New research in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience explored the link between Alzheimer’s disease in older adults and connectomics.
The research team probed the connection between brain connectome, dementia scoring and genetics, with the aim to get more insight into local and network-level diagnostic biomarkers.
From the study: “We examined the extent to which Clinical Dementia Rating relates to brain connections longitudinally, as well as to gene expression.”
“For instance, here we show that the expression of PLAU gene increases the change over time in betweenness centrality related to the fusiform gyrus,” the study’s authors said in their findings. “We also show that the betweenness centrality metric impact dementia-related changes in distinct brain regions.”
The study concluded by stating, “Our findings provide insights into the complex longitudinal interplay between genetics and brain characteristics and highlight the role of Alzheimer’s genetic risk factors in the estimation of regional brain connectivity alterations.”
The study was published December 17th, 2021.
