In vivo mapping of brainstem nuclei functional connectivity disruption in Alzheimer's disease.

Serra, Laura, D'Amelio, Marcello, Di Domenico, Carlotta, Dipasquale, Ottavia, Marra, Camillo, Mercuri, Nicola Biagio, Caltagirone, Carlo, Cercignani, Mara ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4550-2456 and Bozzali, Marco 2018. In vivo mapping of brainstem nuclei functional connectivity disruption in Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiology of Aging 73 , pp. 72-82. 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.08.012

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (1MB)

Abstract

We assessed here functional connectivity changes in the locus coeruleus (LC) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). We recruited 169 patients with either AD or amnestic mild cognitive impairment due to AD and 37 elderly controls who underwent cognitive and neuropsychiatric assessments and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3T. Connectivity was assessed between LC and VTA and the rest of the brain. In amnestic mild cognitive impairment patients, VTA disconnection was predominant with parietal regions, while in AD patients, it involved the posterior nodes of the default-mode network. We also looked at the association between neuropsychiatric symptoms (assessed by the neuropsychiatric inventory) and VTA connectivity. Symptoms such as agitation, irritability, and disinhibition were associated with VTA connectivity with the parahippocampal gyrus and cerebellar vermis, while sleep and eating disorders were associated with VTA connectivity to the striatum and the insular cortex. This suggests a contribution of VTA degeneration to AD pathophysiology and to the occurrence of neuropsychiatric symptoms. We did not find evidence of LC disconnection, but this could be explained by the size of this nucleus, which makes it difficult to isolate. These results are consistent with animal findings and have potential implications for AD prognosis and therapies.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0197-4580
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	12 March 2021
Date of Acceptance:	14 August 2018
Last Modified:	04 May 2023 22:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/139582

Citation Data

Cited 60 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item