Altered functional coupling between the cerebellum and cerebrum in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment

Cognitive processing relies on the functional coupling between the cerebrum and cerebellum. However, it remains unclear how the 2 collaborate in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients. With functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques, we compared cerebrocerebellar functional connectivity during the resting state (rsFC) between the aMCI and healthy control (HC) groups. Additionally, we distinguished coupling between functionally corresponding and noncorresponding areas across the cerebrum and cerebellum. The results demonstrated decreased rsFC between both functionally corresponding and noncorresponding areas, suggesting distributed deficits of cerebrocerebellar connections in aMCI patients. Increased rsFC was also observed, which were between functionally noncorresponding areas. Moreover, the increased rsFC was positively correlated with attentional scores in the aMCI group, and this effect was absent in the HC group, supporting that there exists a compensatory mechanism in patients. The current study contributes to illustrating how the cerebellum adjusts its coupling with the cerebrum in individuals with cognitive impairment.