Locus coeruleus integrity is related to an exploitation-based decision-making bias in older adulthood.

Optimal decision-making balances exploration for new information against exploitation of known rewards, a process mediated by the locus coeruleus and its norepinephrine projections. We predicted that an exploitation-bias that emerges in older adulthood would be associated with lower microstructural integrity of the locus coeruleus. Leveraging in vivo histological methods from quantitative MRI-magnetic transfer saturation-we provide evidence that older age is associated with lower locus coeruleus integrity. Critically, we demonstrate that an exploitation bias in older adulthood, assessed with a foraging task, is sensitive and specific to lower locus coeruleus integrity. Because the locus coeruleus is uniquely vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease pathology, our findings suggest that aging, and a presymptomatic trajectory of Alzheimer's related decline, may fundamentally alter decision-making abilities in later life.

Iron Deposition and Distribution Across the Hippocampus Is Associated with Pattern Separation and Pattern Completion in Older Adults at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease.

Elevated iron deposition in the brain has been observed in older adult humans and persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and has been associated with lower cognitive performance. We investigated the impact of iron deposition, and its topographical distribution across hippocampal subfields and segments (anterior, posterior) measured along its longitudinal axis, on episodic memory in a sample of cognitively unimpaired older adults at elevated familial risk for AD (N = 172, 120 females, 52 males; mean age = 68.8 ± 5.4 years). MRI-based quantitative susceptibility maps were acquired to derive estimates of hippocampal iron deposition. The Mnemonic Similarity Task was used to measure pattern separation and pattern completion, two hippocampally mediated episodic memory processes. Greater hippocampal iron load was associated with lower pattern separation and higher pattern completion scores, both indicators of poorer episodic memory. Examination of iron levels within hippocampal subfields across its long axis revealed topographic specificity. Among the subfields and segments investigated here, iron deposition in the posterior hippocampal CA1 was the most robustly and negatively associated with the fidelity memory representations. This association remained after controlling for hippocampal volume and was observed in the context of normal performance on standard neuropsychological memory measures. These findings reveal that the impact of iron load on episodic memory performance is not uniform across the hippocampus. Both iron deposition levels as well as its spatial distribution, must be taken into account when examining the relationship between hippocampal iron and episodic memory in older adults at elevated risk for AD.

APOE alleles are associated with sex-specific structural differences in brain regions affected in Alzheimer's disease and related dementia.

Alzheimer's disease is marked by intracellular tau aggregates in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and extracellular amyloid aggregates in the default network (DN). Here, we examined codependent structural variations between the MTL's most vulnerable structure, the hippocampus (HC), and the DN at subregion resolution in individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD). By leveraging the power of the approximately 40,000 participants of the UK Biobank cohort, we assessed impacts from the protective APOE ɛ2 and the deleterious APOE ɛ4 Alzheimer's disease alleles on these structural relationships. We demonstrate ɛ2 and ɛ4 genotype effects on the inter-individual expression of HC-DN co-variation structural patterns at the population level. Across these HC-DN signatures, recurrent deviations in the CA1, CA2/3, molecular layer, fornix's fimbria, and their cortical partners related to ADRD risk. Analyses of the rich phenotypic profiles in the UK Biobank cohort further revealed male-specific HC-DN associations with air pollution and female-specific associations with cardiovascular traits. We also showed that APOE ɛ2/2 interacts preferentially with HC-DN co-variation patterns in estimating social lifestyle in males and physical activity in females. Our structural, genetic, and phenotypic analyses in this large epidemiological cohort reinvigorate the often-neglected interplay between APOE ɛ2 dosage and sex and link APOE alleles to inter-individual brain structural differences indicative of ADRD familial risk.

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-2 in at-risk adults and autopsy-confirmed Alzheimer brains.

