Functional neural correlates of attentional deficits in amnestic mild cognitive impairment

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 8; no. 1; p. e54035
• Main Authors: Van Dam, Nicholas T, Sano, Mary, Mitsis, Effie M, Grossman, Hillel T, Gu, Xiaosi, Park, Yunsoo, Hof, Patrick R, Fan, Jin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 11.01.2013; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Advertising executives; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Alzheimer Disease - complications; Alzheimer Disease - diagnostic imaging; Alzheimer Disease - physiopathology; Alzheimer's disease; Amnesia - complications; Amnesia - diagnostic imaging; Amnesia - physiopathology; Attention; Attention - physiology; Biology; Brain; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - physiopathology; Brain Mapping; Brain research; Cognitive ability; Cognitive Dysfunction - complications; Cognitive Dysfunction - diagnostic imaging; Cognitive Dysfunction - physiopathology; Connectivity; Dementia; Disease Progression; Efficiency; Executive function; Female; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Humans; Impairment; Magnetic resonance; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medicine; Memory; Middle Aged; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neuroimaging; Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; Neurosciences; Patients; Psychiatry; Radiography; Social and Behavioral Sciences; Studies; New York; United States > US
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054035

Although amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI; often considered a prodromal phase of Alzheimer's disease, AD) is most recognized by its implications for decline in memory function, research suggests that deficits in attention are present early in aMCI and may be predictive of progression to AD. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine differences in the brain during the attention network test between 8 individuals with aMCI and 8 neurologically healthy, demographically matched controls. While there were no significant behavioral differences between groups for the alerting and orienting functions, patients with aMCI showed more activity in neural regions typically associated with the networks subserving these functions (e.g., temporoparietal junction and posterior parietal regions, respectively). More importantly, there were both behavioral (i.e., greater conflict effect) and corresponding neural deficits in executive control (e.g., less activation in the prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices). Although based on a small number of patients, our findings suggest that deficits of attention, especially the executive control of attention, may significantly contribute to the behavioral and cognitive deficits of aMCI.