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The 4 Mountains Test: A Short Test of Spatial Memory with High Sensitivity for the Diagnosis of Pre-dementia Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: October 13, 2016
Visuospatial perception: an emerging biomarker for Alzheimer's disease
Pravat K Mandal1, Jitesh Joshi, Sumiti Saharan
1Neurospectroscopy and Neuroimaging Laboratory, National Brain Research Center, Gurgaon, India. pravat.mandal@gmail.com
Journal of Alzheimer'S Disease : JAD
|July 20, 2012
Summary
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can detect early Alzheimer's disease (AD) changes. Visuospatial perception (VSP) alterations are key biomarkers for diagnosing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Medical Imaging
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) research increasingly focuses on early diagnostic biomarkers.
- Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD present with memory and visuospatial cognition deficits.
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) shows promise for detecting preclinical AD functional changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of visuospatial perception (VSP) functional alterations as a biomarker for AD.
- To explore neuroanatomical regions involved in VSP and AD's impact on them.
- To discuss the diagnostic utility of VSP deficits for early AD detection and tracking.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing fMRI literature assessing VSP in MCI and AD patients.
- Analysis of neuroanatomical and functional effects of AD on VSP processing regions.
- Discussion of VSP alterations as potential biomarkers.
Main Results:
- Changes in VSP functions are detectable in early stages of AD.
- fMRI can identify functional brain changes associated with VSP deficits in MCI and AD.
- Specific neuroanatomical regions are implicated in VSP processing and are affected by AD pathology.
Conclusions:
- VSP functional alterations represent a promising biomarker for early AD detection.
- fMRI assessment of VSP processing offers advantages for longitudinal tracking of AD progression.
- Monitoring VSP deficits aids in diagnosing MCI and AD, improving patient outcomes.
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