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Alpha-band hypersynchronization in progressive mild cognitive impairment: a magnetoencephalography study
María Eugenía López1, Ricardo Bruña2, Sara Aurtenetxe3
1Laboratories of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience (Complutense University of Madrid-Universidad Politécnica of Madrid) and Department of Basic Psychology II, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), 28040 Madrid, Spain, meugenia.lopez@ctb.upm.es.
Individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who progress to Alzheimer's disease (AD) show distinct brain connectivity patterns. Alpha band hypersynchronization between specific brain regions may predict MCI to AD conversion.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neurology
- Biomarkers of Neurodegeneration
Background:
- Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) confers a high risk for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD).
- Distinguishing between progressive (pMCI) and stable (sMCI) subtypes is crucial for early intervention.
- Limited research exists on functional connectivity differences between pMCI and sMCI patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate functional connectivity differences between sMCI and pMCI individuals.
- To determine if these connectivity patterns correlate with cognitive performance and brain structure.
- To identify potential predictors of MCI progression to AD.
Main Methods:
- Magnetoencephalography (MEG) eyes-closed recordings were used to compare functional connectivity in 30 sMCI and 19 pMCI subjects.
- Phase locking value in source space assessed connectivity across different frequency bands.
- Results were correlated with neuropsychological test scores and entorhinal, parahippocampal, and hippocampal volumes.
Main Results:
- Progressive MCI patients exhibited lower scores in episodic memory, semantic memory, and executive functioning compared to stable MCI.
- No significant differences in hippocampal volume were observed, but left entorhinal volume differed between groups.
- pMCI patients showed increased alpha band synchronization between the right anterior cingulate and temporo-occipital regions, inversely correlated with cognitive and structural measures.
Conclusions:
- Increased alpha band phase synchronization in specific brain regions may serve as a predictive marker for MCI conversion to AD.
- Functional connectivity patterns, particularly hypersynchronization, offer insights into the neurobiological mechanisms underlying MCI progression.
- These findings highlight the potential of MEG-based connectivity analysis for early AD risk stratification.
