Amyloid and tau accumulate across distinct spatial networks and are differentially associated with brain connectivity

In this study, we applied a joint independent component analysis to18F- Flutemetamol (amyloid- β) and18F-Flortaucipir (tau) PET images to identify amyloid- β and tau networks across different stages of Alzheimer's disease. We then assessed whether these patterns were associated with resting-state functional networks and white matter tracts. Our analyses revealed nine patterns that were linked across tau and amyloid-β data. The amyloid-b and tau patte rns showed a fair to moderate overlap with distinct functional networks but only tau was associated with white matter integrity loss and multiple cognitive functions. These findings show that amyloid-b and tau have different spatial affinities, which can be used to understand how they accumulate in the brain and potentially damage the brain's connections.
Source: eLife - Category: Biomedical Science Tags: Neuroscience Source Type: research