title: Neural correlates of verbal episodic memory in patients with MCI and Alzheimer's disease--a VBM study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The hippocampus is a key area for episodic memory processes. Hippocampal atrophy is a hallmark feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We used a new and automatized morphometric technique to better characterize brain atrophy in subjects with different levels of cognitive deficit.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study 21 participants with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), 12 patients with early AD and 29 elderly control subjects were subjected to high resolution MRI and a neuropsychological test battery. Brain volume across participants, measured by voxel-based morphometry (VBM), was correlated with verbal memory capacity, measured with a verbal memory test (VLMT).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Atrophy in the anterior hippocampus, the ento- and perirhinal cortex as well as the parahippocampal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex correlated closely with episodic memory performance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These brain areas are known to subserve episodic encoding of verbal material. The data contribute to a better understanding of atrophic brain processes in subjects at risk for AD. A combination of neuropsychological testing and voxel-based morphometry may serve as a diagnostic tool in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, Aachen, Germany. dleube@ukaachen.de
authors.forename: Dirk T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Leube
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weis
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Freymann
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Erb
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jessen
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heun
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Grodd
authors.forename: Tilo T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Kircher
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D001284:Atrophy / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D020534:Parahippocampal Gyrus / Q000502:physiology*; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology