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Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Application of Granger Causality Analysis of the Directed Functional Connection in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: August 7, 2017
Disrupted basal forebrain-cortical connectivity in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: unveiling circuit-level links
Rong-Rong Huang1, Jie Ma1, Jia-Jia Wu1
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Background:
Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) is a transitional stage between normal individuals and dementia. The basal forebrain is a key subcortical hub involved in memory-related cortico-subcortical networks.
Methods:
A total of 66 aMCI patients, including 5 single-domain and 61 multidomain aMCI patients, and 59 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited from the community and underwent comprehensive neuropsychological assessments. After excluding one HC participant due to excessive head motion, 66 aMCI patients and 58 HCs were included in the final imaging analysis. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) was performed, and seed-based functional connectivity analysis was conducted with the basal forebrain as the region of interest.
Results:
Compared with HCs, aMCI patients exhibited reduced basal forebrain functional connectivity overall, but showed increased connectivity between the right nucleus basalis of Meynert and specific cortical regions (p < 0.01, GRF corrected). Long-delayed recall was associated with connectivity between the basal forebrain and the left postcentral gyrus, while language and executive functions were associated with connectivity in the left inferior frontal gyrus (opercular part) and the calcarine cortex, respectively (p < 0.05).
Conclusion:
These findings may help identify basal forebrain-associated network alterations as potential targets for future circuit-based neuromodulation studies in aMCI.
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