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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 9, 2026

Application of Granger Causality Analysis of the Directed Functional Connection in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment

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Published on: August 7, 2017

Prefrontal executive function associated coupling relates to Huntington's disease stage.

Paul G Unschuld¹, Xinyang Liu, Megan Shanahan

¹Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Psychiatry Research and Psychogeriatric Medicine, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.

Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior

|August 3, 2013

Summary

Huntington's disease (HD) is linked to CAG-repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene. Impaired premotor-medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) connectivity may indicate early executive dysfunction in prodromal HD.

Keywords:

Cognition Cortical networks Executive function Functional connectivity Huntington's disease Neurodegeneration fMRI

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A Fine Motor Task to Study Joint Kinematics in a Preclinical Model of Neurodegenerative Disease

A Fine Motor Task to Study Joint Kinematics in a Preclinical Model of Neurodegenerative Disease

Published on: June 13, 2025

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Last Updated: May 9, 2026

Application of Granger Causality Analysis of the Directed Functional Connection in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Application of Granger Causality Analysis of the Directed Functional Connection in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Published on: August 7, 2017

A Fine Motor Task to Study Joint Kinematics in a Preclinical Model of Neurodegenerative Disease

A Fine Motor Task to Study Joint Kinematics in a Preclinical Model of Neurodegenerative Disease

Published on: June 13, 2025

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Genetics
Cognitive Science

Background:

Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by CAG-repeat expansion in the huntingtin (HTT) gene.
Executive dysfunction can precede motor symptoms in HD patients.
Understanding early functional brain changes is crucial for HD management.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify functional network correlates of executive dysfunction in relation to HD stage.
To investigate brain connectivity patterns in prodromal and early-stage HD.
To explore the relationship between cognitive function, brain networks, and disease progression.

Main Methods:

BOLD functional MRI and structural MRI were used in 53 HD mutation carriers (41 prodromal, 12 early affected) and 52 controls.
The Tower of London test assessed executive function across varying task complexities during fMRI.
Functional brain networks were analyzed based on task-related functional coupling to the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC).

Main Results:

Reduced functional coupling between the premotor cortex and MPFC was observed in prodromal and early manifest HD subjects.
Task complexity moderated group differences in connectivity and correlation with HD stage measures.
Prodromal HD subjects showed similar performance to controls, yet exhibited altered functional connectivity.

Conclusions:

Impaired premotor-MPFC coupling is associated with HD stage-related executive dysfunction.
This neural dysfunction may be detectable in prodromal HD subjects before cognitive impairment is clinically apparent.
Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the temporal relationship between impaired connectivity and other HD-related brain changes.