Amnestic-type mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI) represents the prodromal phase of
Alzheimer's disease associated with a high conversion rate to dementia and serves
as a potential golden period for interventions. In our study, we analyzed the role
of visuospatial (VS) functions and networks in the recognition of a-MCI. We examined
78 participants (32 patients and 46 controls) in a double-center arrangement using
neuropsychology, structural, and resting-state functional MRI. We found that imaging
of the lateral temporal areas showed strong discriminating power since in patients
only the temporal pole (F = 5.26, p = 0.034) and superior temporal gyrus (F = 8.04,
p < 0.001) showed reduced cortical thickness. We demonstrated significant differences
between controls and patients in various neuropsychological results; however, analysis
of cognitive subdomains revealed that the largest difference was presented in VS skills
(F = 8.32, p < 0.001). Functional connectivity analysis of VS network showed that
patients had weaker connectivity between the left and right frontotemporal areas,
while stronger local connectivity was presented between the left frontotemporal structures
(FWE corrected p < 0.05). Our results highlight the remarkable potential of examining
the VS system in the early detection of cognitive decline. Since resting-state setting
of functional MRI simplifies the possible automatization of data analysis, detection
of VS system alterations might provide a non-invasive biomarker of a-MCI.
