The impact of neurodegeneration on network connectivity: a study of change detection in frontotemporal dementia

The neural response to unpredictable auditory events is suggested to depend on frontotemporal interactions. We used magnetoencephalography in patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia to study change detection and to examine the impact of disease on macroscopic network connectivity underlying this core cognitive function. In patients, the amplitudes of auditory cortical responses to predictable standard tones were normal but were reduced for unpredictable deviant tones. Network connectivity, in terms of coherence among frontal, temporal, and parietal sources, was also abnormal in patients. In the beta frequency range, left frontotemporal coherence was reduced. In the gamma frequency range, frontal interhemispheric coherence was reduced whereas parietal interhemispheric coherence was enhanced. These results suggest impaired change detection resulting from dysfunctional frontotemporal interactions. They also provide evidence of a rostro-caudal reorganization of brain networks in disease. The sensitivity of magnetoencephalography to cortical network changes in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia enriches the understanding of neurocognitive systems as well as showing potential for studies of experimental therapies for neurodegenerative disease.