Precuneus degeneration in nondemented elderly individuals with APOE ɛ4: Evidence from structural and functional MRI analyses.
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been recognized to exhibit disease-specific brain vulnerability patterns. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ɛ4 allele imparts a high genetic risk of developing AD. Whether the APOE ɛ4 allele damages the brain when cognitive functions are still intact is important to understand, especially for possible early detection and intervention. This study aimed to examine the selective degeneration pattern associated with the APOE ɛ4 allele in the brains of cognitively normal elderly subjects. We enrolled 35 cognitively healthy ɛ4 carriers and 40 non-carriers (53 to 81 years old) to evaluate group differences in cortical thickness and brain activation during a memory-encoding task. We also assessed the functional connectivity of the brain regions with both structural and functional damages. The results from the neuropsychological tests showed that the performances of ɛ4 carriers and non-carriers were comparable. Primarily, we found that the precuneus exhibited thinner cortical thickness and decreased deactivation during memory encoding. Furthermore, the connectivity analyses show that carriers exhibited damaged connectivity of the precuneus to several regions in the default mode network and the attention/executive control network. Our study reveals the degeneration pattern of the ɛ4 allele, which could be used as a potential biomarker for early detection for possible interventions and treatments. Hum Brain Mapp 38:271-282, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.|BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Yaojing
Y
Chen
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.|BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Zhen
Z
Liu
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.|BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Junying
J
Zhang
BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.|Banner Alzheimer's Institute, Phoenix, Arizona.
Kewei
K
Chen
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.|Information Processing Lab, College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Li
L
Yao
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.|BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Xin
X
Li
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.|BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Gaolang
G
Gong
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.|BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Jun
J
Wang
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.|BABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Zhanjun
Z
Zhang
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*
D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D010100:Oxygen
APOE ɛ4 allele; Alzheimer's disease; cortical thickness; deactivation; functional connectivity; precuneus