Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/18518
Title: Basal forebrain atrophy contributes to allocentric navigation impairment in Alzheimer's disease patients
Contributor(s): Kerbler, Georg M (author); Nedelska, Zuzana (author); Fripp, Jurgen (author); Laczo, Jan (author); Vyhnalek, Martin (author); Lisy, Jiri (author); Hamlin, Adam  (author); Rose, Stephen (author); Hort, Jakub (author); Coulson, Elizabeth J (author)
Publication Date: 2015
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2015.00185Open Access Link
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/18518
Abstract: The basal forebrain degenerates in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and this process is believed to contribute to the cognitive decline observed in AD patients. Impairment in spatial navigation is an early feature of the disease but whether basal forebrain dysfunction in AD is responsible for the impaired navigation skills of AD patients is not known. Our objective was to investigate the relationship between basal forebrain volume and performance in real space as well as computer-based navigation paradigms in an elderly cohort comprising cognitively normal controls, subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and those with AD. We also tested whether basal forebrain volume could predict the participants' ability to perform allocentric- vs. egocentric-based navigation tasks. The basal forebrain volume was calculated from 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, and navigation skills were assessed using the human analog of the Morris water maze employing allocentric, egocentric, and mixed allo/egocentric real space as well as computerized tests. When considering the entire sample, we found that basal forebrain volume correlated with spatial accuracy in allocentric (cued) and mixed allo/egocentric navigation tasks but not the egocentric (uncued) task, demonstrating an important role of the basal forebrain in mediating cue-based spatial navigation capacity. Regression analysis revealed that, although hippocampal volume reflected navigation performance across the entire sample, basal forebrain volume contributed to mixed allo/egocentric navigation performance in the AD group, whereas hippocampal volume did not. This suggests that atrophy of the basal forebrain contributes to aspects of navigation impairment in AD that are independent of hippocampal atrophy.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, v.7, p. 1-11
Publisher: Frontiers Research Foundation
Place of Publication: Switzerland
ISSN: 1663-4365
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 110999 Neurosciences not elsewhere classified
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 320903 Central nervous system
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 280102 Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article

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