Rostral associations of MRI atrophy of the amygdala and entorhinal cortex across the AD spectrum
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper examines associations of atrophy in the amygdala, entorhinal cortex and hippocampus based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans from two independent cohorts: Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and Biomarkers of Cognitive Decline Among Normal Individuals (BIOCARD) study. The amygdala and entorhinal cortex (ERC) are shown to change earlier in the disease than the hippocampus based on atrophy of laminar thickness of the ERC and amygdala volumes. Over four hundred laminar reconstructions showed that ERC volume loss is linked to cortical thinning, as a more specific measure historically linked to the layer specific pattern of tau pathology deposition. Additionally, high field atlasing with delineations of amygdala subregions shows predominant volume loss in medial subregions including basomedial, basolateral, and corticocentromedial compared with the lateral subregion. In the context of earlier work linking MRI-based atrophy with hyperphospho-rylated tau deposition in the ERC and amygdala, the atrophy rate marker is shown to be strongly associated with tau deposition as measured by tau positron emission tomography imaging and co-localization of the atrophy marker to the spatial distribution of tau deposition. Highlights Structural MRI analyses across ADNI and BIOCARD cohorts reveal significantly greater early atrophy in amygdala and entorhinal cortex (ERC), marking them as sensitive indicators of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. ERC volume loss is shown to correspond to cortical laminar thinning by surface-based diffeomorphic reconstructions, confirming MRI volume atrophy as a biologically valid marker of early neuronal degeneration. Predominant atrophy in medial amygdala subregions (basomedial, basolateral, corticocentromedial) are identified compared to the lateral amygdala using high-field (11T) atlases, mirroring known histopathological tau distribution. MRI volume atrophy correlates with tau burden measured by tau PET imaging, demonstrating region-specific correspondence between structural atrophy and molecular pathology.
Source: Neuroimage Reports
Institutions: Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Medicine
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,160
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense, Alzheimer's Association, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, Pfizer, Biogen, University of Southern California, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Meso Scale Diagnostics, BioClinica, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Northern California Institute for Research and Education, Eisai, Servier, H. Lundbeck A/S, IXICO, National Institutes of Health, Genentech, Kavli Nanoscience Institute, California Institute of Technology, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
Awards: G100845555, G1012222616, G104586243, G1293354362, G1298807586, G1554142629, G1593117279, G1650819308, G1880935189, G2100670906, G2105457377, G2152643862, G2189010064, G2340207221, G2471646051, G2522063444, G3131374986, G3146424788, G3512028809, G3553156159, G3710456697, G3752451908, G3870774570, G3908963977, G3966393351, G4119534169, G43180419, G4475667458, G4501223628, Biomarkers of Cognitive Decline Among Normal Individuals: The Biocard Cohort, Neurodegenerative and Neurodevelopmental Subcortical Shape Diffeomorphometry, G4800177743, G5207404921, G5209990037, G528601746, G5324093878, G5365730499, G5654639750, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, G5740349702, G5850682332, G613619302, G6173816828, G6210868510, G6371410416, G6412110892, G6447063303, Large-Scale Models and Algorithms in Diffeomorphic Shape and Image Registration, G6719828067, G6792506723, G6899163935, G6948409098, G72415811, G7268282379, G7298697282, G764699806, G7799614282, G781725486, G8228018387, G8281378126, G8301434335, G839208290, G8852128998, G8895907669, G8897063270, G8957659042, G9000039018, G9000122335, G9000147083, Fluency from Flesh to Filament: Collation, Representation, and Analysis of Multi-Scale Neuroimaging data to Characterize and Diagnose Alzheimer's Disease, MRI Resource for Physiologic, Metabolic and Anatomic Biomarkers, Johns Hopkins Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Medical Scientist Training Program
OpenAlex ID: W7202090528