Abstract
AIMS: We aimed to specify relationships among cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) burden, cognitive dysfunction, and brain structure-function coupling changes. METHODS: A total of 108 patients with mild CSVD burden (CSVD-m), 53 patients with severe CSVD burden (CSVD-s), and 76 healthy controls (HC) were included in this study. The ratio of regional homogeneity (ReHo) or amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) to gray matter volume (GMV) was calculated as an indicator of voxel-wise structure-function coupling. RESULTS: Significantly decreased or increased ReHo-GMV and ALFF-GMV coupling values in patients with severe CSVD burden were primarily found in several brain regions, and the disrupted structure-function coupling in the right putamen mediated the relationship between CSVD burden and cognitive dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: Brain structure-function coupling characterized by ReHo-GMV and ALFF-GMV mediated the cognitive dysfunction caused by CSVD and was an innovative and effective brain imaging indicator for exploring the association between CSVD burden and cognitive dysfunction.