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Spontaneous brain activity in mild cognitive impairment revealed by amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation analysis: a resting-state fMRI study

Attività cerebrale spontanea nel deterioramento cognitivo lieve, dimostrata dall'analisi dell'ampiezza delle fluttuazioni a bassa frequenza: studio fMRI resting-state

  • Neuroradiology / Neuroradiologia
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Abstract

Spontaneous low-frequency fluctuations (LFF) in the blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal have been shown to reflect cerebral spontaneous neural activity. The objective of this study was to explore brain functional changes in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by measuring the amplitude of the BOLD signals. Eighteen amnestic MCI patients and 20 healthy elderly individuals underwent the fMRI scan. The amplitude of LFF (ALFF) was calculated using REST software. MCI patients showed decreased ALFF in the right hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex, left lateral temporal cortex and right ventral medial prefrontal cortex and increased ALFF in the left temporal-parietal joint (TPJ) and inferior parietal lobule. The ALFF value in the right hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex was positively correlated with the scores of Mini-Mental State Exam. Reduced medial temporal lobe activity may implicate the underlying memory impairment mechanisms in MCI. Increased TPJ and inferior parietal lobule activity may indicate the compensatory mechanism in MCI patients. These findings suggest that ALFF analysis could provide a useful tool in the fMRI study of MCI.

Riassunto

Le fluttuazioni spontanee a bassa frequenza dell'imaging a risonanza magnetica funzionale (fMRI), ottenuto tramite segnale dipendente dal grado di ossigenazione del sangue (BOLD), hanno dimostrato di rispecchiare l'attività nervosa spontanea. Lo scopo dello studio è stato quello di indagare i cambiamenti funzionali del cervello, in pazienti affetti da deterioramento cognitivo lieve (mild cognitive impairment, MCI), attraverso la misurazione dell'ampiezza dei segnali BOLD. Diciotto pazienti con diagnosi di MCI e 20 controlli anziani sani sono stati sottoposti ad una sessione di fMRI. L'ampiezza delle fluttuazioni a bassa frequenza (AFBF) è stata calcolata utilizzando il software REST. I pazienti con MCI hanno presentato una riduzione dell'AFBF nell'ippocampo di destra, nella corteccia para-ippocampale, nella corteccia temporale laterale di sinistra e nella corteccia pre-frontale ventro-mediale di destra; l'AFBF era aumentata nella giunzione temporoparietale di sinistra (GTP) e nel lobo parietale inferiore. Il valore dell'AFBF nell'ippocampo di destra e nella corteccia para-ippocampale era positivamente correlato con i punteggi del questionario Mini Mental State. La riduzione dell'attività del lobo temporale mediale potrebbe rappresentare la base dei meccanismi di alterazione della memoria nel MCI. L'incremento dell'attività nella GTP e nel lobo parietale inferiore potrebbe indicare un meccanismo compensatorio nei pazienti con MCI. Queste evidenze suggeriscono che l'analisi delle AFBF potrebbe essere uno strumento molto utile nello studio fMRI dei pazienti con MCI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Tongji Hospital of Tongji University, 389 Xin Cun Road, Shanghai, 200065, P.R. China

    Q. Xi, X. Zhao, P. Wang & H. Jiang

  2. Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital of Fudan University, 12 Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, P.R. China

    Q. Guo & X. Cao

  3. State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekou Outside Street, Beijing, 100875, P.R. China

    Y. He & C. Yan

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  1. Q. Xi
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  4. Q. Guo
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  7. Y. He
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Correspondence to P. Wang.

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Xi, Q., Zhao, X., Wang, P. et al. Spontaneous brain activity in mild cognitive impairment revealed by amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation analysis: a resting-state fMRI study. Radiol med 117, 865–871 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-011-0780-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-011-0780-8

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