Association Between Motor Task Performance and Hippocampal Atrophy Across Cognitively Unimpaired,Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment,and Alzheimer’s Disease Individuals
Restricted accessBrief reportFirst published online February 15, 2022
Association Between Motor Task Performance and Hippocampal Atrophy Across Cognitively Unimpaired,Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment,and Alzheimer’s Disease Individuals
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.
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