Changes in the Papez Circuit in early stages of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of demenMa. Neuronal and synapMc losses occur iniMally and predominantly in the medial temporal lobe structures including hippocampus, amygdala and thalamus, structures that belong to the Papez circuit. The integrity of the connecMons amongst them is essenMal for episodic memory, which is specifically impaired in AD. For this reason we have invesMgated the degeneraMon paRern of subcorMcal structures and its relaMon to early stages of AD, i.e. Mild CogniMve Impairment (MCI), both in the amnesic and mulMdomain types using structural magneMc resonance imaging (using a 3T GE scanner) and VBM‐DARTEL.