Characterization of early functional network alterations in olfactory system and its association with default mode network in the course of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common forms of dementia in the elderly with no effective treatment. Olfactory deficits are commonly observed in people with AD and can be an early biomarker to detect the disease. Neuroimaging tools such as resting state magnetic resonance imaging may detect subtle changes in brain functional networks within olfactory system during the disease progression. Understanding how brain networks are connected with each other during the disease progression is a key factor in decoding the molecular mechanisms of AD, early diagnosis and slowing the progression of the disease. The overall goal of this project is to investigate patterns of functional connectivity alterations in the olfactory brain structures in a mouse model of AD. This knowledge may provide a great opportunities for early diagnosis of AD and development of new treatment strategies.

Keywords:ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

Disciplines:Genetics, Systems biology, Molecular and cell biology