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Abnormal insula functional network is associated with episodic memory decline in amnestic mild cognitive impairment
Xie C, Bai F, Yu H, Shi Y, Yuan Y, Chen G, Li W, Chen G et al.. NeuroImage, 2012-07-06
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Abnormalities of functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) recently have been reported in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), Alzheimer's disease (AD) or other psychiatric diseases. As such, these abnormalities may be epiphenomena instead of playing a causal role in AD progression. To date, few studies have investigated specific brain networks, which extend beyond the DMN involved in the early AD stages, especially in aMCI. The insula is one site affected by early pathological changes in AD and is a crucial hub of the human brain networks. Currently, we explored the contribution of the insula networks to cognitive performance in aMCI patients. Thirty aMCI and 26 cognitively normal (CN) subjects participated in this study. Intrinsic connectivity of the insula networks was measured, using the resting-state functional connectivity fMRI approach. We examined the differential connectivity of insula networks between groups, and the neural correlation between the altered insula networks connectivity and the cognitive performance in aMCI patients and CN subjects, respectively. Insula subregional volumes were also investigated. AMCI subjects, when compared to CN subjects, showed significantly reduced right posterior insula volumes, cognitive deficits and disrupted intrinsic connectivity of the insula networks. Specifically, decreased intrinsic connectivity was primarily located in the frontal-parietal network and the cingulo-opercular network, including the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC), anterior cingulate cortex, operculum, inferior parietal cortex and precuneus. Increased intrinsic connectivity was primarily situated in the visual-auditory pathway, which included the posterior superior temporal gyrus and middle occipital gyrus. Conjunction analysis was performed; and significantly decreased intrinsic connectivity in the overlapping regions of the anterior and posterior insula networks, including the bilateral aPFC, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and anterior temporal pole was found. Furthermore, the disrupted intrinsic connectivity was associated with episodic memory (EM) deficits in the aMCI patients and not in the CN subjects. These findings demonstrated that the functional integration of the insula networks plays an important role in the EM process. They provided new insight into the neural mechanism underlying the memory deficits in aMCI patients.
Key findings
- AMCI subjects, when compared to CN subjects, showed significantly reduced right posterior insula volumes, cognitive deficits and disrupted intrinsic connectivity of the insula networks.
- Conjunction analysis was performed; and significantly decreased intrinsic connectivity in the overlapping regions of the anterior and posterior insula networks, including the bilateral aPFC, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and anterior temporal pole was found.
- Furthermore, the disrupted intrinsic connectivity was associated with episodic memory (EM) deficits in the aMCI patients and not in the CN subjects.
- These findings demonstrated that the functional integration of the insula networks plays an important role in the EM process.
Why it matters
In this study of 30 amnestic mild cognitive impairment and 26 cognitively normal subjects, those with mild cognitive impairment showed reduced right posterior insula volumes and disrupted intrinsic connectivity of insula networks. The altered connectivity was linked to cognitive performance, but the study does not test any treatment or prevention.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 44/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (NeuroImage) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | NeuroImage: journal h-index 523 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 166 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.4 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 5.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 26 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Shi‐Jiang Li: h-index 45 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Medical College of Wisconsin: institution h-index 747 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22776459) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 44 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.06.062
- PubMed: 22776459
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Xie, C., Bai, F., Yu, H., Shi, Y., Yuan, Y., Chen, G., et al. (2012). Abnormal insula functional network is associated with episodic memory decline in amnestic mild cognitive impairment. NeuroImage. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.06.062
Vancouver
Xie C, Bai F, Yu H, Shi Y, Yuan Y, Chen G, et al. Abnormal insula functional network is associated with episodic memory decline in amnestic mild cognitive impairment. NeuroImage. 2012. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.06.062. PMID: 22776459.
BibTeX
@article{xie2012-22776459,
author = {Xie, C. and Bai, F. and Yu, H. and Shi, Y. and Yuan, Y. and Chen, G. and Li, W. and others},
title = {{Abnormal insula functional network is associated with episodic memory decline in amnestic mild cognitive impairment}},
journal = {NeuroImage},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.06.062},
pmid = {22776459},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.06.062}
}
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