ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Neurodegeneration
Exploring the Pathogenic Mechanisms of Dementia Risk Factors: a task-fMRI study of mild cognitive impairment
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- 2Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
- 3The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
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Objective: To investigate the mechanism by which risk factors influence brain functioning using task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), providing a theoretical basis for controlling these risk factors. Methods: Risk factors associated with MCI-to-AD conversion were collected from 31 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI)) patients and scored according to the Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Dementia (CAIDE ) dementia risk scale. The relationships between risk scores, cognitive function, and task-based fMRI brain activity were analyzed. Results: Risk factor score was negatively correlated with multiple cognitive performances, including the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), auditory verbal learning test (AVLT) immediate recall and delayed recall, digit span forward and backward, and Boston naming test (BNT). Task-based fMRI whole-brain and region-of-interest (ROI) analyses revealed a positive correlation between risk factor score and brain activity in default mode network (DMN) during the retrieval phase. Conclusion: Risk factors can abnormally increase brain activity in DMN. Given the close association between amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition and reduced DMN deactivation, these risk factors may elevate DMN activity, thereby facilitate Aβ accumulation in these regions.
Keywords: Brain activity4, Default mode network5, mild cognitive impairment1, risk factors2, Task-based functionalmagnetic resonance imaging3
Received: 21 Nov 2025; Accepted: 03 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Shen, Shi, Liu, Liu, Wang and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Dongdong Yang
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