31 tomography; Diffusion-weighted
left hemineglect in, 122, 122t MRI; Diffusion tensor imaging;
mixed transcortical aphasia in, 122, FLAIR imaging; Functional
122t, 319 magnetic resonance imaging;
MRI studies and examples, 47f, 48f, 49t, Magnetic resonance imaging;
116f, 117–118, 117f, 123 Magnetic resonance spectroscopy;
neglect in, 322–323 Positron emission tomography
420 INDEX
Neuroleptic drugs, 123 Obsessive-compulsive disorder, 342t, 344

Neurologic aspects of white matter Occult tension hydrocephalus, 258
disorders, 361–369. See also Gait Oligodendroglioma
disorder neurobehavioral manifestations,
Neuromyelitis optica (NMO), 123–124 245, 338
Neurophysiology of white matter neuroimaging study of, 243–245, 244f
action potential, 34–35, 35f, 366 origination of, 242
clinical neurophysiology, 36–38 Optic glioma, 95
saltatory conduction, 35, 36f Osmotic demyelination syndrome,
Neurosarcoidosis, 159 191, 192
Niemann-Pick disease, 82
Noncaseating granulomata, 159 Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, 284
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, 248 Parenchymal Lyme disease, 144
Nonverbal learning disability (NLD) Paresis
syndrome, 277–278 in Binswanger’s disease, 201
Normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) in PML, 140
in AIDS dementia complex, 138 Parkinsonism. See also Parkinson’s disease
in Alzheimer’s disease, 304, 306 in carbon monoxide poisoning,
in Binswanger’s disease, 204–205 176–177, 291
in CAA, 211 in dementia with Lewy bodies, 308
in CADASIL, 213 neuroimaging study, 191
in frontotemporal dementia, 307 postencephalitic parkinsonism, 11
in gliomas, 242 in progressive supranuclear palsy, 309
in HIV patients, 138 Parkinson’s disease (PD), 37, 279, 307–308
in leukoaraiosis, 209–210 Peduncle pathways, 26
in MS, 50, 118 Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease, 88, 89
in SLE, 51 Penfield. Wilder, 13
in vascular dementia, 204–205 Peripheral neuropathy
Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), in adrenomyeloneuropathy, 87
89, 261–266 in arsenic neurotoxicity, 178
adult Cockayne syndrome in cobalamin deficiency, 188
similarity, 88 in polyarteritis nodosa, 157
Binswanger’s disease comparison, in sarcoidosis, 159
205, 264 Periventricular hemorrhage (PVH),
characteristics of, 262 215–216, 258
dementia reversibility in, 257, Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL),
261–266 215–216, 362
neurobehavioral profile, 265 Pernicious anemia, 187–188
neuroimaging studies, 49t, 262f Personality change
neuropathological findings, 264–265 in amyloidoma, 251
possible vascular dementia overlap in antimicrobial agent toxicity, 169n
with, 264 radiation leukoencephalopathy,
radiation-induced dementia 164
similarity, 165 relevance to neuropsychiatry, 347–348
surgical treatment, 265–266 Phakomatoses
from traumatic brain injury, 262 Fabry’s disease, 98
INDEX 421
hypomelanosis of Ito, 98 Premature aging, in Cockayne’s

