AUTHOR=Ma Changjun , Liu Ailian , Liu Jiahui , Wang Xiulin , Cong Fengyu , Li Ying , Liu Jing 

TITLE=A window into the brain: multimodal MRI assessment of vascular cognitive impairment

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 19 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1526897

DOI=10.3389/fnins.2025.1526897

ISSN=1662-453X

ABSTRACT=Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) encompasses a diverse range of syndromes, including mild cognitive impairment and vascular dementia (VaD), primarily attributed to cerebrovascular lesions and vascular risk factors. Its prevalence ranks second only to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in neuro diseases. The advancement of medical imaging technology, particularly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), has enabled the early detection of structural, functional, metabolic, and cerebral connectivity alterations in individuals with VCI. This paper examines the utility of multimodal MRI in evaluating structural changes in the cerebral cortex, integrity of white matter fiber tracts, alterations in the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and glymphatic system (GS) activity, alteration of neurovascular coupling function, assessment of brain connectivity, and assessment of metabolic changes in patients with VCI.