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Current Alzheimer Research

Author(s): Man Sun, Hua Xie and Yan Tang*

DOI: 10.2174/1567205017666201215140625

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Directed Network Defects in Alzheimer's Disease Using Granger Causality and Graph Theory

Page: [939 - 947] Pages: 9

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Abstract

Background: Few works studied the directed whole-brain interaction between different brain regions of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Here, we investigated the whole-brain effective connectivity and studied the graph metrics associated with AD.

Methods: Large-scale Granger causality analysis was conducted to explore abnormal whole-brain effective connectivity of patients with AD. Moreover, graph-theoretical metrics including smallworldness, assortativity, and hierarchy, were computed from the effective connectivity network. Statistical analysis identified the aberrant network properties of AD subjects when compared against healthy controls.

Results: Decreased small-worldness, and increased characteristic path length, disassortativity, and hierarchy were found in AD subjects.

Conclusion: This work sheds insight into the underlying neuropathological mechanism of the brain network of AD individuals such as less efficient information transmission and reduced resilience to a random or targeted attack.

Keywords: Alzheimer`s disease, effective connectivity, large-scale granger causality, functional connectomes, assortativity, hierarchy.

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