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Synaptic loss in the inferior temporal gyrus in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease
Scheff SW, Price DA, Schmitt FA, Scheff MA, Mufson EJ.. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2011-01-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a slowly progressing form of dementia characterized in its earliest stages as a loss of memory. Individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) may be in the earliest stages of the disease and represent an opportunity to identify pathological changes related to the progression of AD. Synaptic loss is one of the hallmarks of AD and associated with cognitive impairment. The inferior temporal gyrus plays an important role in verbal fluency, a cognitive function affected early in the onset of AD. Unbiased stereology coupled with electron microscopy was used to quantify total synaptic numbers in lamina 3 of the inferior temporal gyrus from short postmortem autopsy tissue harvested from subjects who died at different cognitive stages during the progression of AD. Individuals with aMCI had significantly fewer synapses (36%) compared to individuals with no cognitive impairment. Individuals with AD showed a loss of synapses very similar to the aMCI cohort. Synaptic numbers correlated highly with Mini Mental State Examination scores and a test of category verbal fluency. These results demonstrate that the inferior temporal gyrus is affected during the prodromal stage of the disease and may underlie some of the early AD-related clinical dysfunctions.
Key findings
- Synaptic loss is one of the hallmarks of AD and associated with cognitive impairment.
- Individuals with aMCI had significantly fewer synapses (36%) compared to individuals with no cognitive impairment.
- These results demonstrate that the inferior temporal gyrus is affected during the prodromal stage of the disease and may underlie some of the early AD-related clinical dysfunctions.
Why it matters
People with amnestic mild cognitive impairment had significantly fewer synapses in the inferior temporal gyrus compared to those with no cognitive impairment, similar to people with Alzheimer's disease. This shows synaptic loss occurs early, but the study does not test any treatment.
Study details
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 48/100
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 (Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Alzheimer s Disease: journal h-index 218 (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 | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2011 — 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 301 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 17.7 citations a year over 17 year(s) since 2011 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 8 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 78 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Elliott Jay Mufson: h-index 103 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Kentucky: institution h-index 824 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 21297265) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 48 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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APA 7th
Scheff, S. W., Price, D. A., Schmitt, F. A., Scheff, M. A., & Mufson, E. J. (2011). Synaptic loss in the inferior temporal gyrus in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-2011-101782
Vancouver
Scheff SW, Price DA, Schmitt FA, Scheff MA, Mufson EJ. Synaptic loss in the inferior temporal gyrus in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2011. doi:10.3233/jad-2011-101782. PMID: 21297265.
BibTeX
@article{scheff2011-21297265,
author = {Scheff, S. W. and Price, D. A. and Schmitt, F. A. and Scheff, M. A. and Mufson, E. J.},
title = {{Synaptic loss in the inferior temporal gyrus in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.3233/jad-2011-101782},
pmid = {21297265},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-2011-101782}
}
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