neurofibromatosis, 95–96, 101 syndrome, 89
Sturge-Weber syndrome, 97–98 Primary angiitis of the central nervous
tuberous sclerosis, 96–97 system, 158
Phenylketonuria (PKU), 93–94 Primary central nervous system
Pick’s disease. See Frontotemporal lymphoma (PCNSL), 248–250
dementia neurobehavioral manifestations,
PIQ (performance intelligence quotient), 249–250, 250f
age-related changes, 73 neuroimaging studies, 249
Pittsburgh compound B (PIB) imaging Primary progressive aphasia (PPA), 307
in Alzheimer’s disease, 305–306 Prognosis for white matter disorders,
in Binswanger’s disease, 202–203 363–364
Plasticity of white matter Progressive multifocal
activity-dependent myelination leukoencephalopathy (PML), 49t,
and, 366 140–141
white matter synapses and, 32–33 Progressive rubella panencephalitis (PRP),
corpus callostomy and, 232 125, 141–142
DTI Broca’s aphasia study, 365–366 Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), 11,
early hydrocephalus and, 260 309–310
learning and memory associations with, Projection tracts, 8, 26, 27t
365–366 Protease inhibitor treatment, 139
NPH and, 264 Pseudobulbar palsy
TBI and, 230 in central pontine myelinolysis, 191
PML. See progressive multifocal pathological laughter and crying in, 340
leukoencephalopathy Psilocybin-induced leukoencephalopathy,
Polyarteritis (periarteritis) nodosa, 157 176
Polymyalgia rheumatica, 157 Psychiatric diseases with white matter
Polyomavirus (JC virus), 140 abnormalities. See Attention deficit
Positron emission tomography (PET) hyperactivity disorder; Autism;
AD studies, 306 Bipolar disorder; Depression;
advantages of, 57 Obsessive-compulsive disorder;
diaschisis studies, 386 Posttraumatic stress disorder;
left hemisphere activation, 57f Schizophrenia
MS studies, 385 Psychiatric syndromes. See Apathy;
Postconcussion syndrome, 229 Crying, pathological; Depression;
Postencephalitic parkinsonism, 11 Disinhibition; Euphoria; Laughter,
Posterior reversible encephalopathy pathological; Mania; Psychosis
syndrome (PRES), 195–196 Psychomotor retardation
Posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy in AIDS dementia complex, 138
(PRLS), 194–195 in Alexander’s disease, 89
Posttraumatic stress disorder, 230, 342t, in early hydrocephalus, 258
344–345 in Lyme encephalopathy, 144
Postural instability, in progressive Psychosis
supranuclear palsy, 309 in acute disseminated
Prefrontal leukotomy. See Frontal encephalomyelitis, 124
lobotomy in amyloidoma, 251
422 INDEX
Psychosis (Cont’d) in leukoencephalopathy with

in astrocytomas, 338 intracranial calcifications and
in cobalamin deficiency, 188 cysts, 92
in gliomatosis cerebri, 248 in leukoencephalopathy with
in MS, 123 neuroaxonal spheroids, 91–92
in oligodendroglioma, 338 in PML, 140
in Sjögren’s syndrome, 156 in SSPE, 142
in SLE, 152 in VZV, 142
in vanishing white matter disease, 91 Shaken baby syndrome, 230–231
Pure alexia. See Alexia (pure alexia) Single-photon emission computed
tomography (SPECT), 57
Quadrantanopia, 361 Sjögren’s syndrome, 156
Quadriparesis, 85, 87, 361 Skin lesions
in hypomelanosis of Ito, 98
Radiation-induced dementia, in in tuberous sclerosis, 96
Binswanger’s disease, 165 Slowed conduction, 383, 383t, 384
Radiation leukoencephalopathy, Somatosensory (SEP) evoked
163–167 potentials, 36
cerebral white matter damage, 164f Spasticity
in children, 165 in Alexander’s disease, 89
memory impairment in, 287 in Cockayne’s syndrome, 89
irradiation dosage, 165 in leukoencephalopathy with
neurobehavioral effects, 164–165 neuroaxonal spheroids, 91–92
neuroimaging findings, 166 in periventricular leukomalacia, 215
neuropathologic findings, 165–166 in PRP, 142
Ramon y Cajal, Santiago, 8 Spastic quadriparesis, 85, 87
Ranvier, Louis-Antoine, 8 Sperry, Roger, 15
Reil, Johann Christian, 7 “Split brain,” 232
Renaissance, body dissection, 5 Spongioblastoma unipolare, 251
Right hemisphere glioma, 245 Spurzheim, Johann Kaspar, 7
Right parietal ependymomas, 245 Stem cell transplantation, 84
Steno, Nicolaus, 7
Sarcoidosis, 159 Stroke, 33
Schilder’s disease, 125–126 amnesia in, 315
Schizophrenia, 33, 68, 342t in Binswanger’s disease, 205
icallosal abnormalities in, 103 in Broca’s aphasia, 316
in callosal agenesis, 103 in CADASIL, 211, 213
metachromatic leukodystrophy in conduction aphasia, 317
comparison, 338 in Fabry’s disease, 98
neuroimaging studies, 342–343 in leukoaraiosis, 208, 210
Schwann, Theodor, 8 in mania, 336
Scleroderma, 158 neuroimaging studies, 53, 204f, 318,
Seizures 323, 341
in callosal agenesis, 101 in polyarteritis nodosa, 157
in central pontine myelinolysis, 191 in temporal arteritis, 157
in, 242 in varicella zoster vasculopathy, 142
INDEX 423
in Wegener’s granulomatosis, 156 Toluene-induced leukoencephalopathy,

