Neural correlates of verbal episodic memory in patients with MCI and Alzheimer's disease––a VBM study

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Objective</jats:title><jats:p>The hippocampus is a key area for episodic memory processes. Hippocampal atrophy is a hallmark feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We used a new and automatized morphometric technique to better characterize brain atrophy in subjects with different levels of cognitive deficit.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>In this study 21 participants with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), 12 patients with early AD and 29 elderly control subjects were subjected to high resolution MRI and a neuropsychological test battery. Brain volume across participants, measured by voxel‐based morphometry (VBM), was correlated with verbal memory capacity, measured with a verbal memory test (VLMT).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>Atrophy in the anterior hippocampus, the ento‐ and perirhinal cortex as well as the parahippocampal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex correlated closely with episodic memory performance.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p>These brain areas are known to subserve episodic encoding of verbal material. The data contribute to a better understanding of atrophic brain processes in subjects at risk for AD. A combination of neuropsychological testing and voxel‐based morphometry may serve as a diagnostic tool in the future. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.</jats:p></jats:sec>