Cortical circuit principles predict patterns of trauma induced tauopathy in humans

Connections in the cortex of diverse mammalian species are predicted reliably by the Structural Model for direction of pathways and signal processing (reviewed in 1,2). The model is rooted in the universal principle of cortical systematic variation in laminar structure and has been supported widely for connection patterns in animals but has not yet been tested for humans. Here, in postmortem brains of individuals neuropathologically diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) we studied whether the hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) pathology parallels connection sequence in time by circuit mechanisms. CTE is a progressive p-tau pathology that begins focally in perivascular sites in sulcal depths of the neocortex (stages I-II) and later involves the medial temporal lobe (MTL) in stages III-IV. We provide novel quantitative evidence that the p-tau pathology in MTL A28 and nearby sites in CTE stage III closely follows the graded laminar patterns seen in homologous cortico-cortical connections in non-human primates. The Structural Model successfully predicted the laminar distribution of the p-tau neurofibrillary tangles and neurites and their density, based on the relative laminar (dis)similarity between the cortical origin (seed) and each connection site. The findings were validated for generalizability by a computational progression model. By contrast, the early focal perivascular pathology in the sulcal depths followed local columnar connectivity rules. These findings support the general applicability of a theoretical model to unravel the direction and progression of p-tau pathology in human neurodegeneration via a cortico-cortical mechanism. Cortical pathways converging on medial MTL help explain the progressive spread of p-tau pathology from focal cortical sites in early CTE to widespread lateral MTL areas and beyond in later disease stages.