Neural basis for the cognitive continuum in episodic memory from health to Alzheimer disease.
OBJECTIVE
The authors hypothesize that, behaviorally, episodic memory in health and disease reflects a continuum.


METHODS
Subjects (N=12) with very mild Alzheimer disease (AD) and normal subjects (N=24) were investigated with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during an episodic memory task.


RESULTS
Recruitment of a posterior medio-temporal network was correlated with memory performance across the spectrum from high- and low-performing normal subjects to patients with early AD.


CONCLUSIONS
The behavioral spectrum from health to disease in episodic memory function is mirrored neurobiologically with graded recruitment of neuronal activation in medio-temporal regions. The results call for longitudinal assessment of behavioral decline and neuronal recruitment in future studies.
Grön
Georg
G
Memory Clinic, Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Steinhoevelstr. 1, 89075 Ulm, Germany.
Riepe
Matthias W
MW
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D011594:Psychometrics; D011999:Recruitment, Neurophysiological / Q000502:physiology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology