Researchers use network analysis to study whether it can reveal the subtle changes associated with subjective cognitive decline that cannot otherwise be detected through standard test analyses.
By running a statistical analysis of data merged from two large Canadian data sets, the researchers were able to visualize the strength of relationships between the nodes among people who are classified as cognitively normal , or who have diagnoses of subjective cognitive decline , mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease .
A network approach models cognitive performance as a web of intertwined cognitive abilities that reflects the relationships between a set of variables, or nodes. The nodes here are the results of several neuropsychological tests, as well as participant characteristics like age, sex and education. The strength of these two nodes, however, had marked decreases from the cognitively normal to the subjective cognitive decline to the mild cognitive impairment groups. This progressive gradient places SCD as an intermediate stage between CN and MCI.
"In other words, all things considered, age will be the biggest influence on cognition for older adults who do not show signs of Alzheimer's disease," says Phillips, the Concordia University Research Chair in Sensory-Cognitive Health in Aging and Dementia. "This helps us read between the lines, because we can look at the interrelationships between all of the variables at the same time," he says."You can pick up on indicators that are less apparent in single elements of data and instead focus on associations between them."and the Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music contributed funding for this study.
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