Association Between Motor Task Performance and Hippocampal Atrophy Across Cognitively Unimpaired, Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer’s Disease Individuals

Article type: Short Communication

Authors: Schaefer, Sydney Y.^{a; *} | Malek-Ahmadi, Michael^b | Hooyman, Andrew^a | King, Jace B.^c | Duff, Kevin^d

Affiliations: [a] School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA | [b] Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA | [c] Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA | [d] Center for Alzheimer’s Care, Imaging, & Research, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Sydney Schaefer, PhD, 501 E. Tyler Mall, MC 9709, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA. Tel.: +1 480 727 6651; E-mail: sydney.schaefer@asu.edu.

Abstract: Hippocampal atrophy is a widely used biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but the cost, time, and contraindications associated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) limit its use. Recent work has shown that a low-cost upper extremity motor task has potential in identifying AD risk. Fifty-four older adults (15 cognitively unimpaired, 24 amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and 15 AD) completed six motor task trials and a structural MRI. Several measures of motor task performance significantly predicted bilateral hippocampal volume, controlling for age, sex, education, and memory. Thus, this motor task may be an affordable, non-invasive screen for AD risk and progression.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, hippocampus, mild cognitive impairment, psychomotor performance

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-210665

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 85, no. 4, pp. 1411-1417, 2022