Decreased Fronto-Parietal and Increased Default Mode Network Activation is Associated with Subtle Cognitive Deficits in Elderly Controls
Neurosignals January 1, 2017 Davide Zanchi, Marie‐Louise Montandon, Indrit Sinanaj et al. 46 citations
Brain functional changes in the fronto-parietal network and default mode network precede observable cognitive decline in healthy older adults. In a study of 62 elderly individuals, those with stable cognition, those who later deteriorated, and those with mild cognitive impairment showed distinct brain activation patterns during a working memory task. Compared to stable controls, individuals with mild cognitive impairment and those who later declined had lower activation in frontal regions but higher activation in the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex and insula. These neural differences appeared before performance differences on cognitive tests, suggesting they may serve as early markers of cognitive decline.