Compared to the AC group, genes involved in neuronal metabolism (e.g., SLC22A17, SLC4A7, ABHD12) and synaptic transmission (e.g., NSF, NEFM, TUBA4A) were consistently downregulated in Exc across all SUB and CA subregions in both PART and AD groups (Fig. 3E; Fig. S6B), suggesting that despite minimal neuronal loss in PART (24, 59), functional impairments in Exc likely contribute to the observed mild cognitive decline. Here, NEFM is linked to Alzheimer disease.