Ye Qing, Chen Haifeng, Liu Renyuan, Qin Ruomeng, Luo Caimei, Li Mengchun, Xu Yun, Zhao Hui, Bai Feng
Department of Neurology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China.
The State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute of Brain Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2021 Nov 17;13:756241. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.756241. eCollection 2021.
Both episodic memory and executive function are impaired in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) subjects, but it is unclear if these impairments are independent or interactive. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between episodic memory deficits and executive function deficits, and the underlying functional mechanisms in aMCI subjects. Thirty-one aMCI subjects and 27 healthy subjects underwent neuropsychological tests and multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Hippocampal networks and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) networks were identified based on resting-sate functional MRI (fMRI) data. AMCI subjects displayed lower episodic memory scores and executive function scores than control subjects, and the episodic memory scores were positively correlated with the executive function scores in aMCI subjects. Brain network analyses showed an interaction between the hippocampal networks and the MPFC networks, and the interaction was significantly associated with the episodic memory scores and the executive function scores. Notably, aMCI subjects displayed higher functional connectivity (FC) of the right hippocampal network with the right prefrontal cortex than did control subjects, but this difference disappeared when controlling for the MPFC networks. Furthermore, the effects of the MPFC networks on the hippocampal networks were significantly associated with the episodic memory scores in aMCI subjects. The present findings suggested that the episodic memory deficits in aMCI subjects could be partially underpinned by the modulation of the MPFC networks on the hippocampal networks.
遗忘型轻度认知障碍（aMCI）患者的情景记忆和执行功能均受损，但尚不清楚这些损害是独立的还是相互作用的。本研究旨在探讨aMCI患者情景记忆缺陷与执行功能缺陷之间的关系及其潜在的功能机制。31名aMCI患者和27名健康受试者接受了神经心理学测试和多模态磁共振成像（MRI）扫描。基于静息态功能磁共振成像（fMRI）数据确定海马网络和内侧前额叶皮质（MPFC）网络。aMCI患者的情景记忆得分和执行功能得分低于对照组，且aMCI患者的情景记忆得分与执行功能得分呈正相关。脑网络分析显示海马网络和MPFC网络之间存在相互作用，且这种相互作用与情景记忆得分和执行功能得分显著相关。值得注意的是，与对照组相比，aMCI患者右侧海马网络与右侧前额叶皮质的功能连接性（FC）更高，但在控制MPFC网络后，这种差异消失。此外，MPFC网络对海马网络的影响与aMCI患者的情景记忆得分显著相关。本研究结果表明，aMCI患者的情景记忆缺陷可能部分由MPFC网络对海马网络的调节作用所导致。
