Brain resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC), white matter (WM) integrity, and cortical morphometry, as well as neuropsychological performance, have seldom been studied together to differentiate Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and elderly cognitively healthy comparison (eCHC) samples in the context of the same study. We examined brain rsFC in samples of patients with mild AD (n = 50) and MCI (n = 49) in comparison with eCHC samples (n = 48) and then explored whether rsFC abnormalities can be linked to underlying gray matter (GM) volumetric and/or WM microstructural abnormalities. The mild AD sample showed significantly increased rsFC in the executive control network (ECN) and dorsal attention network (DAN) compared with the eCHC sample, and increased rsFC in ECN compared with MCI. Brain regions corresponding to both these resting-state networks (RSNs) showed significant reduction in fractional anisotropy in mild AD in comparison with eCHC. Significant GM volumetric reductions were observed in brain regions corresponding to both RSNs in the mild AD sample compared with MCI as well as eCHC samples. The association of default mode network-DAN anticorrelation with cognitive performances differentiated mild AD and MCI from eCHC sample. These findings highlight the association between brain structural and functional abnormalities as well as cognitive impairment that enables differentiation between early AD, MCI, and eCHC samples.

中文翻译：

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使用多模态神经影像学指标区分早期阿尔茨海默氏病，轻度认知障碍和认知健康的老年人样本。

很少研究大脑静息状态功能连接性（rsFC），白质（WM）完整性和皮层形态以及神经心理学表现来区分阿尔茨海默氏病（AD），轻度认知障碍（MCI）和老年人认知同一研究中的健康比较（eCHC）样本。我们检查了轻度AD（n = 50）和MCI（n = 49）患者的脑rsFC，与eCHC样本（n = 48）进行了比较，然后探讨了rsFC异常是否可以与潜在的灰质（GM）体积相关和/或WM微结构异常。轻度AD样本显示，与eCHC样本相比，执行控制网络（ECN）和背侧注意力网络（DAN）中的rsFC显着增加，而ECN中的MCC则显示rsFC显着增加。与eCHC相比，轻度AD中与这两个静止状态网络（RSN）相对应的大脑区域均表现出分数各向异性的显着降低。与MCI和eCHC样本相比，在轻度AD样本中对应于两个RSN的大脑区域中观察到了显着的GM体积减少。默认模式网络-DAN反相关与认知表现的关联将轻度AD和MCI与eCHC样本区分开。这些发现突显了大脑结构和功能异常之间的关联，以及使早期AD，MCI和eCHC样本能够区分的认知障碍。与MCI和eCHC样本相比，在轻度AD样本中对应于两个RSN的大脑区域中观察到了显着的GM体积减少。默认模式网络-DAN反相关与认知表现的关联将轻度AD和MCI与eCHC样本区分开。这些发现突显了大脑结构和功能异常之间的关联，以及使早期AD，MCI和eCHC样本能够区分的认知障碍。与MCI和eCHC样本相比，在轻度AD样本中对应于两个RSN的大脑区域中观察到了显着的GM体积减少。默认模式网络-DAN反相关与认知表现的关联将轻度AD和MCI与eCHC样本区分开。这些发现突显了大脑结构和功能异常之间的关联，以及使早期AD，MCI和eCHC样本能够区分的认知障碍。