Multi-domain cognition dysfunction accompanies frontoparietal and temporal amyloid accumulation in the elderly

It is helpful to understand the pathology of Alzheimer's disease by exploring the relationship between amyloid-beta accumulation and cognition. The study explored the relationship between regional amyloid-beta accumulation and multiple cognitions and study their application value in the Alzheimer's disease diagnosis. 135 participants completed F-18-florbetapir Positron Emission Tomography (PET), structural MRI, and a cognitive battery. Partial correlation was used to examine the relationship between global and regional amyloid-beta accumulation and cognitions. Then, a support vector machine was applied to determine whether cognition-related accumulation regions can adequately distinguish the cognitively normal controls (76 participants) and mild cognitive impairment (30 participants) groups or mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease (29 participants) groups. The result showed that amyloid-beta accumulation regions were mainly located in the frontoparietal cortex, calcarine fissure, and surrounding cortex and temporal pole regions. Episodic memory-related regions included the frontoparietal cortices; executive function-related regions included the frontoparietal, temporal, and occipital cortices; and processing speed-related regions included the frontal and occipital cortices. Support vector machine analysis showed that only episodic memory-related amyloid-beta accumulation regions had better classification performance during the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Assessing regional changes in amyloid, particularly in frontoparietal regions, can aid in the early detection of amyloid-related decline in cognitive function.

Automated summary

Understanding the relationship between amyloid-beta accumulation and cognition is important for studying the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. This study examined the regional accumulation of amyloid-beta and its relationship with various cognitive functions. The results showed that amyloid-beta accumulation was mainly found in the frontoparietal cortex, calcarine fissure, and surrounding cortex and temporal pole regions. Support vector machine analysis indicated that episodic memory-related regions had better classification performance during the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Assessing regional changes in amyloid, particularly in the frontoparietal regions, can help in the early detection of cognitive decline related to amyloid.