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Impaired processing of 3D motion-defined faces in mild cognitive impairment and healthy aging: an fMRI study
Britta Graewe1, Raquel Lemos, Carlos Ferreira
1Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology & Neuroscience, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which shows high risk for conversion to Alzheimer's disease (AD), is accompanied by progressive visual deteriorations that so far are poorly understood. Here, we compared dorsal and ventral visual stream functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activity among amnestic MCI, healthy elderly, and young participants during structure-from-motion (SFM) face categorization performance. Task performance varied with stimulus depth and duration levels and differences among groups were highly correlated with face-related fMRI activation patterns. Young participants showed larger activation to faces than scrambled faces (face sensitivity) in the right fusiform face area (FFA) and right occipital face area (OFA) whereas in elderly, this difference was reduced. Surprisingly, in MCI, scrambled faces elicited larger activation in right FFA/OFA than faces. The latter observation may be related to the additional finding of elevated depth sensitivity in left FFA/OFA of MCI, suggesting that an increased representation of low-level stimulus aspects may impair face perception in MCI. Discriminant function analysis using face and depth sensitivity indices in FFA/OFA classified MCI and healthy elderly with 88.2% accuracy, marking a fundamental distinction between groups. Potentially related findings include altered activation patterns in dorsal-ventral stream integration regions and attention-related networks of MCI patients. Our results highlight aberrant visual and additional potentially compensatory processes that identify dispositions of (preclinical) AD.
Insights
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) disrupts visual processing, with MCI patients showing altered brain activity in face-sensitive areas. This visual impairment may indicate early Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a precursor to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is associated with poorly understood visual declines.
- Understanding these visual changes may offer insights into early AD detection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) differences in visual processing between individuals with amnestic MCI, healthy elderly, and young participants.
- To explore the relationship between visual perception deficits and brain activity in the dorsal and ventral visual streams during face categorization.
Main Methods:
- Compared fMRI activity in dorsal and ventral visual streams of amnestic MCI, healthy elderly, and young adults.
- Utilized structure-from-motion (SFM) face categorization tasks with varying stimulus depth and duration.
- Analyzed activation patterns in the fusiform face area (FFA) and occipital face area (OFA).
Main Results:
- Healthy elderly showed reduced face sensitivity compared to young adults in right FFA/OFA.
- MCI patients exhibited reversed face sensitivity (scrambled faces > faces) in right FFA/OFA.
- MCI patients displayed heightened depth sensitivity in left FFA/OFA, suggesting impaired face perception due to overemphasis on low-level features.
- Discriminant function analysis accurately classified MCI and healthy elderly (88.2%) using FFA/OFA sensitivity indices.
- Altered activation was observed in dorsal-ventral stream integration and attention networks in MCI patients.
Conclusions:
- Aberrant visual processing and compensatory mechanisms in MCI patients may signify preclinical AD.
- Face and depth sensitivity in FFA/OFA can distinguish MCI from healthy elderly, offering potential biomarkers for early AD detection.
- Visual stream alterations provide critical insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of MCI and its progression to AD.
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