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Study on resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging based on amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation for patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment

XI Qian1, ZHAO Xiao-hu1, WANG Pei-jun1, GUO Qi-hao2, HE Yong3   

  1. 1.Department of Radiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai 200065, China; 2.Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China; 3.State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
  • Online:2014-08-28 Published:2014-09-02
  • Supported by:

    National Natural Science Foundation of China, 81171297, 81301200; Foundation of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, 11JC1412000

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Abstract:

Objective To study the features of resting state brain activity of patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and its possible neural mechanisms by resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology based on the amplitude of lowfrequency fluctuation (ALFF). Methods Twenty-two patients with aMCI (aMCI group), 22 patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD group), and 25 healthy old people (normal group) were selected. All participants underwent the fMRI and the resting state data of whole brain of three groups was compared and analyzed by the ALFF method. Results Compared to the normal group, ALFF in the right hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex, left lateral temporal cortex, and right ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC) of patients of the aMCI group decreased, while ALFF in the left temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL) increased. Compared to the AD group, ALFF in the left TPJ, posterior IPL (pIPL), and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of patients of the aMCI group increased. Compared to the normal group, ALFF in the right posterior cingulate cortex, right vMPFC, and bilateral dorsal MPFC (dMPFC) of patients of the AD group decreased. Conclusion For patients with aMCI, intrinsic activities of brain regions closely related to episodic memory (such as hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus) decrease and activities of TPJ and IPL increase, which indicates that the compensatory mechanism may exist in the brain of patients with aMCI. The resting state fMRI technology based on ALFF may be an important tool for studying the aMCI.

Key words: mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation