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Temporal lobe functional activity and connectivity in young adult APOE ɛ4 carriers
Author(s) -
Dennis Nancy A.,
Browndyke Jeffrey N.,
Stokes Jared,
Need Anna,
Burke James R.,
WelshBohmer Kathleen A.,
Cabeza Roberto
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2009.07.003
Subject(s) - posterior cingulate , apolipoprotein e , functional magnetic resonance imaging , neuroscience , temporal lobe , allele , psychology , cingulate cortex , default mode network , dementia , functional connectivity , brain mapping , episodic memory , biology , disease , medicine , central nervous system , cognition , genetics , gene , epilepsy
Background We sought to determine if the APOE ε4 allele influences both the functional activation and connectivity of the medial temporal lobes (MTLs) during successful memory encoding in young adults. Methods Twenty‐four healthy young adults, i.e., 12 carriers and 12 noncarriers of the APOE ε4 allele, were scanned in a subsequent‐memory paradigm, using event‐related functional magnetic resonance imaging. The neuroanatomic correlates of successful encoding were measured as greater neural activity for subsequently remembered versus forgotten task items, or in short, encoding success activity (ESA). Group differences in ESA within the MTLs, as well as whole‐brain functional connectivity with the MTLs, were assessed. Results In the absence of demographic or performance differences, APOE ε4 allele carriers exhibited greater bilateral MTL activity relative to noncarriers while accomplishing the same encoding task. Moreover, whereas ε4 carriers demonstrated a greater functional connectivity of ESA‐related MTL activity with the posterior cingulate and other peri‐limbic regions, reductions in overall connectivity were found across the anterior and posterior cortices. Conclusions These results suggest that the APOE ɛ4 allele may influence not only functional activations within the MTL, but functional connectivity of the MTLs to other regions implicated in memory encoding. Enhanced functional connectivity of the MTLs with the posterior cingulate in young adult ε4 carriers suggests that APOE may be expressed early in brain regions known to be involved in Alzheimer's disease, long before late‐onset dementia is a practical risk or consideration. These functional connectivity differences may also reflect pleiotropic effects of APOE during early development.