Tau, atrophy, and domain-specific cognitive impairment in typical Alzheimer's disease

A granular understanding of the mechanisms linking tau pathology to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease is crucial. We investigate mediating effects of medial temporal lobe (MTL) and neocortical neurodegeneration on tau-induced domain-specific cognitive impairment in amyloid-beta (Aβ) positive cognitively normal and impaired adults.

We assessed magnetic resonance imaging-derived MTL and neocortical volume/thickness and ¹⁸F-Flortaucipir positron emission tomography in 319 Aβ-positive individuals. Cognitive functions across six domains were isolated by adjusting for other cognitive measures.

MTL tau correlated with memory subdomains, neocortical tau with executive function, and both with semantic fluency. Specific structural measures partially mediated these tau-cognition associations: Brodmann area 35 mediated tau-immediate and tau-delayed recall, posterior hippocampus tau-recognition, and inferior temporal cortex tau-semantic fluency associations.

Our findings provide a nuanced understanding of region-specific macrostructural atrophy as one pathway of tau-induced cognitive changes, aligning with known tau spread patterns. Additionally, isolating cognitive functions is a promising approach for future research.

Medial temporal lobe tau was related to memory domains; neocortical tau to executive function. Both tau positron emission tomography measures were associated with semantic fluency. Specific regional atrophy partially mediated tau-induced cognitive changes. Other mechanistic links between tau and cognitive subdomains require investigation. Isolated cognitive domains should be explored as future avenues of research.