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• Clinical Article •
Study on brain structural magnetic resonance imaging characteristics and correlation with cognitive function in patients with atrial fibrillation-associated mild cognitive impairment
LIU Bei  ZHAO Tianzuo  DENG Linhua  XU Dan  LIU Lei  LI Xiaozhen  ZHONG Liqun  CHEN Zhengguang  GUO Weihua 

Cite this article as: LIU B, ZHAO T Z, DENG L H, et al. Study on brain structural magnetic resonance imaging characteristics and correlation with cognitive function in patients with atrial fibrillation-associated mild cognitive impairment[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(4): 10-18, 35. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.04.002.


[Abstract] Objective To investigate the characteristics of brain structure magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) in patients with atrial fibrillation-associated mild cognitive impairment (AF-MCI) and to analyze their correlation with cognitive function.Materials and Methods A case-control design was employed, enrolling 34 patients with atrial fibrillation and normal cognitive function (AF-N), 32 patients with AF-MCI, and 30 healthy controls (HC). T1-weighted structural MRI images were acquired from all participants, and data were processed using an MRI brain structure segmentation and analysis system. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 27.0. For data following a normal distribution, one-way ANOVA followed by the least significant difference (LSD) post-hoc test was used. For non-normally distributed data, the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used, followed by the Mann-Whitney U test for post-hoc comparisons (with Bonferroni correction). Further correlation analyses were conducted to explore the relationships between brain structural indices and cognitive scores.Results (1) Compared with the HC group, the AF-N group showed lower frontal pole asymmetry index (t = 3.184, P = 0.002), left frontal pole volume (Z = 2.235, P = 0.021), and middle corpus callosum volume (Z = 2.991, P = 0.008), while the right lateral orbitofrontal cortical thickness was increased (t = -3.417, P < 0.001). (2) Compared with the AF-N group, the AF-MCI group exhibited significant decreases in the anterior cingulate asymmetry index (t = 2.413, P = 0.018), right middle cingulate cortical thickness (Z = 2.707, P = 0.020), right medial orbitofrontal cortical thickness (t = 3.000, P = 0.004), right superior parietal cortical surface area (t = 2.571, P = 0.012), left hippocampal subfield CA3 volume (t = 2.541, P = 0.013), and right hippocampal subfield CA3 volume (t = 2.180, P = 0.032). (3) Comparison between the AF-MCI and HC groups revealed lower volumes in the left hippocampal CA3 (t = 2.855, P = 0.005), right hippocampal CA3 (t = 2.163, P = 0.033), left hippocampal molecular layer (Z = 2.548, P = 0.033), left hippocampal CA4 (Z = 2.620, P = 0.026), left hippocampal dentate gyrus (Z = 3.040, P = 0.007), and right hippocampal dentate gyrus (Z = 2.420, P = 0.047). Additionally, the asymmetry indices of the cuneus (Z = -2.639, P = 0.025) and precuneus (Z = -2.803, P = 0.015) were increased in the AF-MCI group compared to the HC group. (4) Furthermore, the right lingual gyrus cortical thickness was increased in the AF-MCI group compared to the HC group (t = -3.094, P = 0.002). The left calcarine sulcus cortical thickness was increased in the AF-MCI group compared to both the AF-N group (t = -2.432, P = 0.016) and the HC group (t = -3.184, P = 0.002).Conclusions Brain structural damage in AF-MCI exhibits a two-stage progressive characteristic: early involvement predominantly affects the prefrontal executive network, which later extends to the medial temporal lobe-default mode network. Furthermore, the early damage demonstrates selectivity for frontal-subcortical circuits and left-lateralized hippocampal involvement, suggesting that vascular mechanisms and the specific vulnerability of the verbal memory network play important roles in the pathogenesis of AF-MCI.
[Keywords] atrial fibrillation；mild cognitive impairment；magnetic resonance imaging；magnetic resonance segmentation system；characteristics of brain injury

LIU Bei1   ZHAO Tianzuo1   DENG Linhua2   XU Dan1   LIU Lei3   LI Xiaozhen1   ZHONG Liqun4   CHEN Zhengguang1*   GUO Weihua2*  

1 Department of Radiology, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China

2 Cardiovascular District Four, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 101100, China

3 Department of Emergency, Fangshan Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102400, China

4 Department of Encephalopathy, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China

Corresponding author: CHEN Z G, E-mail: guangchen999@sina.com GUO W H, E-mail: weihuaguo2005@163.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-12-25
Accepted  2026-03-19
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.04.002
Cite this article as: LIU B, ZHAO T Z, DENG L H, et al. Study on brain structural magnetic resonance imaging characteristics and correlation with cognitive function in patients with atrial fibrillation-associated mild cognitive impairment[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(4): 10-18, 35. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.04.002.

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