Insulin, insulin-like growth factors (IGF) and their receptors are highly expressed in the adult hippocampus. Thus, disturbances in the insulin-IGF signaling pathway may account for the selective vulnerability of the hippocampus to nascent Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. In the present study, we examined the predominant IGF-binding protein (IGFBP) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) - IGFBP2. CSF was collected from 109 asymptomatic members of the parental history-positive PREVENT-AD cohort. CSF levels of IGFBP2, core AD biomarkers and synaptic biomarkers were measured using proximity extension assay, ELISA and mass spectrometry. Cortical amyloid-beta (Aß) and tau deposition were examined using 18F-NAV4694 and flortaucipir. Cognitive assessments were performed up to 8 years of follow-up, using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status. T1-weighted structural MRI scans were acquired, and neuroimaging analyses were performed on pre-specified temporal and parietal brain regions. Next, in an independent cohort, we allocated 241 dementia-free ADNI-1 participants into four stages of AD progression based on the biomarkers CSF Aß42 and total-tau (t-tau). In this analysis, differences in CSF and plasma IGFBP2 levels were examined across the pathological stages. Finally, IGFBP2 mRNA and protein levels were examined in the frontal cortex of 55 autopsy-confirmed AD and 31 control brains from the QFP cohort, a unique population isolate from Eastern Canada. CSF IGFBP2 progressively increased over 5 years in asymptomatic PREVENT-AD participants. Baseline CSF IGFBP2 was positively correlated with CSF AD biomarkers and synaptic biomarkers, and was negatively correlated with longitudinal changes in delayed memory (P = 0.024) and visuospatial abilities (P = 0.019). CSF IGFBP2 was negatively correlated at a trend-level with entorhinal cortex volume (P = 0.082) and cortical thickness in the piriform (P = 0.039), inferior temporal (P = 0.008), middle temporal (P = 0.014) and precuneus (P = 0.033) regions. In ADNI-1, CSF (P = 0.009) and plasma (P = 0.001) IGFBP2 were significantly elevated in Stage 2 (CSF Aß(+)/t-tau(+)). In survival analyses in ADNI-1, elevated plasma IGFBP2 was associated with a greater rate of AD conversion (HR = 1.62, P = 0.021). In the QFP cohort, IGFBP2 mRNA was reduced (P = 0.049), however IGFBP2 protein levels did not differ in the frontal cortex of autopsy-confirmed AD brains (P = 0.462). Nascent AD pathology may induce an upregulation in IGFBP2, in asymptomatic individuals. CSF and plasma IGFBP2 may be valuable markers for identifying CSF Aß(+)/t-tau(+) individuals and those with a greater risk of AD conversion.

Neurochemical organization of cortical proteinopathy and neurophysiology along the Alzheimer's disease continuum.

INTRODUCTION: Despite parallel research indicating amyloid-ß accumulation, alterations in cortical neurophysiological signaling, and multi-system neurotransmitter disruptions in Alzheimer's disease (AD), the relationships between these phenomena remains unclear. METHODS: Using magnetoencephalography, positron emission tomography, and an atlas of 19 neurotransmitters, we studied the alignment between neurophysiological alterations, amyloid-ß deposition, and the neurochemical gradients of the cortex. RESULTS: In patients with mild cognitive impairment and AD, changes in cortical rhythms were topographically aligned with cholinergic, serotonergic, and dopaminergic systems. These alignments correlated with the severity of clinical impairments. Additionally, cortical amyloid-ß plaques were preferentially deposited along neurochemical boundaries, influencing how neurophysiological alterations align with muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Most of the amyloid-ß-neurochemical and alpha-band neuro-physio-chemical alignments replicated in an independent dataset of individuals with asymptomatic amyloid-ß accumulation. DISCUSSION: Our findings demonstrate that AD pathology aligns topographically with the cortical distribution of chemical neuromodulator systems and scales with clinical severity, with implications for potential pharmacotherapeutic pathways. HIGHLIGHTS: Changes in cortical rhythms in Alzheimer's are organized along neurochemical boundaries. The strength of these alignments is related to clinical symptom severity. Deposition of amyloid-ß (Aß) is aligned with similar neurotransmitter systems. Aß deposition mediates the alignment of beta rhythms with cholinergic systems. Most alignments replicate in participants with pre-clinical Alzheimer's pathology.

