Chunk #34 — 3. Disruption of functional networks is associated with clinical impairment — 3.4 Neurobiological and clinical implications of network disruption
From a clinical perspective, further pursuit of network-based strategies may lead to the development of sensitive and specific biomarkers for diagnostic, prognostic, and disease-monitoring purposes. Although the reviewed studies were conducted at the group level, preliminary data about the sensitivity/specificity of network-derived markers seem promising. In AD, two studies have explored the accuracy of resting fMRI derived-markers to discriminate between AD patients and healthy elderly, reporting a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 77% using DMN connectivity,57 and a sensitivity of 72% and a specificity of 78% using the clustering coefficient.76 In the study by Zhou and colleagues,58 the combination of DMN and salience network activity allowed 100% separation of AD and FTD, although the performance of these measures remains to be tested in independent patient samples. Task-free fMRI and EEG/MEG techniques also offer practical advantages over existing biomarkers, such as PET and cerebrospinal fluid sampling. In general, these techniques are non-invasive and safe. Task-free fMRI data can be obtained in eight minutes and added to the structural MRI most patients receive as part of a routine dementia evaluation,
