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Functional alterations in memory networks in early Alzheimer's disease
Sperling RA, Dickerson BC, Pihlajamaki M, Vannini P, LaViolette PS, Vitolo OV, Hedden T, Becker JA et al.. Neuromolecular medicine, 2010-03-01
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
The hallmark clinical symptom of early Alzheimer's disease (AD) is episodic memory impairment. Recent functional imaging studies suggest that memory function is subserved by a set of distributed networks, which include both the medial temporal lobe (MTL) system and the set of cortical regions collectively referred to as the default network. Specific regions of the default network, in particular, the posteromedial cortices, including the precuneus and posterior cingulate, are selectively vulnerable to early amyloid deposition in AD. These regions are also thought to play a key role in both memory encoding and retrieval, and are strongly functionally connected to the MTL. Multiple functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies during memory tasks have revealed alterations in these networks in patients with clinical AD. Similar functional abnormalities have been detected in subjects at-risk for AD, including those with genetic risk and older individuals with mild cognitive impairment. Recently, we and other groups have found evidence of functional alterations in these memory networks even among cognitively intact older individuals with occult amyloid pathology, detected by PET amyloid imaging. Taken together, these findings suggest that the pathophysiological process of AD exerts specific deleterious effects on these distributed memory circuits, even prior to clinical manifestations of significant memory impairment. Interestingly, some of the functional alterations seen in prodromal AD subjects have taken the form of increases in activity relative to baseline, rather than a loss of activity. It remains unclear whether these increases in fMRI activity may be compensatory to maintain memory performance in the setting of early AD pathology or instead, represent evidence of excitotoxicity and impending neuronal failure. Recent studies have also revealed disruption of the intrinsic connectivity of these networks observable even during the resting state in early AD and asymptomatic individuals with high amyloid burden. Research is ongoing to determine if these early network alterations will serve as sensitive predictors of clinical decline, and eventually, as markers of pharmacological response to potential disease-modifying treatments for AD.
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APA 7th
Sperling, R. A., Dickerson, B. C., Pihlajamaki, M., Vannini, P., LaViolette, P. S., Vitolo, O. V., et al. (2010). Functional alterations in memory networks in early Alzheimer's disease. Neuromolecular medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12017-009-8109-7
Vancouver
Sperling RA, Dickerson BC, Pihlajamaki M, Vannini P, LaViolette PS, Vitolo OV, et al. Functional alterations in memory networks in early Alzheimer's disease. Neuromolecular medicine. 2010. doi:10.1007/s12017-009-8109-7. PMID: 20069392.
BibTeX
@article{sperling2010-20069392,
author = {Sperling, R. A. and Dickerson, B. C. and Pihlajamaki, M. and Vannini, P. and LaViolette, P. S. and Vitolo, O. V. and Hedden, T. and Becker, J. A. and others},
title = {{Functional alterations in memory networks in early Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Neuromolecular medicine},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1007/s12017-009-8109-7},
pmid = {20069392},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s12017-009-8109-7}
}
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Key findings
- Recent functional imaging studies suggest that memory function is subserved by a set of distributed networks, which include both the medial temporal lobe (MTL) system and the set of cortical regions collectively referred to as the default network.
- Multiple functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies during memory tasks have revealed alterations in these networks in patients with clinical AD.
- Taken together, these findings suggest that the pathophysiological process of AD exerts specific deleterious effects on these distributed memory circuits, even prior to clinical manifestations of significant memory impairment.
- Recent studies have also revealed disruption of the intrinsic connectivity of these networks observable even during the resting state in early AD and asymptomatic individuals with high amyloid burden.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 36/100
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. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 21 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 36 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neuromolecular medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| 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 | 2010 — 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 | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 20069392) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 21 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 21 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 36 out of 100. |
| Total | 36 / 100 | — |
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