Eini Niskanen1,2, Mervi Knnen2,3,
Sara Mtt3, Merja Hallikainen4, Miia Kivipelto4,5,
Silvia Casarotto6, Marcello Massimini6, Ritva Vanninen2,
Hilkka Soininen4,7
1Department of Physics
& Mathematics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; 2Department
of Clinical Radiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland; 3Department
of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland; 4Institute
of Clinical Medicine, Neurology, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio,
Finland; 5Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm,
Sweden; 6Department of Clinical Science "L. Sacco",
Universit degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy; 7Department of
Neurology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
The structural information from cortical thickness analysis of anatomical MRI and the functional information from transcranial magnetic stimulation study of motor cortex excitability are combined in patients with AD or MCI and healthy controls. We found negative correlation between cortical thickness and motor cortex excitability in M1, S1, cuneus and precuneus. In AD, the motor cortex hyperexcitability seems to protect the motor functions, whereas in MCI this protective mechanism has not started yet. Our results show that the evolution of the disease proceeds with different dynamics in the structure and function of neuronal circuits from healthy via MCI to AD.