Functional and structural connectivity changes in neocortical regions of the brain in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

Motivation: The early diagosis of Alzheimer's disease clinically using non-invasive techniques is important, find the relationship of brain structural and functional connectivity will helpful to diagnosing. Goal(s): We used multimodal MRI technique to elucidate the differences between different ages of AD and WT mice and analyze the relationship between brain structure and brain function. Approach: We used rs-fMRI to measure the functional connectivity, used DTI to measure the microstructure and structural connectivity of the brain. Results: Our results showed higher structural connectivity causes higher functional connectivity, but in gustatory region, the functional connectivity had a negative correlation with structure. Impact: Early diagnose is the important part to delay the progression of AD, the relationship of structural and functional connectivity is helpful to drug discovery. Our results suggest several potential early biomarkers for study in young versus old, humans and mice.