Multi-Index Brain Function-Cognition Correlation in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Resting-State fMRI Study

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neurology

Background:

• Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is a transitional stage to Alzheimer's disease.
• Previous studies often used single metrics, limiting understanding of complex brain function in aMCI.
• Resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) offers a window into intrinsic brain activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the relationship between multiple rs-fMRI metrics and cognitive function in aMCI patients.
• To identify specific functional brain alterations associated with cognitive decline in aMCI.
• To advance beyond single-metric analyses for a more comprehensive view of aMCI.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 40 aMCI patients and 20 healthy controls.
• Acquired 3.0T rs-fMRI data and conducted neurocognitive assessments (MoCA, DST).
• Analyzed multiple rs-fMRI metrics including Regional Homogeneity (ReHo), Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations (ALFF/fALFF), and Resting-State Functional Connectivity (RSFC).

Main Results:

• aMCI patients exhibited increased frontal ReHo and decreased ALFF in default mode network (DMN) hubs.
• Reduced prefrontal-parietal-temporal RSFC was observed in aMCI.
• Frontal hyper-synchronization negatively correlated with cognitive scores, while DMN ALFF positively correlated.

Conclusions:

• Multi-metric rs-fMRI effectively detects characteristic functional brain alterations in aMCI.
• These findings suggest regional brain damage or compensatory mechanisms linked to cognitive performance in aMCI.
• This approach provides a more nuanced understanding of brain dysfunction in the progression to dementia.