Osteopontin: A novel marker of pre-symptomatic sporadic Alzheimer's disease.

INTRODUCTION: We investigate the role of osteopontin (OPN) in participants with Pre-symptomatic Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and in AD brains. METHODS: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) OPN, AD, and synaptic biomarker levels were measured in 109 cognitively unimpaired (CU), parental-history positive Pre-symptomatic Evaluation of Experimental or Novel Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease (PREVENT-AD) participants, and in 167 CU and 399 participants with MCI from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort. OPN levels were examined as a function of amyloid beta (Aß) and tau positivity. Survival analyses investigated the link between OPN and rate of conversion to AD. RESULTS: In PREVENT-AD, CSF OPN was positively correlated with synaptic biomarkers. In PREVENT-AD and ADNI, OPN was elevated in CSF Aß42/40(+)/total tau(+) and CSF Aß42/40(+)/phosphorylated tau181(+) individuals. In ADNI, OPN was increased in Aß(+) positron emission tomography (PET) and tau(+) PET individuals, and associated with an accelerated rate of conversion to AD. OPN was elevated in autopsy-confirmed AD brains. DISCUSSION: Strong associations between CSF OPN and key markers of AD pathophysiology suggest a significant role for OPN in tau neurobiology, particularly in the early stages of the disease. HIGHLIGHTS: In the Pre-symptomatic Evaluation of Experimental or Novel Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease cohort, we discovered that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) osteopontin (OPN) levels can indicate early synaptic dysfunction, tau deposition, and neuronal loss in cognitively unimpaired elderly with a parental history. CSF OPN is elevated in amyloid beta(+) positron emission tomography (PET) and tau(+) PET individuals. Elevated CSF OPN is associated with an accelerated rate of conversion to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Elevated CSF OPN is associated with an accelerated rate of cognitive decline on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale 13, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Mini-Mental State Examination, and Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes. OPN mRNA and protein levels are significantly upregulated in the frontal cortex of autopsy-confirmed AD brains.

Structural white matter properties and cognitive resilience to tau pathology.

INTRODUCTION: We assessed whether macro- and/or micro-structural white matter properties are associated with cognitive resilience to Alzheimer's disease pathology years prior to clinical onset. METHODS: We examined whether global efficiency, an indicator of communication efficiency in brain networks, and diffusion measurements within the limbic network and default mode network moderate the association between amyloid-ß/tau pathology and cognitive decline. We also investigated whether demographic and health/risk factors are associated with white matter properties. RESULTS: Higher global efficiency of the limbic network, as well as free-water corrected diffusion measures within the tracts of both networks, attenuated the impact of tau pathology on memory decline. Education, age, sex, white matter hyperintensities, and vascular risk factors were associated with white matter properties of both networks. DISCUSSION: White matter can influence cognitive resilience against tau pathology, and promoting education and vascular health may enhance optimal white matter properties. HIGHLIGHTS: Aß and tau were associated with longitudinal memory change over ∼7.5 years. White matter properties attenuated the impact of tau pathology on memory change. Health/risk factors were associated with white matter properties.

