Exploring Patterns of Alteration in Alzheimer's Disease Brain Networks: A Combined Structural and Functional Connectomics Analysis.

ABSTRACT: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a severe derangement of cognitive functions, primarily memory, in elderly subjects. As far as the functional impairment is concerned, growing evidence supports the "disconnection syndrome" hypothesis. Recent investigations using fMRI have revealed a generalized alteration of resting state networks (RSNs) in patients affected by AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, it was unclear whether the changes in functional connectivity were accompanied by corresponding structural network changes. In this work, we have developed a novel structural/functional connectomic approach: resting state fMRI was used to identify the functional cortical network nodes and diffusion MRI to reconstruct the fiber tracts to give a w

SUBMITTER: Palesi F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5013043 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature