Home LiteratureArticle Details
PMID: 18544670 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Morphometric changes in the episodic memory network and tau pathologic features correlate with memory performance in patients with mild cognitive impairment.

AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology ·Vol. 29 ·No. 6 ·2008-06-00 ·Pages 1183-9

Fjell AM, Walhovd KB, Amlien I, Bjørnerud A, Reinvang I, Gjerstad L, Cappelen T, Willoch F, Due-Tønnessen P, Grambaite R, Skinningsrud A, Stenset V, Fladby T

Abstract

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may affect several cognitive domains, including attention and reasoning, but is often first characterized by memory deficits. The purpose of this study was to ask these 2 questions: 1) Can levels of CSF tau proteins and amyloid beta 42 peptide explain thinning of the cerebral cortex in patients with MCI? 2) How are brain morphometry, CSF biomarkers, and apolipoprotein E (APOE) allelic variation related to episodic memory function in MCI? Hippocampal volume and cortical thickness were estimated by MR imaging and compared for patients with MCI (n = 18) and healthy controls (n = 18). In addition, regions of interest (ROIs) were selected in areas where the MCI group had atrophy and which overlapped with the episodic memory network (temporal, entorhinal, inferior parietal, precuneus/posterior cingulate, and frontal). Relationships among morphometry, CSF biomarkers, APOE, and memory were tested. The analyses were repeated with an independent sample of patients with MCI (n = 19). Patients with MCI and pathologic CSF values had hippocampal atrophy. However, both patients with pathologic and patients with nonpathologic CSF had a thinner cortex outside the hippocampal area. CSF pathology was related to hippocampal volume, whereas relationships with cortical thickness were found mainly in one of the samples. Morphometry correlated robustly with memory performance across MCI samples, whereas less stable results were found for tau protein. The differences in hippocampal volume between the MCI and the healthy control groups were only found in patients with pathologic CSF biomarkers, whereas differences in cortical thickness were also found for patients without such pathologic features. Morphometry in areas in the episodic memory network was robustly correlated with memory performance. It is speculated that atrophy in these areas may be associated with the memory problems seen in MCI.

MeSH Terms
Adult Aged Amyloid beta-Peptides/cerebrospinal fluid Cognition Disorders/cerebrospinal fluid,complications,diagnosis Female Hippocampus/pathology Humans Male Memory Memory Disorders/cerebrospinal fluid,complications,diagnosis Middle Aged Peptide Fragments/cerebrospinal fluid Reproducibility of Results Sensitivity and Specificity Statistics as Topic tau Proteins/cerebrospinal fluid
Chemicals
Amyloid beta-Peptides Peptide Fragments amyloid beta-protein (1-42) tau Proteins
Authors & Affiliations
13 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Fjell A M
Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. [email protected]
Walhovd K B
Amlien I
Bjørnerud A
Reinvang I
Gjerstad L
Cappelen T
Willoch F
Due-Tønnessen P
Grambaite R
Skinningsrud A
Stenset V
Fladby T
References (51)
51 references, click to expand
  1. Mild cognitive impairment.
    Lancet. 2006 Apr 15;367(9518):1262-70 PMID: 16631882
  2. Spatial patterns of cortical thinning in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
    Brain. 2006 Nov;129(Pt 11):2885-93 PMID: 17008332
  3. Impaired associative memory in temporal lobe epilepsy subjects after lesions of hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and amygdala.
    Hippocampus. 2004;14(6):785-96 PMID: 15318335
  4. Correlation of cerebrospinal fluid levels of tau protein phosphorylated at threonine 231 with rates of hippocampal atrophy in Alzheimer disease.
    Arch Neurol. 2005 May;62(5):770-3 PMID: 15883264
  5. MRI-Based topographic parcellation of human cerebral white matter and nuclei II. Rationale and applications with systematics of cerebral connectivity.
    Neuroimage. 1999 Jan;9(1):18-45 PMID: 9918726
  6. High-resolution intersubject averaging and a coordinate system for the cortical surface.
    Hum Brain Mapp. 1999;8(4):272-84 PMID: 10619420
  7. The cognitive neuroscience of remembering.
    Nat Rev Neurosci. 2001 Sep;2(9):624-34 PMID: 11533730
  8. Gene dose of apolipoprotein E type 4 allele and the risk of Alzheimer's disease in late onset families.
    Science. 1993 Aug 13;261(5123):921-3 PMID: 8346443
  9. Measuring the thickness of the human cerebral cortex from magnetic resonance images.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Sep 26;97(20):11050-5 PMID: 10984517
  10. Amyloid, hypometabolism, and cognition in Alzheimer disease: an [11C]PIB and [18F]FDG PET study.
    Neurology. 2007 Feb 13;68(7):501-8 PMID: 17065593
  11. Biomarker profiles and their relation to clinical variables in mild cognitive impairment.
    Neurocase. 2005 Feb;11(1):8-13 PMID: 15804919
  12. Cerebrospinal fluid TAU protein and amyloid beta42 in mild cognitive impairment: prediction of progression to Alzheimer's disease and correlation with the neuropsychological examination.
    Neurocase. 2005 Feb;11(1):32-9 PMID: 15804922
  13. The GDS/FAST staging system.
    Int Psychogeriatr. 1997;9 Suppl 1:167-71 PMID: 9447440
  14. Automated manifold surgery: constructing geometrically accurate and topologically correct models of the human cerebral cortex.
    IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2001 Jan;20(1):70-80 PMID: 11293693
  15. Whole brain segmentation: automated labeling of neuroanatomical structures in the human brain.
    Neuron. 2002 Jan 31;33(3):341-55 PMID: 11832223
  16. Thinning of the cerebral cortex in aging.
    Cereb Cortex. 2004 Jul;14(7):721-30 PMID: 15054051
  17. Amygdala-hippocampal atrophy and memory performance in dementia of Alzheimer type.
    Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 1997 Nov-Dec;8(6):329-36 PMID: 9370084
  18. Differential regional dysfunction of the hippocampal formation among elderly with memory decline and Alzheimer's disease.
    Ann Neurol. 1999 Apr;45(4):466-72 PMID: 10211471
  19. Longitudinal CSF and MRI biomarkers improve the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment.
    Neurobiol Aging. 2006 Mar;27(3):394-401 PMID: 16125823
  20. Neurofibrillary tangles, amyloid, and memory in aging and mild cognitive impairment.
    Arch Neurol. 2003 May;60(5):729-36 PMID: 12756137
  21. "Mini-mental state". A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician.
    J Psychiatr Res. 1975 Nov;12(3):189-98 PMID: 1202204
  22. Regional cortical thickness matters in recall after months more than minutes.
    Neuroimage. 2006 Jul 1;31(3):1343-51 PMID: 16540346
  23. Tangles and plaques in nondemented aging and "preclinical" Alzheimer's disease.
    Ann Neurol. 1999 Mar;45(3):358-68 PMID: 10072051
  24. Detection of cortical thickness correlates of cognitive performance: Reliability across MRI scan sessions, scanners, and field strengths.
    Neuroimage. 2008 Jan 1;39(1):10-8 PMID: 17942325
  25. Memory and executive function in aging and AD: multiple factors that cause decline and reserve factors that compensate.
    Neuron. 2004 Sep 30;44(1):195-208 PMID: 15450170
  26. Apolipoprotein (apo) E4 enhances amyloid beta peptide production in cultured neuronal cells: apoE structure as a potential therapeutic target.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Dec 20;102(51):18700-5 PMID: 16344478
