Detection of Neural Compensation at the Pre-Dementia State

Purpose: The characterization of the pre-dementia stage of Alzheimer's Disease is receiving great attention worldwide. Recently, the pure subjective feeling of memory impairment (SMI) has been identified as prodromal or at-risk condition for dementia of Alzheimer's Type. The underlying neuronal mechanisms of SMI are not understood. Here we used functional MRI to describe brain activation during an associative memory task, which sensitively engages the hippocampus, and during a working memory task in subjects with SMI in comparison with elderly without memory complaints. Materials and Methods: 19 subjects with SM…