Patient-specific functional networks track early cognitive alterations and minor hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Minor hallucinations (MHs) affect up to 40% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and are early indicators of cognitive decline. Unlike previous group-level studies, connectome-based brain fingerprinting enables the capture of individualized neural features. Leveraging this framework in a cross-sectional cohort of patients with Parkinson's disease with and without MHs using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, here we show that each patient exhibits a unique brain fingerprint, irrespective of MH status. The most individualized features were associated with clinically relevant measures such as motor-symptom severity and cognitive performance. Patients with MHs showed a loss of individual-specific features in brain networks linked to cognitive health, whereas the cerebellar-to-cortex connectivity-typically less distinctive-became more prominent, emphasizing the role of somatosensory and motor integration in MH pathogenesis. Moreover, MH-related fingerprint regions mapped onto cortical territories with lower densities of neurotransmitter systems implicated in hallucinations. Overall, our fully data-driven findings reveal a distinct, patient-specific signature that differentiates patients with Parkinson's disease and MHs.
Source: Nature Mental Health
Institutions: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, University of Geneva, University of Birmingham, Newcastle University, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Hospital de Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Networking Center on Neurodegenerative Diseases, Institut de Recerca Sant Pau, University Hospital of Geneva
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $12,690
Funders: Carigest, National Science Foundation, Fondation Bertarelli, Wellcome Trust, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Newcastle University, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Generalitat de Catalunya, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Fondation Leenaards, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas, Parkinson Schweiz, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre
Awards: Historia natural y correlatos neuronales de los síntomas psicóticos en pacientes con enfermedad de Parkinson, G2379482492, G2619462760, Unravelling the sensorimotor brain mechanisms of hallucinations in Parkinson’s Disease using neurorobotics, Altered brain-body interaction as early marker of Parkinson’s disease, G8099686278
OpenAlex ID: W7163877003