Functional brain activity in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment: an rs-fMRI study

Jinhuan Yue; Sheng-Wang Han; Xiao Liu; Song Wang; Wei-Wei Zhao; Li-Na Cai; Dan-Na Cao; Jeffrey Zhongxue Mah; Yu Hou; Xuan Cui; Yang Wang; Li Chen; Ang Li; Xiao-Ling Li; Guanhu Yang; Qinhong Zhang

doi:10.3389/fneur.2023.1244696

Functional brain activity in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment: an rs-fMRI study

Front Neurol. 2023 Aug 22:14:1244696. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1244696. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jinhuan Yue^{1

2}, Sheng-Wang Han³, Xiao Liu⁴, Song Wang⁵, Wei-Wei Zhao⁶, Li-Na Cai⁷, Dan-Na Cao⁸, Jeffrey Zhongxue Mah², Yu Hou⁹, Xuan Cui⁷, Yang Wang⁸, Li Chen¹⁰, Ang Li¹¹, Xiao-Ling Li⁸, Guanhu Yang¹², Qinhong Zhang^{1

13}

Affiliations

¹ Shenzhen Frontiers in Chinese Medicine Research Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China.
² Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Vitality University, Hayward, CA, United States.
³ Department of Third Rehabilitation Medicine, Second Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, First Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China.
⁵ Department of Radiology, Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
⁶ MSD R&D (China) Co., Ltd., Beijing, China.
⁷ Graduate School of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China.
⁸ Division of CT and MRI, First Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China.
⁹ Department of Gynecology, Harbin Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Harbin, China.
¹⁰ Confucius Institute for TCM, London South Bank University, London, United Kingdom.
¹¹ Sanofi-Aventis China Investment Co., Ltd., Beijing, China.
¹² Department of Specialty Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, OH, United States.
¹³ Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China.

Abstract

Background: Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is an early stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Regional homogeneity (ReHo) and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) are employed to explore spontaneous brain function in patients with aMCI. This study applied ALFF and ReHo indicators to analyze the neural mechanism of aMCI by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).

Methods: Twenty-six patients with aMCI were included and assigned to the aMCI group. The other 26 healthy subjects were included as a healthy control (HC) group. Rs-fMRI was performed for all participants in both groups. Between-group comparisons of demographic data and neuropsychological scores were analyzed using SPSS 25.0. Functional imaging data were analyzed using DPARSF and SPM12 software based on MATLAB 2017a. Gender, age, and years of education were used as covariates to obtain ALFF and ReHo indices.

Results: Compared with HC group, ALFF decreased in the left fusiform gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, and increased in the left cerebellum 8, left inferior temporal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus (BA11), and right inferior temporal gyrus (BA20) in the aMCI group (p < 0.05, FWE correction). In addition, ReHo decreased in the right middle temporal gyrus and right anterior cuneiform lobe, while it increased in the left middle temporal gyrus, left inferior temporal gyrus, cerebellar vermis, right parahippocampal gyrus, left caudate nucleus, right thalamus, and left superior frontal gyrus (BA6) (p < 0.05, FWE correction). In the aMCI group, the ALFF of the left superior frontal gyrus was negatively correlated with Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score (r = -0.437, p = 0.026), and the ALFF of the left superior temporal gyrus was positively correlated with the MoCA score (r = 0.550, p = 0.004). The ReHo of the right hippocampus was negatively correlated with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score (r = -0.434, p = 0.027), and the ReHo of the right middle temporal gyrus was positively correlated with MMSE score (r = 0.392, p = 0.048).

Conclusion: Functional changes in multiple brain regions rather than in a single brain region have been observed in patients with aMCI. The abnormal activity of multiple specific brain regions may be a manifestation of impaired central function in patients with aMCI.

Keywords: amnestic mild cognitive impairment; amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation; imaging marker; regional homogeneity; resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.