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Hippocampal Connectivity with Retrosplenial Cortex is Linked to Neocortical Tau Accumulation and Memory Function
Ziontz J, Adams JN, Harrison TM, Baker SL, Jagust WJ.. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2021-09-16
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
The mechanisms underlying accumulation of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related tau pathology outside of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) in older adults are unknown but crucial to understanding cognitive decline. A growing body of evidence from human and animal studies strongly implicates neural connectivity in the propagation of tau in humans, but the pathways of neocortical tau spread and its consequences for cognitive function are not well understood. Using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and tau PET imaging from a sample of 97 male and female cognitively normal older adults, we examined MTL structures involved in medial parietal tau accumulation and associations with memory function. Functional connectivity between hippocampus (HC) and retrosplenial cortex (RsC), a key region of the medial parietal lobe, was associated with tau in medial parietal lobe. By contrast, connectivity between entorhinal cortex (EC) and RsC did not correlate with medial parietal lobe tau. Further, greater hippocampal-retrosplenial (HC-RsC) connectivity was associated with a stronger correlation between MTL and medial parietal lobe tau. Finally, an interaction between connectivity strength and medial parietal tau was associated with episodic memory performance, particularly in the visuospatial domain. This pattern of tau accumulation thus appears to reflect pathways of neural connectivity, and propagation of tau from EC to medial parietal lobe via the HC may represent a critical process in the evolution of cognitive dysfunction in aging and AD. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The accumulation of tau pathology in the neocortex is a fundamental process underlying Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we use functional connectivity in cognitively normal older adults to track the accumulation of tau in the medial parietal lobe, a key region for memory processing that is affected early in the progression of AD. We show that the strength of connectivity between the hippocampus (HC) and retrosplenial cortex (RsC) is related to medial parietal tau burden, and that these tau and connectivity measures interact to associate with episodic memory performance. These findings establish the HC as the origin of medial parietal tau and implicate tau pathology in this region as a crucial marker of the beginnings of AD.
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APA 7th
Ziontz, J., Adams, J. N., Harrison, T. M., Baker, S. L., & Jagust, W. J. (2021). Hippocampal Connectivity with Retrosplenial Cortex is Linked to Neocortical Tau Accumulation and Memory Function. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.0990-21.2021
Vancouver
Ziontz J, Adams JN, Harrison TM, Baker SL, Jagust WJ. Hippocampal Connectivity with Retrosplenial Cortex is Linked to Neocortical Tau Accumulation and Memory Function. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 2021. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0990-21.2021. PMID: 34531286.
BibTeX
@article{ziontz2021-34531286,
author = {Ziontz, J. and Adams, J. N. and Harrison, T. M. and Baker, S. L. and Jagust, W. J.},
title = {{Hippocampal Connectivity with Retrosplenial Cortex is Linked to Neocortical Tau Accumulation and Memory Function}},
journal = {The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1523/jneurosci.0990-21.2021},
pmid = {34531286},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.0990-21.2021}
}
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Key findings
- Functional connectivity between hippocampus (HC) and retrosplenial cortex (RsC), a key region of the medial parietal lobe, was associated with tau in medial parietal lobe.
- Further, greater hippocampal-retrosplenial (HC-RsC) connectivity was associated with a stronger correlation between MTL and medial parietal lobe tau.
- Finally, an interaction between connectivity strength and medial parietal tau was associated with episodic memory performance, particularly in the visuospatial domain.
- These findings establish the HC as the origin of medial parietal tau and implicate tau pathology in this region as a crucial marker of the beginnings of AD.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
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 23 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 40 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience) |
| 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 | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 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 34531286) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 23 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 23 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 40 out of 100. |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
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