TY - JOUR
T1 - Donepezil effects on hippocampal and prefrontal functional connectivity in Alzheimer's disease
T2 - Preliminary report
AU - Zaidel, Liam
AU - Allen, Greg
AU - Cullum, C. Munro
AU - Briggs, Richard W.
AU - Hynan, Linda S.
AU - Weiner, Myron F.
AU - McColl, Roderick
AU - Gopinath, Kaundinya S.
AU - McDonald, Elizabeth
AU - Rubin, Craig D.
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - We used functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fcMRI) to investigate changes in interhemispheric brain connectivity in 11 patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) following eight weeks of treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil. We examined functional connectivity between four homologous temporal, frontal, and occipital regions. These regions were selected to represent sites of AD neuropathology, sites of donepezil-related brain activation change in prior studies, and sites that are minimally affected by the pathologic changes of AD. Based on previous findings of selective, localized frontal responses to donepezil, we predicted that frontal connectivity would be most strongly impacted by treatment. Of the areas examined, we found that treatment had a significant effect only on functional connectivity between right and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. Implications for understanding the impact of donepezil treatment on brain functioning and behavior in patients with AD are discussed. This preliminary report suggests that fcMRI may provide a useful index of treatment outcome in diseases affecting brain connectivity. Future research should investigate these treatment-related changes in larger samples of patients and age-matched controls.
AB - We used functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fcMRI) to investigate changes in interhemispheric brain connectivity in 11 patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) following eight weeks of treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil. We examined functional connectivity between four homologous temporal, frontal, and occipital regions. These regions were selected to represent sites of AD neuropathology, sites of donepezil-related brain activation change in prior studies, and sites that are minimally affected by the pathologic changes of AD. Based on previous findings of selective, localized frontal responses to donepezil, we predicted that frontal connectivity would be most strongly impacted by treatment. Of the areas examined, we found that treatment had a significant effect only on functional connectivity between right and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. Implications for understanding the impact of donepezil treatment on brain functioning and behavior in patients with AD are discussed. This preliminary report suggests that fcMRI may provide a useful index of treatment outcome in diseases affecting brain connectivity. Future research should investigate these treatment-related changes in larger samples of patients and age-matched controls.
KW - Alzheimer's disease
KW - donepezil
KW - dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
KW - functional connectivity
KW - hippocampus
KW - magnetic resonance imaging
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84866871461&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84866871461&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3233/JAD-2012-120709
DO - 10.3233/JAD-2012-120709
M3 - Article
C2 - 22886013
AN - SCOPUS:84866871461
SN - 1387-2877
VL - 31
SP - S221-S226
JO - Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
JF - Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
IS - SUPPL. 3
ER -