Anterior Cingulate and Motor Network Metabolic Impairment in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy

Abstract

Progressive supranuclear palsy is the prototype of subcortical dementia. Using positron emission tomography and statistical parametric mapping, we compared the glucose metabolic pattern obtained in this subcortical dementia to that observed in elderly healthy controls and in Alzheimer's disease, the prototype of cortical dementia. Progressive supranuclear palsy was characterized by a relative decrease of metabolism in anterior cingulate, adjacent supplementary motor area, precentral cortex, middle prefrontal cortex, midbrain tegmentum, globus pallidus, and ventrolateral and dorsomedial nuclei of thalamus. The data in progressive supranuclear palsy highlight predominant metabolic impairment in brain structures engaged in response selection, in attention for action, and in motor networks.