Dataset Information

Extent of Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Plasticity and Its Association With Working Memory in Patients With Alzheimer Disease.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

The extent of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plasticity in Alzheimer disease (AD) and its association with working memory are not known.

Objectives

To determine whether participants with AD had impaired DLPFC plasticity compared with healthy control participants, to compare working memory between participants with AD and controls, and to determine whether DLPFC plasticity was associated with working memory.

Design, setting, and participants

This cross-sectional study included 32 participants with AD who were 65 years or older and met diagnostic criteria for dementia due to probable AD with a score of at least 17 on the Mini-Mental State Examination and 16 age-matched control participants. Participants were recruited from a university teaching hospital from May 2013 to October 2016.

Main outcomes and measures

Plasticity of the DLPFC measured as potentiation of cortical-evoked activity using paired associative stimulation (a combination of peripheral nerve electrical stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation) combined with electroencephalography. Working memory was assessed with the n-back task (1- and 2-back) and measured using the A' statistic.

Results

Among the 32 participants with AD, 17 were women and 15 were men (mean [SD] age, 76.3 [6.3] years); among the 16 controls, 8 were men and 8 were women (mean [SD] age, 76.4 [5.1] years). Participants with AD had impaired DLPFC plasticity (mean [SD] potentiation, 1.18 [0.25]) compared with controls (mean [SD] potentiation, 1.40 [0.35]; F1,44?=?5.90; P?=?.02; between-group comparison, Cohen d?=?0.77; P?=?.01). Participants with AD also had impaired performances on the 1-back condition (mean [SD] A'?=?0.47 [0.30]) compared with controls (mean [SD] A'?=?0.96 [0.01]; Cohen d?=?1.86; P?Conclusions and relevanceThis study demonstrated impaired in vivo DLPFC plasticity in patients with AD. The findings support the use of DLPFC plasticity as a measure of DLPFC function and a potential treatment target to enhance DLPFC function and working memory in patients with AD.

SUBMITTER: Kumar S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6583382 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Extent of Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Plasticity and Its Association With Working Memory in Patients With Alzheimer Disease.

Kumar Sanjeev S Zomorrodi Reza R Ghazala Zaid Z Goodman Michelle S MS Blumberger Daniel M DM Cheam Amay A Fischer Corinne C Daskalakis Zafiris J ZJ Mulsant Benoit H BH Pollock Bruce G BG Rajji Tarek K TK

JAMA psychiatry 20171201 12

<h4>Importance</h4>The extent of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plasticity in Alzheimer disease (AD) and its association with working memory are not known.<h4>Objectives</h4>To determine whether participants with AD had impaired DLPFC plasticity compared with healthy control participants, to compare working memory between participants with AD and controls, and to determine whether DLPFC plasticity was associated with working memory.<h4>Design, setting, and participants</h4>This cross-sec ...[more]

PMID: 29071355

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Project description:Background: Normal aging is associated with working memory decline. A decrease in working memory performance is associated with age-related changes in functional activation patterns in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Cognitive training can improve cognitive performance in healthy older adults. We implemented a cognitive training study to assess determinants of generalization of training gains to untrained tasks, a key indicator for the effectiveness of cognitive training. We aimed to investigate the association of resting-state functional connectivity (FC) of DLPFC with working memory performance improvement and cognitive gains after the training. Method: A sample of 60 healthy older adults (mean age: 68 years) underwent a 4-week neuropsychological training, entailing a working memory task. Baseline resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) images were acquired in order to investigate the FC of DLPFC. To evaluate training effects, participants underwent a neuropsychological assessment before and after the training. A second follow-up assessment was applied 12 weeks after the training. We used cognitive scores of digit span backward and visual block span backward tasks representing working memory function. The training group was divided into subjects who had and who did not have training gains, which was defined as a higher improvement in working memory tasks than the control group (N = 19). Results: A high FC of DLPFC of the right hemisphere was significantly associated with training gains and performance improvement in the visuospatial task. The maintenance of cognitive gains was restricted to the time period directly after the training. The training group showed performance improvement in the digit span backward task. Conclusion: Functional activation patterns of the DLPFC were associated with the degree of working memory training gains and visuospatial performance improvement. Although improvement through cognitive training and acquisition of training gains are possible in aging, they remain limited.

Dataset Information

Extent of Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Plasticity and Its Association With Working Memory in Patients With Alzheimer Disease.

Importance

Objectives

Design, setting, and participants

Main outcomes and measures

Results

Publications

Extent of Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Plasticity and Its Association With Working Memory in Patients With Alzheimer Disease.

Similar Datasets

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