Neurodegenerative diseases target large-scale human brain networks.
During development, the healthy human brain constructs a host of large-scale, distributed, function-critical neural networks. Neurodegenerative diseases have been thought to target these systems, but this hypothesis has not been systematically tested in living humans. We used network-sensitive neuroimaging methods to show that five different neurodegenerative syndromes cause circumscribed atrophy within five distinct, healthy, human intrinsic functional connectivity networks. We further discovered a direct link between intrinsic connectivity and gray matter structure. Across healthy individuals, nodes within each functional network exhibited tightly correlated gray matter volumes. The findings suggest that human neural networks can be defined by synchronous baseline activity, a unified corticotrophic fate, and selective vulnerability to neurodegenerative illness. Future studies may clarify how these complex systems are assembled during development and undermined by disease.
Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. wseeley@memory.ucsf.edu
William W
WW
Seeley
Richard K
RK
Crawford
Juan
J
Zhou
Bruce L
BL
Miller
Michael D
MD
Greicius
D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood
D010100:Oxygen