The entorhinal cortex has been implicated in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, which is characterized by changes in the tau protein and in the cleaved fragments of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). We used a high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) variant that can map metabolic defects in patients and mouse models to address basic questions about entorhinal cortex pathophysiology. The entorhinal cortex is divided into functionally distinct regions, the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) and the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC), and we exploited the high-resolution capabilities of the fMRI variant to ask whether either of them was affected in patients with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Next, we imaged three mouse models of disease to clarify how tau and APP relate to entorhinal cortex dysfunction and to determine whether the entorhinal cortex can act as a source of dysfunction observed in other cortical areas. We found that the LEC was affected in preclinical disease, that LEC dysfunction could spread to the parietal cortex during preclinical disease and that APP expression potentiated tau toxicity in driving LEC dysfunction, thereby helping to explain regional vulnerability in the disease.

The dentate gyrus (DG) is a region in the hippocampal formation whose function declines in association with human aging and is therefore considered to be a possible source of age-related memory decline. Causal evidence is needed, however, to show that DG-associated memory decline in otherwise healthy elders can be improved by interventions that enhance DG function. We addressed this issue by first using a high-resolution variant of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to map the precise site of age-related DG dysfunction and to develop a cognitive task whose function localized to this anatomical site. Then, in a controlled randomized trial, we applied these tools to study healthy 50–69-year-old subjects who consumed either a high or low cocoa–containing diet for 3 months. A high-flavanol intervention was found to enhance DG function, as measured by fMRI and by cognitive testing. Our findings establish that DG dysfunction is a driver of age-related cognitive decline and suggest non-pharmacological means for its amelioration.

Scientists have long sought to characterize the pathophysiologic basis of schizophrenia and develop biomarkers that could identify the illness. Extensive postmortem and in vivo neuroimaging research has described the early involvement of the hippocampus in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. In this context, we have developed a hypothesis that describes the evolution of schizophrenia-from the premorbid through the prodromal stages to syndromal psychosis-and posits dysregulation of glutamate neurotransmission beginning in the CA1 region of the hippocampus as inducing attenuated psychotic symptoms and initiating the transition to syndromal psychosis. As the illness progresses, this pathological process expands to other regions of the hippocampal circuit and projection fields in other anatomic areas including the frontal cortex, and induces an atrophic process in which hippocampal neuropil is reduced and interneurons are lost. This paper will describe the studies of our group and other investigators supporting this pathophysiological hypothesis, as well as its implications for early detection and therapeutic intervention.

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Accumulating evidence implicates small vessel cerebrovascular disease, visualized as white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on T2-weighted MRI, in the pathogenesis and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cross-sectional volumetric measures of WMH, particularly in the parietal lobes, are associated with increased risk of AD. In the current study, we sought to determine whether the longitudinal regional progression of WMH predicts incident AD above-and-beyond traditional radiological markers of neurodegeneration (i.e., hippocampal atrophy, cortical thickness). Three hundred three non-demented older adults (mean age = 79.24±5.29) received high-resolution MRI at baseline and then again 4.6 years (SD=1.01) later. Over the follow-up interval 26 participants progressed to AD. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we calculated latent difference scores of parietal/non-parietal WMH, hippocampus volumes, and cortical thickness values in AD-related regions. Within the SEM framework, we determined whether baseline or change scores or both predicted AD conversion, while controlling for several time-invariant relevant variables. Smaller baseline hippocampus volume, change in hippocampus volume (i.e., atrophy), higher baseline parietal lobe WMH, and increasing parietal lobe WMH volume but not WMH in other regions or measures of cortical thickness, independently predicted progression to AD. The findings provide strong evidence that regionally accumulating WMH, in addition to degenerative changes in the medial temporal lobe, predict AD onset in addition to hallmark neurodegenerative changes typically associated with AD.

Background The retrogenesis hypothesis postulates that late-myelinated white matter fibers are most vulnerable to age- and disease-related degeneration, which in turn mediate cognitive decline. While recent evidence supports this hypothesis in the context of Alzheimer’s disease, it has not been tested systematically in normal cognitive aging. Methods In the current study, we examined the retrogenesis hypothesis in a group (n=282) of cognitively normal individuals ranging in age from 7 to 87 years from the Brain Resource International Database. Participants were evaluated with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and were imaged with diffusion tensor imaging. Fractional anisotropy (FA), radial diffusivity (RD), and axial diffusivity (DA), measures of white matter coherence, were computed in two prototypical early-myelinated fiber tracts (posterior limb of the internal capsule, cerebral peduncles) and two prototypical late-myelinated fiber tracts (superior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus) chosen to parallel previous studies; mean summary values were also computed for other early- and late-myelinated fiber tracts. We examined age-associated differences in FA, RD, and DA in the developmental trajectory (ages 7 to 30 years) and degenerative trajectory (ages 31 to 87 years), and tested whether the measures of white matter coherence mediated age-related cognitive decline in the older group. Results FA and DA values were greater for early-myelinated fibers than for late-myelinated fibers, and RD values were lower for early-myelinated than late-myelinated fibers. There were age-associated differences in FA, RD, and DA across early- and late-myelinated fiber tracts in the younger group, but the magnitude of differences did not vary as a function of early or late myelinating status. FA and RD in most fiber tracts showed reliable age-associated differences in the older age group, but the magnitudes were greatest for the late-myelinated tract summary measure, inferior longitudinal fasciculus (late fiber tract), and cerebral peduncles (early fiber tract). Finally, FA in the inferior longitudinal fasciculus and cerebral peduncles and RD in the cerebral peduncles mediated age-associated differences in an executive functioning factor. Discussion Taken together, the findings highlight the importance of white matter coherence in cognitive aging and provide some, but not complete, support for the white matter retrogenesis hypothesis in normal cognitive aging.

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Background and Purpose Evidence from animal models and examination of human epilepsy surgery specimens indicates that inflammation plays an important role in epilepsy. PET using [C11]PK11195, a marker of activated microglia, provides a means to visualize neuroinflammation in vivo in humans. We were interested in learning whether [C11]PK11195 PET (PK-PET) can identify areas of focally increased inflammation corresponding to seizure foci of patients with epilepsy. Methods A young woman with intractable epilepsy underwent PK-PET as part of an approved research study. PK-PET results were compared with results from other clinical studies. Results PK-PET revealed an area of focally increased radiotracer uptake in the right frontal lobe corresponding to this patient’s seizure focus as identified by ictal and interictal FDG-PET and a video-EEG. Routine brain MRI was considered normal, though high-resolution studies showed possible subtle dysplasia of the right frontal lobe. The patient underwent a right frontal lobe resection, and pathological evaluation showed focal cortical dysplasia with activated microglia. Conclusions PK-PET can identify neuroinflammation associated with subtle focal dysplasia, and may therefore have a clinical role in guiding epilepsy surgery for patients with difficult-to-localize seizure foci.