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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Examining the Characteristics of Episodic Memory using Event-related Potentials in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: August 30, 2011
Increased EEG gamma band activity in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment
J A van Deursen1, E F P M Vuurman, F R J Verhey
1Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
High frequency (30-70 Hz) gamma band oscillations in the human electro-encephalogram (EEG) are thought to reflect perceptual and cognitive processes. It is therefore interesting to study these measures in cognitive impairment and dementia. To evaluate gamma band oscillations as a diagnostic biomarker in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 15 psychoactive drug naïve AD patients, 20 MCI patients and 20 healthy controls participated in this study. Gamma band power (GBP) was measured in four conditions viz. resting state, music listening, story listening and visual stimulation. To evaluate test-retest reliability (TRR), subjects underwent a similar assessment one week after the first. The overall TRR was high. Elevated GBP was observed in AD when compared to MCI and control subjects in all conditions. The results suggest that elevated GBP is a reproducible and sensitive measure for cognitive dysfunction in AD in comparison with MCI and controls.
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