The findings, published Nov. 15 in The Journal of Neuroscience, also show that the impact of Alzheimer’s on brain function is broader than previously believed. “We’ve come to realize that the targets we’ve been focusing on might not be sufficient, including the idea of amyloid being the primary culprit of Alzheimer’s disease,” he said. Exploring this, we found worsening dementia is associated not only with alterations to association systems, but also to the sensory and motor systems,” Wig said. “In older adults who don’t show any cognitive impairment, the interactions altered are primarily among brain regions performing similar functions, or within brain systems,” she said. “These observations offer important clues toward identifying the types of behavioral deficits that are most impacted at early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia,” he said.