in Wernicke’s aphasia, 317 169–172, 170f, 289
Sturge-Weber syndrome, 97–98 Toxic leukoencephalopathy, 163–179
Subacute combined degeneration, in drugs of abuse
cobalamin deficiency, 188 cocaine, 175
Subacute HIV encephalitis, 136 ethanol, 172–174
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis heroin, 174–175
(SSPE), 125, 141–142 MDMA, 175
Subarachnoid hemorrhage, 211, 231, 262 psilocybin, 176
Subcortical dementia, 279, 293–294. See toluene, 169–172, 170f
also Broca’s aphasia; Huntington’s environmental toxins
disease; Parkinson’s disease arsenic, 177–178
Binswanger’s disease, 205 carbon monoxide, 176–177
cognitive slowing and, 282–283 carbon tetrachloride, 178
description, 10–12 radiation toxicity, 163–167
HIV brain infection and, 138 spectrum of, 178–179, 179t
normal pressure hydrocephalus therapeutic drugs
and, 265 antimicrobials, 168–169
toluene poisoning and, 170 chemotherapeutic agents,
white matter dementia and, 280 167–168
Subcortical gray matter dementia, 16 immunosuppressive agents, 168
Subcortical ischemic vascular dementia Toxic-metabolic encephalopathy, 144
(SIVD), 202, 204, 213 Transcortical motor aphasia, 122, 122t,
Subependymal nodules, 97 318
Substantia nigra, 11, 307, 308 Transcortical sensory aphasia, 318
Swedenborg, Emmanuel, 7 Transsynaptic degeneration, 383t,
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) 387–388
dementia in, 283t Traumatic axonal injury (TAI), 226
depression in, 334 Traumatic brain injury (TBI), 225–230.
mild cognitive dysfunction in, 152–153, See also Blast injury; Diffuse
275, 391 axonal injury; Traumatic axonal
MRI features, 49t, 154 injury
NAWM in, 51 callosal disconnection in, 326
neuroimaging studies, 49t, clinical presentation, 226
154–155, 154f memory impairment in, 287
neuropathology of, 152 description, 48
ERP studies, 37
Tay-Sachs disease, 82 neuroimaging studies, 48, 49t, 51, 53,
Temporal arteritis, 157 57, 227–229
Therapeutic drug-related toxicity and normal pressure hydrocephalus,
antimicrobials, 168–169 262
chemotherapeutic agents, 167–168 pharmacologic treatment, 230
immunosuppressive agents, 168 prolonged P300 latency in, 37
Thiotepa-induced leukoencephalopathy, as a “silent epidemic,” 225
168 in vanishing white matter
Tigroid leukoencephalopathy, 89 disease, 91
424 INDEX
Traumatic disorders, 225–235. See also for psychosis, 235

