Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

Generalized Psychophysiological Interaction (PPI) Analysis of Memory Related Connectivity in Individuals at Genetic Risk for Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: November 14, 2017
Microstructural alteration of the anterior cingulum is associated with apathy in Alzheimer disease
Jee Wook Kim1, Dong Young Lee, Il Han Choo
1Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Objectives:
To identify regional alterations of white matter integrity associated with apathy in Alzheimer disease (AD).
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Setting:
University Dementia Clinic.
Participants:
Fifty-one very mild or mild probable AD subjects.
Intervention:
Volumetric magnetic resonance imaging with diffusion tensor imaging.
Measurements:
Volume of interest analyses were performed to compare regional fractional anisotropy (FA) between apathy and apathy-free group, and to test linear relationship between regional FA and apathy severity. Apathy was assessed by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory.
Results:
Apathy group showed significantly lower FA values than apathy-free group in the left anterior cingulum (A-C), regardless of concomitant depression and psychotropic medications. Left A-C FA values also had significant linear relationship with apathy-composite scores as a measure of apathy severity, even after controlling gray matter density of the ipsilateral anterior cingulate cortex.
Conclusions:
Our findings support that communication failure between the anterior cingulate cortex and other brain structures via the A-C contributes to the development and aggravation of apathy in AD, additionally supporting the general notion of disconnection syndrome for clinical manifestation of AD.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ and tau...
Dementia l: Introduction
Alzheimer's Disease: Treatment
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...

