Work

Resting state network energy abnormalities in Alzheimer’s disease mouse model and the reversal through central thalamic deep brain stimulation

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) disrupts intrinsic brain activity, particularly within the Papez and cortico-thalamo-hippocampal circuits, contributing to cognitive decline. Despite extensive research, AD remains incurable, and effective therapies are limited. This study investigates how AD alters brain-state organization and whether central thalamic deep brain stimulation (CT-DBS) modulates these alterations. Resting-state fMRI data were collected from 26 wild-type mice (WT group), 26 AD mice without treatment (AD without CT-DBS group), and 26 AD mice receiving CT-DBS (AD with CT-DBS group). A maximum entropy model (MEM) was used to estimate energy values for each group across the 64 possible brain states defined by six brain regions: prefrontal cortex (PFC), caudate putamen (CPu), thalamus (THA), hypothalamus (HT), entorhinal cortex (EC), and hippocampus (Hipp). To characterize group-associated differences in brain-state organization, MEM-derived energy values were compared across corresponding brain-state configurations among the WT, AD without CT-DBS, and AD with CT-DBS groups. The AD without CT-DBS group showed differences in MEM-derived energy values across multiple single- and multi-regional state configurations, including the CPu, Hipp, THA, EC-Hipp, THA-HT, and HT-Hipp. These findings indicate altered organization of network configurations in AD. The AD with CT-DBS group showed energy values shifting toward WT-like patterns, suggesting a partial shift toward WT-like network organization following stimulation. CT-DBS was associated with a partial shift of AD-associated network configurations toward WT-like patterns within Papez and cortico-thalamo-hippocampal circuits, and energy-state analysis provides a quantitative framework for assessing circuit-level effects of neuromodulation in AD.

Source: Scientific Reports

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-68935-3

Authors: Yi-Ling Chen, Yi-Ling Chen, Ching-Wen Chang, Ssu-Ju Li, You-Yin Chen, You-Yin Chen

Institutions: National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei Medical University

Language: English

Topic: Functional Brain Connectivity Studies

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,690