Cognitive Reserve Relates to Functional Network Efficiency in Alzheimer's Disease

Author(s):Show less -

Weiler, Marina ^{[1, 2]} ; Casseb, Raphael Fernandes ^{[1, 2]} ; de Campos, Brunno Machado ^[1] ; de Ligo Teixeira, Camila Vieira ^[1] ; Mac Knight Carletti-Cassani, Ana Flavia ^[1] ; Vicentini, Jessica Elias ^[1] ; Cardoso Magalhaes, Thamires Naela ^[1] ; de Almeira, Debora Queiroz ^[1] ; Talib, Leda Leme ^[3] ; Forlenza, Orestes Vicente ^[3] ; Figueredo Balthazar, Marcio Luiz ^[1] ; Castellano, Gabriela ^{[4, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Sch Med Sci, Neuroimaging Lab, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Cosm Rays & Chronol Dept, Neurophys Grp, Inst Phys Gleb Wataghin, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Hosp Clin, Lab Neurociencias LIM 27, Dept & Inst Psiquiatria, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Brazilian Inst Neurosci & Neurotechnol BRAINN, Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: FRONTIERS IN AGING NEUROSCIENCE; v. 10, AUG 21 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 2

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, with no means of cure or prevention. The presence of abnormal disease-related proteins in the population is, in turn, much more common than the incidence of dementia. In this context, the cognitive reserve (CR) hypothesis has been proposed to explain the discontinuity between pathophysiological and clinical expression of AD, suggesting that CR mitigates the effects of pathology on clinical expression and cognition. fMRI studies of the human connectome have recently reported that AD patients present diminished functional efficiency in resting-state networks, leading to a loss in information flow and cognitive processing. No study has investigated, however, whether CR modifies the effects of the pathology in functional network efficiency in AD patients. We analyzed the relationship between CR, pathophysiology and network efficiency, and whether CR modifies the relationship between them. Fourteen mild AD, 28 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) due to AD, and 28 controls were enrolled. We used education to measure CR, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers to evaluate pathophysiology, and graph metrics to measure network efficiency. We found no relationship between CR and CSF biomarkers; CR was related to higher network efficiency in all groups; and abnormal levels of CSF protein biomarkers were related to more efficient networks in the AD group. Education modified the effects of tau-related pathology in the aMCI and mild AD groups. Although higher CR might not protect individuals from developing AD pathophysiology, AD patients with higher CR are better able to cope with the effects of pathology-presenting more efficient networks despite pathology burden. The present study highlights that interventions focusing on cognitive stimulation might be useful to slow age-related cognitive decline or dementia and lengthen healthy aging. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/06163-4 - The relationship of cerebral and cognitive reserves in the connectivity of neurofunctional networks in Alzheimer's Disease patients, considering the APOE 4 allele and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers
• Grantee: Marina Weiler
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 13/07559-3 - BRAINN - The Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology
• Grantee: Fernando Cendes
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers - RIDC