Plasma p-tau231, p-tau181, PET Biomarkers, and Cognitive Change in Older Adults.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate novel plasma p-tau231 and p-tau181, as well as Aß40 and Aß42 assays as indicators of tau and Aß pathologies measured with positron emission tomography (PET), and their association with cognitive change, in cognitively unimpaired older adults. METHODS: In a cohort of 244 older adults at risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) owing to a family history of AD dementia, we measured single molecule array (Simoa)-based plasma tau biomarkers (p-tau231 and p-tau181), Aß40 and Aß42 with immunoprecipitation mass spectrometry, and Simoa neurofilament light (NfL). A subset of 129 participants underwent amyloid-ß (18 F-NAV4694) and tau (18 F-flortaucipir) PET assessments. We investigated plasma biomarker associations with Aß and tau PET at the global and voxel level and tested plasma biomarker combinations for improved detection of Aß-PET positivity. We also investigated associations with 8-year cognitive change. RESULTS: Plasma p-tau biomarkers correlated with flortaucipir binding in medial temporal, parietal, and inferior temporal regions. P-tau231 showed further associations in lateral parietal and occipital cortices. Plasma Aß42/40 explained more variance in global Aß-PET binding than Aß42 alone. P-tau231 also showed strong and widespread associations with cortical Aß-PET binding. Combining Aß42/40 with p-tau231 or p-tau181 allowed for good distinction between Aß-negative and -positive participants (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] range = 0.81-0.86). Individuals with low plasma Aß42/40 and high p-tau experienced faster cognitive decline. INTERPRETATION: Plasma p-tau231 showed more robust associations with PET biomarkers than p-tau181 in presymptomatic individuals. The combination of p-tau and Aß42/40 biomarkers detected early AD pathology and cognitive decline. Such markers could be used as prescreening tools to reduce the cost of prevention trials. ANN NEUROL 2022;91:548-560.

Characterization of the contactin 5 protein and its risk-associated polymorphic variant throughout the Alzheimer's disease spectrum.

INTRODUCTION: We investigate the CNTN5 rs1461684 G variant and the contactin 5 protein in sporadic Alzheimer's disease (sAD). METHODS: Contactin 5, sAD biomarkers, and synaptic markers were measured in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Amyloid and tau deposition were assessed using positron emission tomography. Contactin 5 protein and mRNA levels were measured in brain tissue. RESULTS: CSF contactin 5 increases progressively in cognitively unimpaired individuals and is decreased in mild cognitive impairment and sAD. CSF contactin 5 correlates with sAD biomarkers and with synaptic markers. The rs1461684 G variant associates with faster disease progression in cognitively unimpaired subjects. Cortical full-length and isoform 3 CNTN5 mRNAs are decreased in the presence of the G allele and as a function of Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease stages. DISCUSSION: The newly identified rs1461684 G variant associates with sAD risk, rate of disease progression, and gene expression. Contactin 5 protein and mRNA are affected particularly in the early stages of the disease.

Longitudinal blood biomarker trajectories in preclinical Alzheimer's disease.

INTRODUCTION: Plasma biomarkers are altered years prior to Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical onset. METHODS: We measured longitudinal changes in plasma amyloid-beta (Aß)42/40 ratio, pTau181, pTau231, neurofilament light chain (NfL), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in a cohort of older adults at risk of AD (n = 373 total, n = 229 with Aß and tau positron emission tomography [PET] scans) considering genetic and demographic factors as possible modifiers of these markers' progression. RESULTS: Aß42/40 ratio concentrations decreased, while NfL and GFAP values increased over the 4-year follow-up. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 carriers showed faster increase in plasma pTau181 than non-carriers. Older individuals showed a faster increase in plasma NfL, and females showed a faster increase in plasma GFAP values. In the PET subsample, individuals both Aß-PET and tau-PET positive showed faster plasma pTau181 and GFAP increase compared to PET-negative individuals. DISCUSSION: Plasma markers can track biological change over time, with plasma pTau181 and GFAP markers showing longitudinal change in individuals with preclinical AD. HIGHLIGHTS: Longitudinal increase of plasma pTau181 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) can be measured in the preclinical phase of AD. Apolipoprotein E Îµ4 carriers experience faster increase in plasma pTau181 over time than non-carriers. Female sex showed accelerated increase in plasma GFAP over time compared to males. Aß42/40 and pTau231 values are already abnormal at baseline in individuals with both amyloid and tau PET burden.

Sex differences in associations between APOE ε2 and longitudinal cognitive decline.

