IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v10y2019i1d10.1038_s41467-019-12921-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Tau deposition is associated with functional isolation of the hippocampus in aging

Author

Listed:
  • Theresa M. Harrison

    (Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley)

  • Anne Maass

    (Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley
    German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases)

  • Jenna N. Adams

    (Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley)

  • Richard Du

    (Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley)

  • Suzanne L. Baker

    (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

  • William J. Jagust

    (Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Abstract

The tau protein aggregates in aging and Alzheimer disease and may lead to memory loss through disruption of medial temporal lobe (MTL)-dependent memory systems. Here, we investigated tau-mediated mechanisms of hippocampal dysfunction that underlie the expression of episodic memory decline using fMRI measures of hippocampal local coherence (regional homogeneity; ReHo), distant functional connectivity and tau-PET. We show that age and tau pathology are related to higher hippocampal ReHo. Functional disconnection between the hippocampus and other components of the MTL memory system, particularly an anterior-temporal network specialized for object memory, is also associated with higher hippocampal ReHo and greater tau burden in anterior-temporal regions. These associations are not observed in the posteromedial network, specialized for context/spatial information. Higher hippocampal ReHo predicts worse memory performance. These findings suggest that tau pathology plays a role in disconnecting the hippocampus from specific MTL memory systems leading to increased local coherence and memory decline.

Suggested Citation

  • Theresa M. Harrison & Anne Maass & Jenna N. Adams & Richard Du & Suzanne L. Baker & William J. Jagust, 2019. "Tau deposition is associated with functional isolation of the hippocampus in aging," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:10:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-019-12921-z
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12921-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12921-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-019-12921-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:10:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-019-12921-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.