Evidence for functional connectivity pattern changes in Frontotemporal dementia patients using connectome gradient mapping

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative syndrome with a broad range of clinical manifestations making its early detection and progression monitoring difficult. As we enter the first clinical trials, useful biomarkers are needed. It is believed that functional connectivity underlies cognitive function which makes it a potential meaningful biomarker of disease progression. Studies of functional connectivity in FTD have provided a range of findings suggesting changes in resting‐state networks. However, many of the analysis methods used are either far from the biological processes or restricted to a priori defined networks. Recent work has revealed the emergence of a brain network hierarchy during neurodevelopment, separating immediate environment processing from transmodal and integrative cortices. It is assumed that this organization supports higher order cognition.