ADNI data is made available to researchers around the world. As such, there are many active research projects accessing and applying the shared ADNI data. To further encourage Alzheimer’s disease research collaboration, and to help prevent duplicate efforts, the list below shows the specific research focus of the active ADNI investigations. This information is requested annually as a requirement for data access.
| Principal Investigator | |
| Principal Investigator's Name: | David Bunce |
| Institution: | Brunel University, London |
| Department: | Institute of Psychological Sciences |
| Country: | |
| Proposed Analysis: | Visual processing in AD, MCI and normal aging: A structural analysis of neuroanatomical pathways There is considerable evidence of visual disturbance in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). For example, AD patients may experience poorer discrimination of motion direction, spatial contrast sensitivity, colour perception, and impaired visual attention and visual short-term memory (for a review see Rizzo et al., 2000). The precise mechanisms which underlie these deficits are unclear (Kirby et al., 2010), and there is inconsistency in the literature as to whether subcortical (e.g. degeneration of optic nerve fibres, Hinton et al, 1986) or higher cortical pathways are implicated (e.g. the dorsal and ventral visual streams, Rizzo et al., 2000). Gaining a clearer understanding of the source of the visual deficits in AD will provide important information that may help the development of future interventions. The ADNI dataset is well-suited to the investigation of the neuroanatomical structures implicated in visual processing in AD, particularly in comparison to MCI and normal ageing groups. Given the inconsistencies in the literature and gaps in understanding, our approach will be to perform a structural analysis of areas related to visual processing. We will examine the structure of the occipital lobe, responsible for much of visual processing, as well as the parietal and temporal lobes through which the dorsal and ventral streams pass. Our main aim is to determine whether any of these structures differ between the AD, matched MCI and normal ageing groups using automated approaches providing estimates of key neuroanatomical structures. We have identified the following objectives for the research. 1. To utilise structural neuroimaging approaches to identify structural differences distinguishing AD, MCI and normal ageing groups in brain areas associated with visual processing. Observations here will be interpreted within the context of the literature concerning the reported visual deficits. 2. To explore associations between the behavioural cognitive measures and structural differences identified in AD, MCI and normal groups. In particular we are interest in whether group differences in structures associated with visual processing are selectively associated with functional deficits in the cognitive measures. Proposed data preparation and statistical analyses For the work described above, we propose using the structural MRI data for AD, MCI and normal controls, randomly sampling a selection of participants from each group. Freesurfer will be used to automatically generate regions of interest (ROI) and to compute estimates of various parameters including cortical area, volume, and thickness within these ROIs. FreeSurfer has built in capabilities to identify broad structures within the brain, as well as functional areas such as V1 and MT/V5. It also has the capacity to automatically segment subcortical structures, and it may be beneficial to explore the comparative integrity of some of these structures (e.g. the pulvinar, Kuljis 1994) according to clinical status. We will focus on clearly defined regions (e.g. gyri and sulci such as the calcarine, cuneus, etc) but it may also be beneficial to examine broad structures such as the Brodmann areas. Data will be subjected to standard statistical procedures involving univariate and multivariate techniques. References Hinton DR, Sadun AA, Blanks JC, Miller CA (1986). Optic nerve degeneration in Alzheimer’s disease. N Engl J Med, 315, 485-487 Kirby E, Bandelow S, Hogervorst E (2010). Visual Impairment in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Critical Review. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 21, 15–34 Kuljis RO (1994). Lesions in the pulvinar in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology, 53, 202-211 Rizzo M, Anderson SW, Dawson J, Nawrot M (2000). Vision and cognition in Alzheimer’s disease. Neuropsychologia 38, 1157-1169 |
| Additional Investigators | |
| Investigator's Name: | Andrew Parton |
| Proposed Analysis: | As for David Bunce |
| Investigator's Name: | Adrian Williams |
| Proposed Analysis: | As for David Bunce |