Event-related potential and EEG measures in Parkinson's disease without and with dementia

Nondemented Parkinson's disease (PD) patients showed increased amplitude of event-related potential component P3. We recorded 18-channel spontaneous eyes-closed resting EEG and auditory oddball event-related potentials in 29 PD patients and 11 age-matched controls. Combining Mini-Mental State Examination score and oddball P3 counting performance, 15 patients were intellectually normal, 7 moderately, and 7 severely demented. P3 and N1 amplitude and latency, mean amplitude of 1,024 ms post-stimulus (separate after rare and after frequent stimuli), and resting EEG total power for 40 s were computed, and linearly regressed for age, sex, and L-dopa dosage. In nondemented PD patients, increased P3 amplitude was confirmed, but N1 amplitude and mean amplitude after rare and frequent stimuli were also increased as well as - most important - resting EEG total power. With increasing dementia, amplitude and power decreased, and P3 latency increased. Task demands cannot explain increased P3 amplitude, since similarly increased EEG total power was found during no-task resting. Prospective studies must determine whether P3 amplitude and EEG power in nondemented PD patients can serve as predictors of dementia.