Electrophysiological measures of proteinopathy in asymptomatic older adults
Project Overview
Our project proposes the development and first-step validation of a new, noninvasive mapping procedure of proteinopathy in asymptomatic older adults. Our approach consists in applying recent advances in magnetoencephalography (MEG) methods that yield the neurophysiological fingerprint of each individual from short recordings of task-free brain activity. We will test the approach with a large group (N=124) of adults (mean age=67.5 ± 4.8 yrs) with familial history of sporadic Alzheimer’s disease. They have undergone an extensive multimodal brain imaging (PET, MRI, MEG) and longitudinal neuropsychological assessment under the PREVENT-AD protocol. We will derive whole-brain maps of amyloid beta (Aß) and tau concentrations from noninvasive MEG fingerprints. We will use linear mixed-effects models of PET Aß and tau concentrations based on these MEG derivatives. We anticipate this project will yield a safe and repeatable approach to mapping proteinopathy at all stages of AD.
Principal Investigator
Sylvain Baillet , McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University
Partners and Donors
Alzheimer's Association