Maass, A., Berron, D., Harrison, T. M., Adams, J. N., La Joie, R., Baker, S., … Jagust, W. J. (2019). Alzheimer’s pathology targets distinct memory networks in the ageing brain. Brain, 142(8), 2492–2509. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awz154
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) detects changes in brain blood flow in an MRI scanner during a cognitive task or at rest. This blood flow information can then be used to infer which regions of the brain are active during specific types of tasks or at rest. This technique relies on the observation that cerebral blood flow and neuronal activation are closely related. The Jagust Lab uses fMRI to investigate how functional networks are changed or disrupted during performance of cognitive tasks during normal aging and in the presence of amyloid and tau pathology. Ongoing investigations also use fMRI to better understand the influence of tau pathology on medial temporal lobe function while subjects perform memory tasks. These studies have been useful in better understanding normal and pathological aging.