INTRODUCTION: We examined whether sex modifies the association between APOE ε2 and cognitive decline in two independent samples. METHODS: We used observational data from cognitively unimpaired non-Hispanic White (NHW) and non-Hispanic Black (NHB) adults. Linear mixed models examined interactive associations of APOE genotype (ε2 or ε4 carrier vs. ε3/ε3) and sex on cognitive decline in NHW and NHB participants separately. RESULTS: In both Sample 1 (N = 9766) and Sample 2 (N = 915), sex modified the association between APOE ε2 and cognitive decline in NHW participants. Specifically, relative to APOE ε3/ε3, APOE ε2 protected against cognitive decline in men but not women. Among APOE ε2 carriers, men had slower decline than women. Among APOE ε3/ε3 carriers, cognitive trajectories did not differ between sexes. There were no sex-specific associations of APOE ε2 with cognition in NHB participants (N = 2010). DISCUSSION: In NHW adults, APOE ε2 may protect men but not women against cognitive decline. HIGHLIGHTS: We studied sex-specific apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε2 effects on cognitive decline. In non-Hispanic White (NHW) adults, APOE ε2 selectively protects men against decline. Among men, APOE ε2 was more protective than APOE ε3/ε3. In women, APOE ε2 was no more protective than APOE ε3/ε3. Among APOE ε2 carriers, men had slower decline than women. There were no sex-specific APOE ε2 effects in non-Hispanic Black (NHB) adults.

Apolipoprotein B is a novel marker for early tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease.

INTRODUCTION: We examine the role of brain apolipoprotein B (apoB) as a putative marker of early tau pathology and cognitive decline. METHODS: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from cognitively normal and Alzheimer's disease (AD) participants were collected to measure protein levels of apoB and AD biomarkers amyloid beta (Aß), t-tau and p-tau, as well as synaptic markers GAP43, SYNAPTOTAGMIN-1, synaptosome associated protein 25 (SNAP-25), and NEUROGRANIN. CSF apoB levels were contrasted with positron emission tomography (PET) scan measures of Aß (18F-NAV4694) and Tau (flortaucipir) along with cognitive assessment alterations over 6 to 8 years. RESULTS: CSF apoB levels were elevated in AD participants and correlated with t-tau, p-tau, and the four synaptic markers in pre-symptomatic individuals. In the latter, CSF apoB levels correlated with PET flortaucipir-binding in entorhinal, parahippocampal, and fusiform regions. Baseline CSF apoB levels were associated with longitudinal visuospatial cognitive decline. DISCUSSION: CSF apoB markedly associates with early tau dysregulation in asymptomatic subjects and identifies at-risk individuals predisposed to develop visuospatial cognitive decline over time.

Characteristics of subjective cognitive decline associated with amyloid positivity.

INTRODUCTION: The evidence for characteristics of persons with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) associated with amyloid positivity is limited. METHODS: In 1640 persons with SCD from 20 Amyloid Biomarker Study cohort, we investigated the associations of SCD-specific characteristics (informant confirmation, domain-specific complaints, concerns, feelings of worse performance) demographics, setting, apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) ε4 carriership, and neuropsychiatric symptoms with amyloid positivity. RESULTS: Between cohorts, amyloid positivity in 70-year-olds varied from 10% to 76%. Only older age, clinical setting, and APOE ε4 carriership showed univariate associations with increased amyloid positivity. After adjusting for these, lower education was also associated with increased amyloid positivity. Only within a research setting, informant-confirmed complaints, memory complaints, attention/concentration complaints, and no depressive symptoms were associated with increased amyloid positivity. Feelings of worse performance were associated with less amyloid positivity at younger ages and more at older ages. DISCUSSION: Next to age, setting, and APOE ε4 carriership, SCD-specific characteristics may facilitate the identification of amyloid-positive individuals.

Vascular risk factors are associated with a decline in resting-state functional connectivity in cognitively unimpaired individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease: Vascular risk factors and functional connectivity changes.

