INTRODUCTION
Alzheimer's disease, AD
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, PROGRESSIVE NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDER, CORTEX, ALZHEIMER
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder worldwide. According to the Alzheimer's Association estimates, there were 5.8 million Americans after the age of 65 living with AD in 2020.Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation has been reported as a noninvasive and safe approach in which the magnetic field penetrates the scalp and generates electrical current in the specific target cortex to modulate and balance the activity of cortical neurons.To date, most of current researches on rTMS intervention of AD have chosen the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) as the stimulation site due to its cortical plasticity and important role in cognitive function.In this research, our aims were first to investigate the clinical efficacy of the neuro‐navigated rTMS protocol to improve cognition in AD patients at the target located in the left angular cortex. Secondly, we aimed to explore the potential mechanisms using fMRI analysis. Finally, we aimed to predict the therapeutic efficacy of rTMS interventions using baseline functional connectivity. We hypothesized that changes in DMN‐related connectivity are involved in the potential mechanisms of rTMS and would help identify who responds preferentially to rTMS through assessment of baseline functional connectivity.