  Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is essential for developing
encoding models that identify functional changes in language-related brain
areas of individuals with Neurocognitive Disorders (NCD). While large language
model (LLM)-based fMRI encoding has shown promise, existing studies
predominantly focus on healthy, young adults, overlooking older NCD populations
and cognitive level correlations. This paper explores language-related
functional changes in older NCD adults using LLM-based fMRI encoding and brain
scores, addressing current limitations. We analyze the correlation between
brain scores and cognitive scores at both whole-brain and language-related ROI
levels. Our findings reveal that higher cognitive abilities correspond to
better brain scores, with correlations peaking in the middle temporal gyrus.
This study highlights the potential of fMRI encoding models and brain scores
for detecting early functional changes in NCD patients.
