Correlation between alterations in resting-state functional connectivity of brain network and cerebrospinal fluid pathological markers in patients with Alzheimer's disease

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the correlation between brain functional network alterations and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pathological biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-spectrum patients. Method: A total of 39 individuals were recruited, including 23 AD patients and 16 control subjects. All subjects underwent a battery of neuropsychological examinations, CSF measurement and multimodal magnetic resonance imaging scans. Independent component analysis was used to investigate the differences of functional connectivity（FC）among the two groups based on the resting-sate functional MRI (fMRI) data. Then correlation analyses were used to estimate the potential relationship between functional network alterations and cerebral amyloid and tau burden. Result: Multiple inter- and intra-network functional connections were altered in AD patients compared to the Non ADCI group. Alterations in FC between VN and PCC, as well as the functional connections of SMN were found to be associated with the dynamic changes of CSF Tau. Compared the AD group with the non-AD CI group, the aforementioned altered functional brain connectivity, with the exception of FC in the PCC and VN, was significantly associated with a decrease in CSF Aβ Conclusion: This study provides provisional evidence that the brain functional network alterations was closely associated with CSF pathological characteristics, and these exploratory results support new research ideas for the early diagnosis of AD.