Neighborhood disadvantage is associated with worse health and cognitive outcomes. Morphological similarity network (MSN) is a promising approach to elucidate cortical network patterns underlying complex cognitive functions. We hypothesized that MSNs could capture changes in cortical patterns related to neighborhood disadvantage and cognitive function. This cross-sectional study included cognitively unimpaired participants from two large Alzheimers studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Neighborhood disadvantage status was obtained using the Area Deprivation Index (ADI). Cognitive performance was assessed on memory, processing speed and executive function. Morphological Similarity Networks (MSN) were constructed for each participant based on the similarity in distribution of cortical thickness of brain regions, followed by computation of local and global network features. Association of ADI with cognitive scores and MSN features were examined using linear regression and mediation analysis. ADI showed negative association with category fluency,implicit learning speed, story recall and modified pre-clinical Alzheimers cognitive composite scores, indicating worse cognitive function among those living in more disadvantaged neighborhoods. Local network features of frontal and temporal regions differed based on ADI status. Centrality of left lateral orbitofrontal region showed a partial mediating effect between association of neighborhood disadvantage and story recall performance. Our preliminary findings suggest differences in local cortical organization by neighborhood disadvantage, which partially mediated the relationship between ADI and cognitive performance, providing a possible network-based mechanism to, in-part, explain the risk for poor cognitive functioning associated with disadvantaged neighborhoods.

翻译：邻里劣势与较差的健康状况和认知结果相关。形态相似性网络是一种揭示复杂认知功能背后皮质网络模式的有效方法。我们假设形态相似性网络能够捕捉与邻里劣势和认知功能相关的皮质模式变化。这项横断面研究纳入了来自威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校两项大型阿尔茨海默病研究的认知未受损参与者。邻里劣势状态通过区域剥夺指数获取。认知表现通过记忆、处理速度和执行功能进行评估。基于脑区皮质厚度分布的相似性，为每位参与者构建了形态相似性网络，随后计算了局部和全局网络特征。使用线性回归和中介分析检验了区域剥夺指数与认知评分及形态相似性网络特征的关联。区域剥夺指数显示与类别流畅性、内隐学习速度、故事回忆以及改良临床前阿尔茨海默病认知复合评分呈负相关，表明居住在更劣势社区的个体认知功能更差。额叶和颞叶区域的局部网络特征因区域剥夺指数状态而异。左侧外侧眶额区的中心性在邻里劣势与故事回忆表现的关联中显示出部分中介效应。我们的初步研究结果表明，邻里劣势导致局部皮质组织存在差异，这部分中介了区域剥夺指数与认知表现之间的关系，为解释劣势社区相关的认知功能低下风险提供了一个可能的基于网络的机制。