Department of Radiology, Tianjin Baodi Hospital, Baodi Clinical College of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Department of Cardiology, The Third Central Hospital of Tianjin, Tianjin, China.
Brain Behav. 2024 Jun;14(6):e3601. doi: 10.1002/brb3.3601.
To explore the functional connectivity (FC) characteristics of the episodic memory network (EMN) in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients with different levels of executive function (EF).
This study included 76 participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database, comprising 23 healthy controls (HCs) and 53 aMCI patients. Based on EF levels, aMCI patients were categorized into aMCI-highEF and aMCI-lowEF groups. Cognitive function scores, pathological markers (cerebrospinal fluid β-amyloid, total tau protein, phosphorylated tau protein, AV45-PET, and FDG-PET), and functional magnetic resonance imaging were collected and compared among the three groups. Seed-based FC analysis was used to examine differences in the EMN among the groups, and partial correlation analysis was employed to investigate the relationship between changes in FC and cognitive function scores as well as pathological markers.
Compared to the aMCI-highEF group, the aMCI-lowEF group exhibited more severe cognitive impairment, decreased cerebral glucose metabolism, and elevated AV45 levels. Significant FC differences in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG) of the EMN were observed among the three groups. Post hoc analysis revealed that the aMCI-lowEF group had increased FC in the left STG compared to the HCs and aMCI-highEF groups, with statistically significant differences. Correlation analysis showed a significant negative correlation between the differences in FC in the left STG of aMCI-highEF and aMCI-lowEF groups and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test forgetting scores. Receiver operator characteristic curve analysis indicated an area under the curve of 0.741 for distinguishing between aMCI-highEF and aMCI-lowEF groups based on FC of left STG, with a sensitivity of 0.808 and a specificity of 0.667.
aMCI-lowEF exhibits characteristic changes in FC within the EMN, providing theoretical support for the role of EF in mediating EMN alterations and, consequently, impacting episodic memory function.
探讨不同执行功能（EF）水平的遗忘型轻度认知障碍（aMCI）患者情景记忆网络（EMN）的功能连接（FC）特征。
本研究纳入了阿尔茨海默病神经影像学倡议数据库中的 76 名参与者，包括 23 名健康对照（HC）和 53 名 aMCI 患者。根据 EF 水平，将 aMCI 患者分为 aMCI-highEF 和 aMCI-lowEF 组。收集并比较了三组的认知功能评分、病理标志物（脑脊液β-淀粉样蛋白、总tau 蛋白、磷酸化 tau 蛋白、AV45-PET 和 FDG-PET）和功能磁共振成像。采用基于种子的 FC 分析比较了三组之间 EMN 的差异，并采用偏相关分析探讨了 FC 变化与认知功能评分和病理标志物之间的关系。
与 aMCI-highEF 组相比，aMCI-lowEF 组表现出更严重的认知障碍、脑葡萄糖代谢降低和 AV45 水平升高。三组间 EMN 左侧优势颞叶（STG）的 FC 存在显著差异。事后分析显示，与 HCs 和 aMCI-highEF 组相比，aMCI-lowEF 组左侧 STG 的 FC 增加，差异具有统计学意义。相关性分析显示，aMCI-highEF 和 aMCI-lowEF 组左侧 STG 的 FC 差异与 Rey 听觉言语学习测试遗忘评分呈显著负相关。ROC 曲线分析表明，基于左侧 STG 的 FC 区分 aMCI-highEF 和 aMCI-lowEF 组的曲线下面积为 0.741，敏感性为 0.808，特异性为 0.667。
aMCI-lowEF 在 EMN 内存在 FC 特征性改变，为 EF 在介导 EMN 改变以及影响情景记忆功能方面的作用提供了理论支持。
