Associations between digital speech features of automated cognitive tasks and trajectories of brain atrophy and cognitive decline in early Alzheimer's disease

作者：Q.-X. Li, Stefanie Köhler, Alexandra König, Martin Dyrba, Elisa Mallik, Nicklas Linz, Josef Priller, Eike Spruth, Slawek Altenstein, Jens Wiltfang, Inga Zerr, Claudia Bartels, Franziska Maier, Ayda Rostamzadeh, Emrah Düzel, Wenzel Glanz, Enise I. Incesoy, Michaela Butryn, Christoph Laske, Sebastian Sodenkamp, Matthias H. Munk, Björn Falkenburger, Antje Osterrath, Ingo Kilimann, Melina Stark, Luca Kleineidam, Michael T. Heneka, Annika Spottke, Michael Wagner, Frank Jessen, Gabor C. Petzold, Fedor Levin, Stefan Teipel · 发表于：Journal of Alzheimer s Disease · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1177/13872877251359967 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research、Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism、Neurological Disorders and Treatments

Background Speech-based features extracted from telephone-based cognitive tasks show promise for detecting cognitive decline in prodromal and manifest dementia. Little is known about the cerebral underpinnings of these speech features. Objective To examine associations between speech features, brain atrophy, and longitudinal cognitive decline in individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods Healthy volunteers, individuals with subjective cognitive decline, and those with mild cognitive impairment completed phonebot-guided semantic verbal fluency (SVF) and 15-word verbal learning task (VLT). Speech features were automatically extracted, and a global cognitive score (SB-C score) was computed. We analyzed data from 161 participants for cognitive trajectories, 141 for cross-sectional brain atrophy, and 102 for longitudinal brain changes. Analyses were conducted using multiple linear regressions, mixed-effects models, and voxel-based morphometry. Results The SB-C score was associated with bilateral hippocampal volumes, SVF features were primarily associated with left hemisphere regions, including the inferior frontal, parahippocampal, and superior/middle temporal gyri ( p uncorr < 0.001). SB-C score, SVF correct counts, and VLT delayed recall were associated with atrophy rates in the hippocampal/parahippocampal gyrus and left middle/inferior temporal gyri ( p FDR < 0.05). These features were also associated with cognitive decline assessed via Preclinical Alzheime...