Longitudinal Alteration of Intrinsic Brain Activity in the Striatum in Mild Cognitive Impairment

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Ren, Ping^a | Lo, Raymond Y.^b | Chapman, Benjamin P.^{c; d} | Mapstone, Mark^e | Porsteinsson, Anton^c | Lin, Feng^{a; c; f; *} | the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative¹

Affiliations: [a] School of Nursing, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA | [b] Department of Neurology, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan | [c] Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA | [d] Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA | [e] Department of Neurology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA | [f] Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Feng Lin, PhD, 601 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY 14618, USA. Tel.: +1 585 276 6002; Fax: +1 585 273 1258; E-mail: [email protected].

Note: [1] Data used in preparation of this article were obtained from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database (http://adni.loni.usc.edu). As such, the investigators within the ADNI contributed to the design and implementation of ADNI and/or provided data but did not participate in analysis or writing of this report. A complete listing of ADNI investigators can be found at: http://adni.loni.usc.edu

Abstract: The striatum is a critical functional hub in understanding neurological disorders. However, the Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-associated striatal change is unclear, as is the relationship between striatal change and AD pathology. Three-year resting-state fMRI data from 15 healthy control (HC) and 20 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) participants were obtained. We analyzed the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) (0.01–0.08 Hz) and two subdivided bands (slow-4:0.027–0.073 Hz; slow-5:0.01–0.027 Hz). We calculated Aβ/pTau ratio using baseline cerebrospinal fluid pTau and Aβ1-42 to represent AD pathology. Compared to HC, MCI participants showed greater decline in right putaminal ALFF, including the slow-4 band. Greater decline of ALFF in the right putamen was significantly related to the memory decline over time and lower baseline Aβ/pTau ratio regardless of age or group. The slow-4 band, relative to slow-5 band, showed a stronger correlation between Aβ/pTau ratio and decline of ALFF in the right putamen. The results suggest that the putaminal function declines early in the AD-associated neurodegeneration. The continuous decline in putaminal ALFF, especially slow-4 band, may be a sensitive marker of AD pathology such as Aβ/pTau ratio regardless of clinical diagnosis.

Keywords: Amyloid-beta, low-frequency fluctuation, mild cognitive impairment, pTau, resting state fMRI, striatum

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-160368

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 69-78, 2016