Phylogenetic analysis of brain atrophy time course in Alzheimer's disease with longitudinal structural MRI.
The first step would be to define a phylogenetic parcellation of the human brain within the resolution limits of the available ADNI-MRI protocol. Then, the maps of spatial-temporal atrophy evolution as defined on longitudinal MRIs in AD patients will be coregistered with the phylogenetic parcellation. The next step will be to determine the selective vulnerability of brain regions to neurodegeneration within the context of human brain evolution. The ultimate goal is to gain understanding of the neurobiology of degenereation in AD and to identify genes or genetic mechanisms involved in the disease. It may be hypothesized that this information is complementary to the established neuropathology-based approach.