Resting-state functional connectivity is suggested to be cross-sectionally associated with both vascular burden and Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. However, evidence is lacking regarding longitudinal changes in functional connectivity. This study includes 247 cognitively unimpaired individuals with a family history of sporadic AD (185 women/ 62 men; mean [SD] age of 63 [5.3] years). Plasma total-, HDL-, and LDL-cholesterol and systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured at baseline. Global (whole-brain) brain functional connectivity and connectivity from canonical functional networks were computed from resting-state functional MRI obtained at baseline and ~3.5 years of annual follow-ups, using a predefined functional parcellation. A subsample underwent Aß- and tau-PET (n=91). Linear mixed-effects models demonstrated that global functional connectivity increased over time across the entire sample. In contrast, higher total-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels were associated with greater reduction of functional connectivity in the default-mode network over time. In addition, higher diastolic blood pressure was associated with global functional connectivity reduction. The associations were similar when the analyses were repeated using two other functional brain parcellations. Aß and tau deposition in the brain were not associated with changes in functional connectivity over time in the subsample. These findings provide evidence that vascular burden is associated with a decrease in functional connectivity over time in older adults with elevated risk for AD. Future studies are needed to determine if the impact of vascular risk factors on functional brain changes precede the impact of AD pathology on functional brain changes.

The impact of demographic, clinical, genetic, and imaging variables on tau PET status.

PURPOSE: A substantial proportion of amyloid-ß (Aß)+ patients with clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are tau PET-negative, while some clinically diagnosed non-AD neurodegenerative disorder (non-AD) patients or cognitively unimpaired (CU) subjects are tau PET-positive. We investigated which demographic, clinical, genetic, and imaging variables contributed to tau PET status. METHODS: We included 2338 participants (430 Aß+ AD dementia, 381 Aß+ MCI, 370 non-AD, and 1157 CU) who underwent [18F]flortaucipir (n = 1944) or [18F]RO948 (n = 719) PET. Tau PET positivity was determined in the entorhinal cortex, temporal meta-ROI, and Braak V-VI regions using previously established cutoffs. We performed bivariate binary logistic regression models with tau PET status (positive/negative) as dependent variable and age, sex, APOEε4, Aß status (only in CU and non-AD analyses), MMSE, global white matter hyperintensities (WMH), and AD-signature cortical thickness as predictors. Additionally, we performed multivariable binary logistic regression models to account for all other predictors in the same model. RESULTS: Tau PET positivity in the temporal meta-ROI was 88.6% for AD dementia, 46.5% for MCI, 9.5% for non-AD, and 6.1% for CU. Among Aß+ participants with AD dementia and MCI, lower age, MMSE score, and AD-signature cortical thickness showed the strongest associations with tau PET positivity. In non-AD and CU participants, presence of Aß was the strongest predictor of a positive tau PET scan. CONCLUSION: We identified several demographic, clinical, and neurobiological factors that are important to explain the variance in tau PET retention observed across the AD pathological continuum, non-AD neurodegenerative disorders, and cognitively unimpaired persons.

Morphometric network differences in ageing versus Alzheimer's disease dementia.

