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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Examining the Characteristics of Episodic Memory using Event-related Potentials in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: August 30, 2011
Decreased EEG synchronization in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment
T Koenig1, L Prichep, T Dierks
1Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Clinical Psychiatry, Bolligenstrasse 111, CH-3000 Berne 60, Switzerland. thomas.koenig@puk.unibe.ch
Abstract:
The hypothesis of a functional disconnection of neuro-cognitive networks in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer Dementia was investigated using baseline resting EEG data. EEG databases from New York (264 subjects) and Stockholm (155 subjects), including healthy controls and patients with varying degrees of cognitive decline or Alzheimer Dementia were analyzed using Global Field Synchronization (GFS), a novel measure of global EEG synchronization. GFS reflects the global amount of phase-locked activity at a given frequency by a single number; it is independent of the recording reference and of implicit source models. Patients showed decreased GFS values in Alpha, Beta, and Gamma frequency bands, and increased GFS values in the Delta band, confirming the hypothesized disconnection syndrome. The results are discussed within the framework of current knowledge about the functional significance of the affected frequency bands.
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