ABSTRACT

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of neurodegenerativedisease. The AD-related neuropathology can disruptneural activities at various levels such as molecular pathways,synapses, neuronal sub-populations and local circuits in specificbrain regions, as well as higher-order neural networks. A mountainof evidence supported the idea of AD as disconnection syndrome.Therefore, network-based approach is critical to understand ADpathology-related brain change and neural substrates of clinicalmanifestations. In this review, background history of application ofnetwork-based approach to neuroscience field and basic concept ofgraph theory were briefly introduced. Recent studies of functionalbrain networks in cognitive disorders including AD and mildcognitive impairment were summarized. Methodological issues andlimitations of previous studies, as well as future perspectives, werediscussed.