Structural changes in thalamic nuclei across prodromal and clinical Alzheimer's disease
Structural changes in thalamic nuclei across prodromal and clinical Alzheimer's disease
Background: increasing evidence suggests that thalamic nuclei may atrophy in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We hypothesized that there will be significant atrophy of limbic thalamic nuclei associated with declining memory and cognition across the AD continuum.
Objectives: the objective of this work was to characterize volume differences in thalamic nuclei in subjects with early and late mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as well as AD when compared to healthy control (HC) subjects using a novel MRI-based thalamic segmentation technique (THOMAS).
Methods: MPRAGE data from the ADNI database were used in this study (n = 540). Healthy control (n = 125), early MCI (n = 212), late MCI (n = 114), and AD subjects (n = 89) were selected, and their MRI data were parcellated to determine the volumes of 11 thalamic nuclei for each subject. Volumes across the different clinical subgroups were compared using ANCOVA.
Results: there were significant differences in thalamic nuclei volumes between HC, late MCI, and AD subjects. The anteroventral, mediodorsal, pulvinar, medial geniculate, and centromedian nuclei were significantly smaller in subjects with late MCI and AD when compared to HC subjects. Furthermore, the mediodorsal, pulvinar, and medial geniculate nuclei were significantly smaller in early MCI when compared to HC subjects.
Conclusion: this work highlights nucleus specific atrophy within the thalamus in subjects with early and late MCI and AD. This is consistent with the hypothesis that memory and cognitive changes in AD are mediated by damage to a large-scale integrated neural network that extends beyond the medial temporal lobes.
Aged, Alzheimer Disease/pathology, Atrophy/pathology, Cognition/physiology, Cognitive Dysfunction/pathology, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Memory/physiology, Prodromal Symptoms, Thalamic Nuclei/pathology
361-371
Bernstein, Adam S.
858963b9-f9cd-4f36-bd10-a3eaabd1f85f
Rapcsak, Steven Z.
42dcf56b-80b3-4efe-ba76-e2b921415cf4
Hornberger, Michael
a48c1c63-422a-4c11-9a51-c7be0aa3026d
Saranathan, Manojkumar
36513c5d-9201-4098-9877-fe2306f1975b
Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
29 June 2021
Bernstein, Adam S.
858963b9-f9cd-4f36-bd10-a3eaabd1f85f
Rapcsak, Steven Z.
42dcf56b-80b3-4efe-ba76-e2b921415cf4
Hornberger, Michael
a48c1c63-422a-4c11-9a51-c7be0aa3026d
Saranathan, Manojkumar
36513c5d-9201-4098-9877-fe2306f1975b
Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
(2021)
Structural changes in thalamic nuclei across prodromal and clinical Alzheimer's disease.
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 82 (1), .
(doi:10.3233/JAD-201583).
Abstract
Background: increasing evidence suggests that thalamic nuclei may atrophy in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We hypothesized that there will be significant atrophy of limbic thalamic nuclei associated with declining memory and cognition across the AD continuum.
Objectives: the objective of this work was to characterize volume differences in thalamic nuclei in subjects with early and late mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as well as AD when compared to healthy control (HC) subjects using a novel MRI-based thalamic segmentation technique (THOMAS).
Methods: MPRAGE data from the ADNI database were used in this study (n = 540). Healthy control (n = 125), early MCI (n = 212), late MCI (n = 114), and AD subjects (n = 89) were selected, and their MRI data were parcellated to determine the volumes of 11 thalamic nuclei for each subject. Volumes across the different clinical subgroups were compared using ANCOVA.
Results: there were significant differences in thalamic nuclei volumes between HC, late MCI, and AD subjects. The anteroventral, mediodorsal, pulvinar, medial geniculate, and centromedian nuclei were significantly smaller in subjects with late MCI and AD when compared to HC subjects. Furthermore, the mediodorsal, pulvinar, and medial geniculate nuclei were significantly smaller in early MCI when compared to HC subjects.
Conclusion: this work highlights nucleus specific atrophy within the thalamus in subjects with early and late MCI and AD. This is consistent with the hypothesis that memory and cognitive changes in AD are mediated by damage to a large-scale integrated neural network that extends beyond the medial temporal lobes.
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More information
e-pub ahead of print date: 18 May 2021
Published date: 29 June 2021
Keywords:
Aged, Alzheimer Disease/pathology, Atrophy/pathology, Cognition/physiology, Cognitive Dysfunction/pathology, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Memory/physiology, Prodromal Symptoms, Thalamic Nuclei/pathology
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 506457
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/506457
ISSN: 1387-2877
PURE UUID: d859573e-b858-44a2-9477-1d58f145bb09
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Date deposited: 07 Nov 2025 17:43
Last modified: 08 Nov 2025 03:19
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Contributors
Author:
Adam S. Bernstein
Author:
Steven Z. Rapcsak
Author:
Michael Hornberger
Author:
Manojkumar Saranathan
Corporate Author: Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
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