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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Generalized Psychophysiological Interaction (PPI) Analysis of Memory Related Connectivity in Individuals at Genetic Risk for Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: November 14, 2017
A local-to-distant shift in dynamic brain connectivity marks early Alzheimer's risk
Andrea Coca-Pulido1, Patricio Solis-Urra2,3, Oren Contreras-Rodríguez4,5,6,7
1Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), University of Granada, Granada, Spain. acocapulido@ugr.es.
Alzheimer's disease risk markers like amyloid-beta and APOE4 are linked to altered brain connectivity in normal aging. This shift from local to distant connectivity may signal early network vulnerability and aid risk monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomarkers
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with early disruptions in brain connectivity.
- The relationship between AD risk markers and dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) in cognitively normal individuals is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate associations between AD pathology, genetic risk, and blood-based biomarkers (BBMs) with resting-state dynamic functional connectivity (rs-dFC).
- To explore the link between these AD markers, rs-dFC, and cognitive performance in cognitively normal older adults.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of baseline data from 86 cognitively normal older adults.
- Assessment of amyloid-beta (Aβ)-PET, APOE4 genotyping, and plasma BBMs (Aβ42/40, BD-tau, GFAP, NfL, p-tau181, p-tau217).
- Computation of voxel-wise local and distant rs-dFC using rs-fMRI and a stepwise connectivity framework.
Main Results:
- Aβ-positive individuals and APOE4 carriers showed reduced frontal local connectivity.
- APOE4 carriers exhibited increased distant connectivity in specific brain regions.
- Neurofilament light chain (NfL) was associated with both reduced local and increased distant connectivity.
Conclusions:
- Higher AD risk (Aβ-positivity, APOE4 carriage, elevated NfL) converges on a distinct rs-dFC signature: reduced local and increased distant connectivity.
- This local-to-distant connectivity shift may represent an early functional marker of AD-related network vulnerability.
- This finding could support early risk monitoring and stratification in aging populations.
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