Functional Connectome of Superagers Reveals Early Markers of Resilience and Vulnerability to Alzheimer's Disease.

ABSTRACT: As populations age, identifying the neurobiological basis of cognitive resilience is critical for delaying or preventing Alzheimer's disease (AD). While most older adults experience memory decline, a subset known as superagers (SA) maintains youthful memory into late life, offering a unique window into protective mechanisms against neurodegeneration. Here, we identified a functional connectivity (FC) signature, termed Alzheimer's-resilient connectome (ARC), that robustly differentiates SA from age-matched patients with AD. Using resting-state fMRI in a discovery cohort (N = 290), we identified ARC derived from machine learning classifiers that distinguished SA from AD with high accuracy (AUC = 0.85), and validated the replicability of the ARC in an independent replication cohort (N = 143).

SUBMITTER: Zhao K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12330726 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature