Vessel distance mapping: a novel methodology for assessing vascular‐induced cognitive resilience

The association between cerebral blood supply and cognition has gained increasing interest, considering the remarkable anatomical variability of the circle of Willis. Thus, qualitative classifications of the arteries contributing to the hippocampal supply has been performed in previous studies to determine whether the additional presence of vessels might translate into cognitive differences and cerebral structural changes when coexisting with vascular pathology, to the extent of constituting a cognitive reserve. Nevertheless, the promising results in these regards are not without controversy. Hence, Vessel Distance Mapping (VDM) is here introduced, in order to ascertain the correlation of VDM‐metrics with each other and with cognitive status, as well as to elucidate which metrics have the greatest impact on cognition.