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Application of Granger Causality Analysis of the Directed Functional Connection in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment
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Altered structural and functional homotopic connectivity associated with the progression from mild cognitive

Shanshan Chen1, Huimin Wu1, Yu Song1

  • 1Department of Neurology, the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210029, China.

Psychiatry Research
|December 12, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Progressive mild cognitive impairment (pMCI) shows reduced inter-hemispheric connectivity and corpus callosum volume compared to stable MCI. Corpus callosum atrophy mediates this connectivity loss, impacting cognitive function in pMCI patients.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Radiology
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Progressive mild cognitive impairment (pMCI) increases Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk.
  • Brain alterations are noted during pMCI to AD conversion.
  • Subtle inter-hemispheric structural and functional differences between pMCI and stable MCI (sMCI) are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the differences in inter-hemispheric structural and functional connectivity between pMCI and sMCI.
  • To explore the relationship between corpus callosum volume, inter-hemispheric connectivity, and cognitive function in pMCI.

Main Methods:

  • Multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to scan 38 sMCI, 26 pMCI, and 50 healthy controls (HC).
  • Voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) and corpus callosum volume were calculated.
  • Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyzed relationships between corpus callosum, inter-hemispheric connectivity, and cognitive assessment.

Main Results:

  • pMCI patients showed decreased VMHC in the insula and thalamus compared to sMCI.
  • Reduced corpus callosum volume was observed in pMCI compared to sMCI.
  • SEM revealed decreased inter-hemispheric connectivity directly associated with cognitive impairment and corpus callosum atrophy in pMCI.

Conclusions:

  • Destruction of homotopic connectivity is linked to cognitive impairment in pMCI.
  • Corpus callosum atrophy partially mediates the relationship between homotopic connectivity and cognitive impairment in pMCI.
  • These findings highlight the role of inter-hemispheric communication deficits in the progression from MCI to AD.
Keywords:
Alzheimer's diseaseProgressive mild cognitive impairmentStable mild cognitive impairmentVoxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity

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