Age being the main risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, it is particularly challenging to disentangle structural changes related to normal brain ageing from those specific to Alzheimer's disease. Most studies aiming to make this distinction focused on older adults only and on a priori anatomical regions. Drawing on a large, multi-cohort dataset ranging from young adults (n = 468; age range 18-35 years), to older adults with intact cognition (n = 431; age range 55-90 years) and with Alzheimer's disease (n = 50 with late mild cognitive impairment and 71 with Alzheimer's dementia, age range 56-88 years), we investigated grey matter organization and volume differences in ageing and Alzheimer's disease. Using independent component analysis on all participants' structural MRI, we first derived morphometric networks and extracted grey matter volume in each network. We also derived a measure of whole-brain grey matter pattern organization by correlating grey matter volume in all networks across all participants from the same cohort. We used logistic regressions and receiver operating characteristic analyses to evaluate how well grey matter volume in each network and whole-brain pattern could discriminate between ageing and Alzheimer's disease. Because increased heterogeneity is often reported as one of the main features characterizing brain ageing, we also evaluated interindividual heterogeneity within morphometric networks and across the whole-brain organization in ageing and Alzheimer's disease. Finally, to investigate the clinical validity of the different grey matter features, we evaluated whether grey matter volume or whole-brain pattern was related to clinical progression in cognitively normal older adults. Ageing and Alzheimer's disease contributed additive effects on grey matter volume in nearly all networks, except frontal lobe networks, where differences in grey matter were more specific to ageing. While no networks specifically discriminated Alzheimer's disease from ageing, heterogeneity in grey matter volumes across morphometric networks and in the whole-brain grey matter pattern characterized individuals with cognitive impairments. Preservation of the whole-brain grey matter pattern was also related to lower risk of developing cognitive impairment, more so than grey matter volume. These results suggest both ageing and Alzheimer's disease involve widespread atrophy, but that the clinical expression of Alzheimer's disease is uniquely associated with disruption of morphometric organization.

Repetitive negative thinking is associated with amyloid, tau, and cognitive decline.

INTRODUCTION: The Cognitive Debt hypothesis proposes that repetitive negative thinking (RNT), a modifiable process common to many psychological risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) may itself increase risk. We sought to empirically examine relationships between RNT and markers of AD, compared with anxiety and depression symptoms. METHODS: Two hundred and ninety-two older adults with longitudinal cognitive assessments, including 113 with amyloid-positron emission tomography (PET) and tau-PET scans, from the PREVENT-AD cohort and 68 adults with amyloid-PET scans from the IMAP+ cohort were included. All participants completed RNT, anxiety, and depression questionnaires. RESULTS: RNT was associated with decline in global cognition (P = .02); immediate (P = .03) and delayed memory (P = .04); and global amyloid (PREVENT-AD: P = .01; IMAP+: P = .03) and entorhinal tau (P = .02) deposition. Relationships remained after adjusting for potential confounders. DISCUSSION: RNT was associated with decline in cognitive domains affected early in AD and with neuroimaging AD biomarkers. Future research could investigate whether modifying RNT reduces AD risk.

Data-driven approaches for tau-PET imaging biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease.

Previous positron emission tomography (PET) studies have quantified filamentous tau pathology using regions-of-interest (ROIs) based on observations of the topographical distribution of neurofibrillary tangles in post-mortem tissue. However, such approaches may not take full advantage of information contained in neuroimaging data. The present study employs an unsupervised data-driven method to identify spatial patterns of tau-PET distribution, and to compare these patterns to previously published "pathology-driven" ROIs. Tau-PET patterns were identified from a discovery sample comprised of 123 normal controls and patients with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia from the Swedish BioFINDER cohort, who underwent [18 F]AV1451 PET scanning. Associations with cognition were tested in a separate sample of 90 individuals from ADNI. BioFINDER [18 F]AV1451 images were entered into a robust voxelwise stable clustering algorithm, which resulted in five clusters. Mean [18 F]AV1451 uptake in the data-driven clusters, and in 35 previously published pathology-driven ROIs, was extracted from ADNI [18 F]AV1451 scans. We performed linear models comparing [18 F]AV1451 signal across all 40 ROIs to tests of global cognition and episodic memory, adjusting for age, sex, and education. Two data-driven ROIs consistently demonstrated the strongest or near-strongest effect sizes across all cognitive tests. Inputting all regions plus demographics into a feature selection routine resulted in selection of two ROIs (one data-driven, one pathology-driven) and education, which together explained 28% of the variance of a global cognitive composite score. Our findings suggest that [18 F]AV1451-PET data naturally clusters into spatial patterns that are biologically meaningful and that may offer advantages as clinical tools.

Brain properties predict proximity to symptom onset in sporadic Alzheimer's disease.