Diffuse axonal injury; Traumatic for TBI, 230
axonal injury; Traumatic brain for temporal arteritis, 157
injury Tuberous sclerosis, 96–97, 101
corpus callosotomy, 15, 102, 231–232, Tumefactive multiple sclerosis, 126–127
326 Turner’s syndrome, 278
frontal lobotomy, 233–235
shaken baby syndrome, 230–231 Urinary incontinence, in normal pressure
Treatment of white matter disorders, hydrocephalus, 262
366–369
for acute disseminated Vanishing white matter disease, 81,
encephalomyelitis, 125 90–91, 91f
for ADEM, 125 Varicella zoster vasculopathy (VZV),
for adrenoleukodystrophy, 87 142–143
for AIDS dementia complex, 139–140 Vascular cognitive impairment, 274–275
for akinetic mutism, 324 Vascular dementia, 206, 264–265, 280,
for ALD, 87 284. See also Binswanger’s disease;
for aminoacidurias, 93 CADASIL
for arsenic poisoning, 178 AD relationship with, 305
for Binswanger’s disease, 203 CADASIL as cause of, 214
for CADASIL, 213–214 disinhibition in, 339
for Canavan’s disease, 88 in Fabry’s disease, 98
for cancer, 167–168 frontal lobe leukoaraiosis in, 335
for cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis, 90 ischemic vascular dementia, 287,
for CMV encephalitis, 143 291, 387
for cobalamin deficiency, 189–190 neuroimaging studies, 204–205
for congenital hydrocephalus, 258 P300 latencies in, 37
deep brain stimulation therapy, 368 possible NPH overlap with, 264
for early hydrocephalus, 260 subcortical ischemic vascular
for folate deficiency, 191 dementia, 202
for gliomas, 165, 242–243, 245 Vascular diseases, 201–217. See also
for gliomatosis cerebri, 246 Binswanger’s disease;
for globoid cell leukodystrophy, 85 Leukoaraiosis
for HIV infection, 135, 139 CADASIL, 158, 211–214, 287, 334, 340
for Hurler’s syndrome, 99 cerebral amyloid angiopathy, 210–211,
for hypertensive encephalopathy, 194 304, 305t
for leukoaraiosis, 210 migraine, 211–213, 214–215
for Lyme encephalopathy, 144–145 periventricular hemorrhage,
for metachromatic leukodystrophy, 84 215–216, 258
for MS, 113, 118, 121–123, 317 periventricular leukomalacia, 215, 362
for MSUD, 94 white matter disease of prematurity,
for neurosarcoidosis, 159 215–217
for NPH, 265–266 Vasogenic edema
for PKL, 93 in eclampsia, 195
for PML, 140–141 from gliomas, 241
for PRP, 142 in high-altitude cerebral edema, 196
INDEX 425
in HIV infection, 136 Wernicke, Carl, 9

in hypertensive encephalopathy, Wernicke’s aphasia, 317
194–195 White matter
in immunosuppressive agent age-related changes, 68–73
toxicity, 168 behavioral neurology perspective,
Velocardiofacial syndrome, 278 17–19
Venous thrombosis, in Behçet’s and higher cortical function, 12–17
disease, 155 historical background, 4–10
Verbal IQ (VIQ), 259–260, 277, 289, 290 microscopic constituents (schematic),
Vertical gaze palsy, in progressive 381f
supranuclear palsy, 309 neural networks and, 38
Vesalius, Andreas, 5–6 neuroanatomy of, 24–26, 27t–28t,
Vicq d’Azyr, Felix, 7 29–34
Virchow, Rudolph, 8 neurophysiology of, 34–38, 35f, 36f
Visual agnosia White matter dementia
description, 322 in Binswanger’s disease, 206
in MS, 122, 122it, 122t, 322 characteristics of, 280, 283t
in PML, 141 clinical profile of, 292t
Visual object agnosia with alexia, 322 coexisting gray matter neuropathology,
Visuospatial dysfunction 281
in abstinent alcoholics, 289 cognitive dysfunction similarity, 192
in Binswanger’s disease, 203 in early hydrocephalus, 260
in central pontine myelinolysis, 192 in gliomatosis cerebri, 248
described, 289, 324 in HIV infection, 138, 141
in early hydrocephalus, 260 introduction of idea of, 279–280
in myotonic dystrophy, 100 in MS, 120, 281
in neurofibromatosis, 96 in neurofibromatosis, 96
neuroimaging studies, 324 in normal pressure hydrocephalus, 265
in NLD syndrome, 278 in PCNSL, 250
in phenylketonuria, 94 in phenylketonuria, 94
in white matter dementia, 281 psychiatric disturbances in, 289–290
Vitamin B12 deficiency (cobalamin term proposal, 16
deficiency), 49t, 187–190, White matter disconnection
283t, 338 conduction aphasia and, 317
VLCFAs (very long-chain fatty acids), in left hemisphere, 319
adrenoleukodystrophy, 85–87 pathogenesis of, 383t
Von Haller, Albrecht, 7 White matter disorders. See also individual
Von Recklinghausen’s disease, 95 disorders
prognosis, 363–364
Walker-Warburg syndrome, 100 treatment, 366–369
Wallerian degeneration, 98, 226–227, 304, White matter heterotopias, 97
305t, 383t, 386–387 Williams syndrome, 278
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 229, 289 Willis, Thomas, 6
Wegener’s granulomatosis, 156–157
Weigert, Carl, 8 Zidovudine (AZT) treatment, 139

