Fig. 3
From: Social memory deficits and their neural correlates in multiple sclerosis
Volume of the hippocampus and PPCC - comparison between groups and association with episodic social memory recall in MS. (a1, a2) Comparison of hippocampal volume adjusted to eTIV between MS and control participants. MS patients exhibited significantly reduced right hippocampal volume (a1; U = 187, Z = − 2.24, r = − 0.32, p = 0.025, Mann–Whitney test) and left hippocampal volume (a2; U = 156, Z = − 2.87, r = − 0.41, p = 0.004, Mann–Whitney test). (b1, b2) Association between hippocampal volume/eTIV and performance on the episodic social memory questionnaire in the MS group. Both right (b1; ρ = 0.11, p = 0.578, Spearman correlation) and left (b2; ρ = 0.14, p = 0.494, Spearman correlation) hippocampal volumes showed a non-significant trend toward lower volume being associated with fewer correct responses. (c1, c2) No significant group differences were found in PPCC volume/eTIV, either in the right (c1; U = 256, Z = − 0.86, r = − 0.12, p = 0.389, Mann–Whitney test) or left hemisphere (c2; U = 276, Z = − 0.46, r = − 0.07, p = 0.645, Mann–Whitney test). (d1, d2) In the MS group, right PPCC volume/eTIV was significantly and positively correlated with the number of correct responses on the episodic social memory questionnaire (d1; ρ = 0.42, p = 0.032, Spearman correlation). A similar, non-significant trend was observed for the left PPCC (d2; ρ = 0.37, p = 0.063, Spearman correlation). Boxplots display medians and interquartile ranges; scatterplots represent individual MS patients. Regression lines and 95% confidence intervals are shown for panels b1, b2, d1, and d2. P-values from each Spearman correlation are displayed in the bottom-left corner of each scatterplot; significant values (p < 0.05) appear in bold. MS: n = 26; Controls: n = 23. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; eTIV, estimated total intracranial volume.