See Tijms and Visser (doi:10.1093/brain/awy113) for a scientific commentary on this article.Alzheimer's disease is preceded by a lengthy 'preclinical' stage spanning many years, during which subtle brain changes occur in the absence of overt cognitive symptoms. Predicting when the onset of disease symptoms will occur is an unsolved challenge in individuals with sporadic Alzheimer's disease. In individuals with autosomal dominant genetic Alzheimer's disease, the age of symptom onset is similar across generations, allowing the prediction of individual onset times with some accuracy. We extend this concept to persons with a parental history of sporadic Alzheimer's disease to test whether an individual's symptom onset age can be informed by the onset age of their affected parent, and whether this estimated onset age can be predicted using only MRI. Structural and functional MRIs were acquired from 255 ageing cognitively healthy subjects with a parental history of sporadic Alzheimer's disease from the PREVENT-AD cohort. Years to estimated symptom onset was calculated as participant age minus age of parental symptom onset. Grey matter volume was extracted from T1-weighted images and whole-brain resting state functional connectivity was evaluated using degree count. Both modalities were summarized using a 444-region cortical-subcortical atlas. The entire sample was divided into training (n = 138) and testing (n = 68) sets. Within the training set, individuals closer to or beyond their parent's symptom onset demonstrated reduced grey matter volume and altered functional connectivity, specifically in regions known to be vulnerable in Alzheimer's disease. Machine learning was used to identify a weighted set of imaging features trained to predict years to estimated symptom onset. This feature set alone significantly predicted years to estimated symptom onset in the unseen testing data. This model, using only neuroimaging features, significantly outperformed a similar model instead trained with cognitive, genetic, imaging and demographic features used in a traditional clinical setting. We next tested if these brain properties could be generalized to predict time to clinical progression in a subgroup of 26 individuals from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, who eventually converted either to mild cognitive impairment or to Alzheimer's dementia. The feature set trained on years to estimated symptom onset in the PREVENT-AD predicted variance in time to clinical conversion in this separate longitudinal dataset. Adjusting for participant age did not impact any of the results. These findings demonstrate that years to estimated symptom onset or similar measures can be predicted from brain features and may help estimate presymptomatic disease progression in at-risk individuals.

White Matter Structure in Older Adults Moderates the Benefit of Sleep Spindles on Motor Memory Consolidation.

Sleep spindles promote the consolidation of motor skill memory in young adults. Older adults, however, exhibit impoverished sleep-dependent motor memory consolidation. The underlying pathophysiological mechanism(s) explaining why motor memory consolidation in older adults fails to benefit from sleep remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that male and female older adults show impoverished overnight motor skill memory consolidation relative to young adults, with the extent of impairment being associated with the degree of reduced frontal fast sleep spindle density. The magnitude of the loss of frontal fast sleep spindles in older adults was predicted by the degree of reduced white matter integrity throughout multiple white matter tracts known to connect subcortical and cortical brain regions. We further demonstrate that the structural integrity of selective white matter fiber tracts, specifically within right posterior corona radiata, right tapetum, and bilateral corpus callosum, statistically moderates whether sleep spindles promoted overnight consolidation of motor skill memory. Therefore, white matter integrity within tracts known to connect cortical sensorimotor control regions dictates the functional influence of sleep spindles on motor skill memory consolidation in the elderly. The deterioration of white matter fiber tracts associated with human brain aging thus appears to be one pathophysiological mechanism influencing subcortical-cortical propagation of sleep spindles and their related memory benefits.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Numerous studies have shown that sleep spindle expression is reduced and sleep-dependent motor memory is impaired in older adults. However, the mechanisms underlying these alterations have remained unknown. The present study reveals that age-related degeneration of white matter within select fiber tracts is associated with reduced sleep spindles in older adults. We further demonstrate that, within these same fiber tracts, the degree of degeneration determines whether sleep spindles can promote motor memory consolidation. Therefore, white matter integrity in the human brain, more than age per se, determines the magnitude of decline in sleep spindles in later life and, with it, the success (or lack thereof) of sleep-dependent motor memory consolidation in older adults.