Correspondence Between Resting-State and Episodic Memory-Task Related Networks in Elderly Subjects.

Resting-state fMRI studies demonstrated temporally synchronous fluctuations in brain activity among ensembles of brain regions, suggesting the existence of intrinsic functional networks. A spatial match between some of the resting-state networks and regional brain activation during cognitive tasks has been noted, suggesting that resting-state networks support particular cognitive abilities. However, the spatial match and predictive value of any resting-state network and regional brain activation during episodic memory is only poorly understood. In order to address this research gap, we obtained fMRI acquired both during rest and a face-name association task in 38 healthy elderly subjects. In separate independent component analyses, networks of correlated brain activity during rest or the episodic memory task were identified. For the independent components identified for task-based fMRI, the design matrix of successful encoding or retrieval trials was regressed against the time course of each of the component to identify significantly activated networks. Spatial regression was used to assess the match of resting-state networks against those related to successful memory encoding or retrieval. We found that resting-state networks covering the medial temporal, middle temporal, and frontal areas showed increased activity during successful encoding. Resting-state networks located within posterior brain regions showed increased activity during successful recognition. However, the level of resting-state network connectivity was not predictive of the task-related activity in these networks. These results suggest that a circumscribed number of functional networks detectable during rest become engaged during successful episodic memory. However, higher intrinsic connectivity at rest may not translate into higher network expression during episodic memory.

Left Frontal Hub Connectivity during Memory Performance Supports Reserve in Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Reserve in aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) is defined as maintaining cognition at a relatively high level in the presence of neurodegeneration, an ability often associated with higher education among other life factors. Recent evidence suggests that higher resting-state functional connectivity within the frontoparietal control network, specifically the left frontal cortex (LFC) hub, contributes to higher reserve. Following up these previous resting-state fMRI findings, we probed memory-task related functional connectivity of the LFC hub as a neural substrate of reserve. In elderly controls (CN, n = 37) and patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 17), we assessed global connectivity of the LFC hub during successful face-name association learning, using generalized psychophysiological interaction analyses. Reserve was quantified as residualized memory performance, accounted for gender and proxies of neurodegeneration (age, hippocampus atrophy, and APOE genotype). We found that greater education was associated with higher LFC-connectivity in both CN and MCI during successful memory. Furthermore, higher LFC-connectivity predicted higher residualized memory (i.e., reserve). These results suggest that higher LFC-connectivity contributes to reserve in both healthy and pathological aging.

Auditory verbal hallucinations and brain dysconnectivity in the perisylvian language network: a multimodal investigation.

Neuroimaging studies of schizophrenia have indicated that the development of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) is associated with altered structural and functional connectivity within the perisylvian language network. However, these studies focussed mainly on either structural or functional alterations in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Therefore, they were unable to examine the relationship between the 2 types of measures and could not establish whether the observed alterations would be expressed in the early stage of the illness. We used diffusion tensor imaging and functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine white matter integrity and functional connectivity within the left perisylvian language network of 46 individuals with an at risk mental state for psychosis or a first episode of the illness, including 28 who had developed AVH group and 18 who had not (nonauditory verbal hallucination [nAVH] group), and 22 healthy controls. Inferences were made at P < .05 (corrected). The nAVH group relative to healthy controls showed a reduction of both white matter integrity and functional connectivity as well as a disruption of the normal structure-function relationship along the fronto-temporal pathway. For all measures, the AVH group showed intermediate values between healthy controls and the nAVH group. These findings seem to suggest that, in the early stage of the disorder, a significant impairment of fronto-temporal connectivity is evident in patients who do not experience AVHs. This is consistent with the hypothesis that, whilst mild disruption of connectivity might still enable the emergence of AVHs, more severe alterations may prevent the occurrence of the hallucinatory experience.

Elucidating neuroanatomical alterations in the at risk mental state and first episode psychosis: a combined voxel-based morphometry and voxel-based cortical thickness study.

Previous studies have reported alterations in grey matter volume and cortical thickness in individuals at high risk of developing psychosis and patients in the early stages of the disorder. Because these studies have typically focused on either grey matter volume or cortical thickness separately, the relationship between these two types of alterations is currently unclear. In the present investigation we used both voxel-based cortical thickness (VBCT) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to examine neuroanatomical differences in 21 individuals with an At Risk Mental State (ARMS) for psychosis, 26 patients with a First Episode of Psychosis (FEP) and 24 healthy controls. Statistical inferences were made at P<0.05 after correction for multiple comparisons. Cortical thinning in the right superior temporal gyrus was observed in both individuals at high risk of developing psychosis and patients with a first episode of the disorder, and therefore is likely to represent a marker of vulnerability. In contrast, the right posterior cingulate cortex showed cortical thinning in FEP patients relative to individuals at high risk, and therefore appears to be implicated in the onset of the disease. These neuroanatomical differences were expressed in terms of cortical thickness but not in terms of grey matter volume, and therefore may reflect specific cortical atrophy as opposed to variations in sulcal and gyral morphology.

Effect of BDNF val(66)met polymorphism on declarative memory and its neural substrate: a meta-analysis.

Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a critical component of the molecular mechanism of memory formation. Variation in the BDNF gene, particularly the rs6265 (val(66)met) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), has been linked to variability in human memory performance and to both the structure and physiological response of the hippocampus, which plays a central role in memory processing. However, these effects have not been consistently reported, which may reflect the modest size of the samples studied to date. Employing a meta-analytic approach, we examined the effect of the BDNF val(66)met polymorphism on human memory (5922 subjects) and hippocampal structure (2985 subjects) and physiology (362 subjects). Our results suggest that variations in the rs6265 SNP of the BDNF gene have a significant effect on memory performance, and on both the structure and physiology of the hippocampus, with carriers of the met allele being adversely affected. These results underscore the role of BDNF in moderating variability between individuals in human memory performance and in mediating some of the neurocognitive impairments underlying neuropsychiatric disorders.