Alterations of Directional Connectivity among Resting-State Networks in Alzheimer Disease

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: AD has been documented as a kind of disconnection syndrome by functional neuroimaging studies. The primary focus of this study was to examine, with the use of resting-state fMRI, whether AD would impact connectivity among RSNs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fourteen patients with AD and 16 NC were recruited and scanned by using resting-state fMRI. Group independent-component analysis and the BN learning approach were used, respectively, to separate the RSNs and construct the network-to-network connectivity patterns for each group. The convergence index for the special network DMN was measured.

RESULTS: Three of the 4 connections were significantly lower in AD compared with NC. Although numerically the AD group had more connections, none was statistically different from that in the NC group except for 1 increased connection from the DMN to the DAN. The convergence index for the DMN node was lower in AD than in NC.

CONCLUSIONS: Connections among cognitive networks in AD were more vulnerable to impairment than sensory networks. The DMN decreased its integration function for other RSNs but may also play a role in compensating for the disrupted connections in AD.