  27. Global and local gray matter loss in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
    Neuroimage. 2004 Oct;23(2):708-16 PMID: 15488420
  28. Cortical surface-based analysis. I. Segmentation and surface reconstruction.
    Neuroimage. 1999 Feb;9(2):179-94 PMID: 9931268
  29. Memory disorders in probable Alzheimer's disease: the role of hippocampal atrophy as shown with MRI.
    J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1995 May;58(5):590-7 PMID: 7745409
  30. Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for disease stage and intensity in cognitively impaired patients.
    Neurosci Lett. 2003 Mar 20;339(2):99-102 PMID: 12614904
  31. Differential cortical atrophy in subgroups of mild cognitive impairment.
    Arch Neurol. 2005 Sep;62(9):1393-7 PMID: 16157746
  32. Early marker for Alzheimer's disease: the atrophic hippocampus.
    Lancet. 1989 Sep 16;2(8664):672-3 PMID: 2570916
  33. Correlation between elevated levels of amyloid beta-peptide in the brain and cognitive decline.
    JAMA. 2000 Mar 22-29;283(12):1571-7 PMID: 10735393
  34. Neuroplasticity failure in Alzheimer's disease: bridging the gap between plaques and tangles.
    Neuron. 1999 Nov;24(3):521-9 PMID: 10595506
  35. Improved Localizadon of Cortical Activity by Combining EEG and MEG with MRI Cortical Surface Reconstruction: A Linear Approach.
    J Cogn Neurosci. 1993 Spring;5(2):162-76 PMID: 23972151
  36. Regional and progressive thinning of the cortical ribbon in Huntington's disease.
    Neurology. 2002 Mar 12;58(5):695-701 PMID: 11889230
  37. Global Deterioration Scale (GDS).
    Psychopharmacol Bull. 1988;24(4):661-3 PMID: 3249768
  38. Practice parameter: early detection of dementia: mild cognitive impairment (an evidence-based review). Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology.
    Neurology. 2001 May 8;56(9):1133-42 PMID: 11342677
  39. Differential CSF biomarker levels in APOE-epsilon4-positive and -negative patients with memory impairment.
    Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2007;23(2):87-95 PMID: 17124416
  40. Medial temporal structures relate to memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease: an MRI volumetric study.
    J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1997 Aug;63(2):214-21 PMID: 9285461
  41. Imaging beta-amyloid burden in aging and dementia.
    Neurology. 2007 May 15;68(20):1718-25 PMID: 17502554
  42. Reliability of MRI-derived measurements of human cerebral cortical thickness: the effects of field strength, scanner upgrade and manufacturer.
    Neuroimage. 2006 Aug 1;32(1):180-94 PMID: 16651008
  43. Magnetic resonance imaging of the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
    J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2001 Oct;71(4):441-7 PMID: 11561025
  44. Cerebrospinal fluid profile in frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
    Ann Neurol. 2005 May;57(5):721-9 PMID: 15852395
  45. Regionally localized thinning of the cerebral cortex in schizophrenia.
    Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2003 Sep;60(9):878-88 PMID: 12963669
  46. Tau and Abeta42 in cerebrospinal fluid from healthy adults 21-93 years of age: establishment of reference values.
    Clin Chem. 2001 Oct;47(10):1776-81 PMID: 11568086
  47. Distribution of Alzheimer-type pathologic changes in nondemented elderly individuals matches the pattern in Alzheimer's disease.
    Neurology. 1992 Sep;42(9):1681-8 PMID: 1307688
  48. Apolipoprotein E: diversity of cellular origins, structural and biophysical properties, and effects in Alzheimer's disease.
    J Mol Neurosci. 2004;23(3):189-204 PMID: 15181247
  49. Accelerated age-related cortical thinning in healthy carriers of apolipoprotein E epsilon 4.
    Neurobiol Aging. 2008 Mar;29(3):329-40 PMID: 17161508
  50. Cortical surface-based analysis. II: Inflation, flattening, and a surface-based coordinate system.
    Neuroimage. 1999 Feb;9(2):195-207 PMID: 9931269
  51. Phases of A beta-deposition in the human brain and its relevance for the development of AD.
    Neurology. 2002 Jun 25;58(12):1791-800 PMID: 12084879
Article Info
Journal
AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology
Abbr.
AJNR Am J Neuroradiol
ISSN
1936-959X
DOI
10.3174/ajnr.A1059
Email
[email protected]
Published
2008-06-00
Pages
1183-9
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
8003708
PMCID
PMC8118812
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.A1059 PMC Full Text View journal details
Analysis Services
Analysis Services

Contact

No. 2 Wenbo Road, Zhangqiu District, Jinan, Shandong

Qilu Normal University · Genelibs Bioinformatics Lab

750 Shunhua Rd, Jinan

2F, Bldg F, University Science Park

Tel: 0531-88819269

WeChat Official Account

Follow our WeChat subscription account for real-time updates and the latest in medical and biological research.


Business Email

E-mail: [email protected]

Copyright © 2026.Genelibs Jinan Honghui Biotechnology Co., Ltd. 鲁ICP备20007159号-2