Decrease of mutual information in brain electrical activity of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Disturbances in cortical communication are linked to cognitive impairment in Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
• Understanding these communication changes is crucial for identifying biomarkers in MS patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify and analyze cortical communication in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) during a resting state.
• To investigate the relationship between cortical communication, cognitive function, and disease duration in RRMS.

Main Methods:

• Electroencephalography (EEG) signals were recorded from control subjects and RRMS patients.
• Mean coherence in various frequency bands (δ, θ, α, β, γ) and mutual information were computed between EEG signal pairs.
• Patients underwent neuropsychological testing to assess cognitive function.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in coherence indices were found between RRMS patients and controls.
• Inter-hemispheric and right hemisphere mutual information were significantly lower in RRMS patients.
• Decreased inter-hemispheric mutual information correlated with longer illness duration, and right hemisphere mutual information differentiated between cognitively deficient and non-deficient patients.

Conclusions:

• Mutual information effectively quantifies cortical communication in RRMS patients and relates to clinical characteristics.
• Resting-state cortical communication, particularly using mutual information, may serve as a potential biomarker for neurological damage in RRMS.