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The Behavioral Neurology

Oxford New York

Copyright © 2012 Oxford University Press

Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.

Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press

Foreword from the First Edition xi

PART ONE The Brain, the Mind, and White Matter

2. White Matter Structure and Function 23

4. Development and Aging 65

PART TWO Disorders of White Matter

6. Demyelinative Diseases 113

7. Infectious Diseases 135

8. Inflammatory Diseases 151

9. Toxic Leukoencephalopathy 163

10. Metabolic Disorders 187

11. Vascular Diseases 201

12. Traumatic Disorders 225

13. Neoplasms 241

14. Hydrocephalus 257

PART THREE White Matter and Higher Function

16. White Matter and Neurodegenerative Disease 303

17. Focal Neurobehavioral Syndromes 313

18. Neuropsychiatric Dysfunction 331

19. Neurologic Aspects 361

20. The Behavioral Neurology of White Matter 373

syndromes arising with white matter dysfunction include depression, mania,

Every book represents an attempt to discover order. An area of interest and

method will be primarily employed. To begin, a review of relevant background

macrostructure. Other important developments are also considered, but

The Brain, the Mind, and

The Neurologic Background

gathered with the help of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a powerful

W HI T E MAT T ER IN THE HISTORY OF NEU RO LO G Y

Figure 1-1. Andreas Vesalius. (Reprinted with permission from Saunders

THE C O NCEPT OF SUBCOR TICAL DEMEN TI A

dysfunction, some investigators began to examine the possibility that disorders

cortical dementias is not strict, the subcortical dementias generally resemble

W HI T E MAT T ER AND HIGHER F UNCTION

The uncertainty surrounding the role of cerebral white matter in higher

neuropsychologists. The white matter, in contrast, is generally believed to be

Figure 1-5. Norman Geschwind.

obvious importance in connecting the two hemispheres has attracted substan-

to dysfunction of cerebral white matter, the term white matter dementia

developments, and while focal disconnection retains its interest, investigations

T HE PER SPECT IVE OF BEHAVIORAL NEURO LO G Y

lesions can increasingly be well identified by clinical and neuroradiologic

A recurring theme will be the remarkable frequency with which important

Absher JR, Benson DF. Disconnection syndromes: an overview of Geschwind’s

White Matter Structure

neurobiological processes (Filley, 2005, 2010). Both aspects of brain structure

a variety of other glycoproteins and proteins, some of which have enzymatic

Of the four types of glial cells in the CNS—oligodendrocytes, astrocytes,

Nolte (2002) Aralasmak et al. (2006) Schmahmann and Pandya (2006);

Projection Projection Projection (Subcortical)

Commissural Commissural Commissural

Association Association Association

White Matter Tracts

White matter is primarily characterized by collections of myelinated fibers

Table 2-2. Cerebral Connections of the Association Fiber Systems

Tract Structures Connected

(from Nolte, 2002)

it is clear that they are generally arranged so as to be bidirectional (Nieuwenhuys

axons and neighboring oligodendrocyte precursor cells (Alix and Domingues,