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14:27
Identification of Disease-related Spatial Covariance Patterns using Neuroimaging Data
Published on: June 26, 2013
Altered Functional Network Affects Amyloid and Structural Covariance in Alzheimer's Disease
Ya-Ting Chang1, Chi-Wei Huang1, Wen-Neng Chang1
1Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan.
Biomed Research International
|January 11, 2019
Summary
Altered brain connectivity in Alzheimer's disease (AD) influences the spread of amyloid plaques. Network changes reveal disease progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia stages.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Systems Neuroscience
Background:
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive neurodegeneration.
- Understanding the network-level impact of altered intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) is crucial for AD research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how altered intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) affect pathological changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) at a network level.
- To compare structural and amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaque covariance in the default mode network (DMN) between AD-mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD-dementia groups.
Main Methods:
- Compared grey matter structural covariance and functional connectivity in ICNs between normal controls (NCs) and amyloid-beta (Aβ)-positive AD patients (MCI and dementia).
- Utilized seed-based interregional covariance analysis to compare structural and Aβ plaque covariance in the default mode network (DMN).
Main Results:
- AD patients exhibited increased functional interregional covariance in ICNs anchored to dorsal caudate (DC) seeds compared to NCs.
- Increased connectivity correlated with reduced Aβ plaque covariance in AD-dementia patients within the striatal network anchored to DC seeds.
- Decreased structural covariance was more pronounced in the DMN of AD-dementia patients during functional failure.
Conclusions:
- Functional connectivity in ICNs influences the spatial distribution of molecular pathologies in AD.
- Pathologic covariance comparisons across clinical stages effectively demonstrate the temporal progression of AD.
- Pathologic covariance provides evidence for network and molecular interactions in AD pathogenesis.
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