Researchers Use AI to Track Cognitive Deviation in Aging Brains

Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based brain age prediction model to quantify deviations from a healthy brain-aging trajectory in patients with mild cognitive impairment, according to a study in Radiology: Artificial Intelligence. Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is a transition phase from normal aging to Alzheimer's disease (AD). People with aMCI have memory deficits that are more serious than normal for their age and education, but not severe enough to affect daily function. For the study, Ni Shu, PhD, from State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, in Beijing, and colleagues used a machine learning approach to train a brain age prediction model based on the T1-weighted MR images of 974 healthy adults aged from 49.3 to 95.4 years. The trained model was applied to estimate the predicted age difference (predicted age vs. actual age) of aMCI patients in the Beijing Aging Brain Rejuvenation Initiative (616 healthy controls and 80 aMCI patients) and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (589 healthy controls and 144 aMCI patients) datasets.