The Role of Hub and Spoke Regions in Theory of Mind in Early Alzheimer’s Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia
Theory of mind (ToM, the ability to attribute mental states to others) deficit is a frequent finding in neurodegenerative conditions, mediated by a diffuse brain network confirmed by <sup>18</sup>F-FDG-PET and MR imaging, involving frontal, temporal and parietal areas. However, the role...
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Biomedicines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/10/3/544 |
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| author | Beatrice Orso Luigi Lorenzini Dario Arnaldi Nicola Girtler Andrea Brugnolo Elisa Doglione Pietro Mattioli Erica Biassoni Federico Massa Enrico Peira Matteo Bauckneht Maria I. Donegani Silvia Morbelli Flavio Nobili Matteo Pardini |
| author_facet | Beatrice Orso Luigi Lorenzini Dario Arnaldi Nicola Girtler Andrea Brugnolo Elisa Doglione Pietro Mattioli Erica Biassoni Federico Massa Enrico Peira Matteo Bauckneht Maria I. Donegani Silvia Morbelli Flavio Nobili Matteo Pardini |
| author_sort | Beatrice Orso |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Theory of mind (ToM, the ability to attribute mental states to others) deficit is a frequent finding in neurodegenerative conditions, mediated by a diffuse brain network confirmed by <sup>18</sup>F-FDG-PET and MR imaging, involving frontal, temporal and parietal areas. However, the role of hubs and spokes network regions in ToM performance, and their respective damage, is still unclear. To study this mechanism, we combined ToM testing with brain <sup>18</sup>F-FDG-PET imaging in 25 subjects with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease (MCI–AD), 24 subjects with the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and 40 controls. Regions included in the ToM network were divided into hubs and spokes based on their structural connectivity and distribution of hypometabolism. The hubs of the ToM network were identified in frontal regions in both bvFTD and MCI–AD patients. A mediation analysis revealed that the impact of spokes damage on ToM performance was mediated by the integrity of hubs (<i>p</i> < 0.001), while the impact of hubs damage on ToM performance was independent from the integrity of spokes (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Our findings support the theory that a key role is played by the hubs in ToM deficits, suggesting that hubs could represent a final common pathway leading from the damage of spoke regions to clinical deficits. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:05:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2c0401397cd746e4a77db95ecd5c3acb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9059 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:05:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomedicines |
| spelling | doaj.art-2c0401397cd746e4a77db95ecd5c3acb2023-11-24T00:31:47ZengMDPI AGBiomedicines2227-90592022-02-0110354410.3390/biomedicines10030544The Role of Hub and Spoke Regions in Theory of Mind in Early Alzheimer’s Disease and Frontotemporal DementiaBeatrice Orso0Luigi Lorenzini1Dario Arnaldi2Nicola Girtler3Andrea Brugnolo4Elisa Doglione5Pietro Mattioli6Erica Biassoni7Federico Massa8Enrico Peira9Matteo Bauckneht10Maria I. Donegani11Silvia Morbelli12Flavio Nobili13Matteo Pardini14Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Largo Daneo 3, 16132 Genoa, ItalyDepartment of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam UMC Location VuMC, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Largo Daneo 3, 16132 Genoa, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Largo Daneo 3, 16132 Genoa, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Largo Daneo 3, 16132 Genoa, ItalyIRCCS Ospedale Policlinico S. Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Largo Daneo 3, 16132 Genoa, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Largo Daneo 3, 16132 Genoa, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Largo Daneo 3, 16132 Genoa, ItalyNational Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Genoa Section, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genoa, ItalyIRCCS Ospedale Policlinico S. Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, ItalyIRCCS Ospedale Policlinico S. Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, ItalyIRCCS Ospedale Policlinico S. Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132 Genoa, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Largo Daneo 3, 16132 Genoa, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Largo Daneo 3, 16132 Genoa, ItalyTheory of mind (ToM, the ability to attribute mental states to others) deficit is a frequent finding in neurodegenerative conditions, mediated by a diffuse brain network confirmed by <sup>18</sup>F-FDG-PET and MR imaging, involving frontal, temporal and parietal areas. However, the role of hubs and spokes network regions in ToM performance, and their respective damage, is still unclear. To study this mechanism, we combined ToM testing with brain <sup>18</sup>F-FDG-PET imaging in 25 subjects with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease (MCI–AD), 24 subjects with the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and 40 controls. Regions included in the ToM network were divided into hubs and spokes based on their structural connectivity and distribution of hypometabolism. The hubs of the ToM network were identified in frontal regions in both bvFTD and MCI–AD patients. A mediation analysis revealed that the impact of spokes damage on ToM performance was mediated by the integrity of hubs (<i>p</i> < 0.001), while the impact of hubs damage on ToM performance was independent from the integrity of spokes (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Our findings support the theory that a key role is played by the hubs in ToM deficits, suggesting that hubs could represent a final common pathway leading from the damage of spoke regions to clinical deficits.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/10/3/544Alzheimer’s diseasefrontotemporal dementiatheory of mindbrain network<sup>18</sup>F-FDG-PETsocial cognition |
| spellingShingle | Beatrice Orso Luigi Lorenzini Dario Arnaldi Nicola Girtler Andrea Brugnolo Elisa Doglione Pietro Mattioli Erica Biassoni Federico Massa Enrico Peira Matteo Bauckneht Maria I. Donegani Silvia Morbelli Flavio Nobili Matteo Pardini The Role of Hub and Spoke Regions in Theory of Mind in Early Alzheimer’s Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia Biomedicines Alzheimer’s disease frontotemporal dementia theory of mind brain network <sup>18</sup>F-FDG-PET social cognition |
| title | The Role of Hub and Spoke Regions in Theory of Mind in Early Alzheimer’s Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia |
| title_full | The Role of Hub and Spoke Regions in Theory of Mind in Early Alzheimer’s Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia |
| title_fullStr | The Role of Hub and Spoke Regions in Theory of Mind in Early Alzheimer’s Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Role of Hub and Spoke Regions in Theory of Mind in Early Alzheimer’s Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia |
| title_short | The Role of Hub and Spoke Regions in Theory of Mind in Early Alzheimer’s Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia |
| title_sort | role of hub and spoke regions in theory of mind in early alzheimer s disease and frontotemporal dementia |
| topic | Alzheimer’s disease frontotemporal dementia theory of mind brain network <sup>18</sup>F-FDG-PET social cognition |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/10/3/544 |
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