Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40188185›Full record

ArticleAlzheimer's research & therapy2025

Personalized brain models link cognitive decline progression to underlying synaptic and connectivity degeneration.

Lorenzo Gaetano Amato, Alberto Arturo Vergani, Michael Lassi, Jacopo Carpaneto, Salvatore Mazzeo, Valentina Moschini, Rachele Burali, Giovanni Salvestrini, Carlo Fabbiani, Giulia Giacomucci and 10 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Observational
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

20 authors.

Lorenzo Gaetano AmatoThe BioRobotics Institute, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
Alberto Arturo VerganiThe BioRobotics Institute, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
Michael LassiThe BioRobotics Institute, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
Jacopo CarpanetoThe BioRobotics Institute, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
Salvatore MazzeoResearch and Innovation Center for Dementia-CRIDEM, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy.
Valentina MoschiniSkeletal Muscles and Sensory Organs Department, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy.
Rachele BuraliIRCSS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Florence, Italy.
Giovanni SalvestriniUnit of Neurophysiology, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy.
Carlo FabbianiIRCSS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Florence, Italy.
Giulia GiacomucciDepartment of Neuroscience, Drug Research and Child Health, Careggi University Hospital, PsychologyFlorence, Italy.
Giulia GaldoDepartment of Neuroscience, Drug Research and Child Health, Careggi University Hospital, PsychologyFlorence, Italy.
Carmen MorinelliDepartment of Neuroscience, Drug Research and Child Health, Careggi University Hospital, PsychologyFlorence, Italy.
Filippo EmilianiDepartment of Neuroscience, Drug Research and Child Health, Careggi University Hospital, PsychologyFlorence, Italy.
Maenia ScarpinoDepartment of Neuroscience, Drug Research and Child Health, Careggi University Hospital, PsychologyFlorence, Italy.
Sonia PadiglioniDepartment of Neuroscience, Drug Research and Child Health, Careggi University Hospital, PsychologyFlorence, Italy.
Benedetta NacmiasIRCSS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Florence, Italy.
Sandro SorbiIRCSS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Florence, Italy.
Antonello GrippoIRCSS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Florence, Italy.
Valentina BessiDepartment of Neuroscience, Drug Research and Child Health, Careggi University Hospital, PsychologyFlorence, Italy.
Alberto MazzoniThe BioRobotics Institute, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy. alberto.mazzoni@santannapisa.it.

Funding

Tuscany Region - PRedicting the EVolution of SubjectIvE Cognitive Decline to Alzheimer's Disease With machine learning - PREVIEW CUP.D18D20001300002
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cognitive decline is a condition affecting almost one sixth of the elder population and is widely regarded as one of the first manifestations of Alzheimer's disease. Despite the extensive body of knowledge on the condition, there is no clear consensus on the structural defects and neurodegeneration processes determining cognitive decline evolution. Here, we introduce a Brain Network Model (BNM) simulating the effects of neurodegeneration on neural activity during cognitive processing. The model incorporates two key parameters accounting for distinct pathological mechanisms: synaptic degeneration, primarily leading to hyperexcitation, and brain disconnection. Through parameter optimization, we successfully replicated individual electroencephalography (EEG) responses recorded during task execution from 145 participants spanning different stages of cognitive decline. The cohort included healthy controls, patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD), and those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) of the Alzheimer type. Through model inversion, we generated personalized BNMs for each participant based on individual EEG recordings. These models revealed distinct network configurations corresponding to the patient's cognitive condition, with virtual neurodegeneration levels directly proportional to the severity of cognitive decline. Strikingly, the model uncovered a neurodegeneration-driven phase transition leading to two distinct regimes of neural activity underlying task execution. On either side of this phase transition, increasing synaptic degeneration induced changes in neural activity that closely mirrored experimental observations across cognitive decline stages. This enabled the model to directly link synaptic degeneration and hyperexcitation to cognitive decline severity. Furthermore, the model pinpointed posterior cingulum fiber degeneration as the structural driver of this phase transition. Our findings highlight the potential of BNMs to account for the evolution of neural activity across stages of cognitive decline while elucidating the underlying neurodegenerative mechanisms. This approach provides a novel framework for understanding how structural and functional brain alterations contribute to cognitive deterioration along the Alzheimer's continuum.

Indexed as

BrainCognitive DysfunctionModels, NeurologicalNerve NetSynapsesAgedAged, 80 and overAlzheimer DiseaseDisease ProgressionElectroencephalographyFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedCognitive TaskDigital TwinEEGMild Cognitive ImpairmentNetwork modelSubjective cognitive decline

Identifiers

PMID40188185
PMCPMC11971895

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.