Definition
The cingulum is a collection of white matter fibers projecting from the cingulate gyrus to the entorhinal cortex in the brain, allowing for communication between components of the limbic system. The cingulum connects the medial temporal lobe with the posterior cingulate gyrus. Diffusion tensor imaging studies have reported cingulum bundle disruption in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, some research indicates that in Alzheimer’s disease, the posterior cingulate cortex hypofunction is due to the indirect effect of the degeneration of cingulum fibers secondary to medial temporal lobe atrophy. Damage to the cingulum has also been found to be associated with cognitive impairment in other diseases of the brain such as multiple sclerosis.
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Piryatinsky, I. (2018). Cingulum. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_2045
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_2045
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