Overview

• The peer-reviewed study, published August 28, 2025 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, was led by University of Michigan and Columbia University researchers.
• Alzheimer’s patients showed higher global network flexibility than cognitively normal peers across all brain regions and in six specific networks, while the mild cognitive impairment group was higher only in the visual network.
• Among 617 participants without dementia at baseline, 53 (8.6%) converted over roughly 11 years, and higher visual-network flexibility predicted transition (HR≈1.32 per 1 SD; 95% CI 1.002–1.747; p≈0.049).
• Neural flexibility was derived from Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative resting-state fMRI using sliding windows to quantify how often brain regions switched community assignments.
• The team stresses the technique remains experimental with modest effects and requires replication and mechanistic clarification, with one interpretation pointing to relatively healthy sensory regions early in disease.