Mapping structural lesion networks underlying cognitive, emotional, and motor impairment in cadasil: a large-scale longitudinal voxel-based mri study

CADASIL, the leading monogenic small-vessel disease, offers a unique model to understand how microvascular lesions drive cognitive, emotional, and motor decline. This PhD will leverage >2,500 longitudinal MRI scans with detailed clinical data to identify structural vulnerability networks and lesion thresholds predicting depression, cognitive slowing, memory impairment, and dementia. The candidate will use advanced image-processing and statistical pipelines, including automated lesion segmentation on T2/FLAIR, voxel-based morphometry (VBM), voxel-based lesion–symptom mapping (VLSM), lesion-network analysis, and longitudinal mixed-effects models. Noise reduction, MRI harmonization, and rigorous validation of lesion quantification will be key. Outcomes will advance mechanistic understanding and support predictive biomarkers for small-vessel disease.