Relation between Resting State Front-Parietal EEG Coherence and Executive Function in Parkinson's Disease

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neurology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting motor function.
• Executive dysfunction (ED) is a common non-motor symptom in PD, impacting cognitive abilities.
• Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) assessed via electroencephalography (EEG) coherence may reveal neural underpinnings of ED in PD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between executive function and rsFC in nondemented Parkinson's disease patients.
• To determine if specific EEG coherence patterns in the alpha and theta ranges are associated with executive dysfunction.

Main Methods:

• Sixty-eight nondemented PD patients underwent assessment using the Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS).
• EEG coherence was analyzed in the alpha and theta frequency bands for left (F3-P3) and right (F4-P4) frontoparietal electrode pairs.
• Statistical analyses, including Mann-Whitney U tests and multiple logistic regression, were used to compare BADS scores across coherence groups and identify significant predictors.

Main Results:

• Patients with low alpha-band coherence in the left frontoparietal (F3-P3) region exhibited significantly lower standardized BADS scores.
• No significant differences in BADS scores were found for the right frontoparietal (F4-P4) coherence in the alpha range, or for either frontoparietal pair in the theta range.
• Multiple logistic regression confirmed a significant association between low F3-P3 alpha-band coherence and age-controlled executive function deficits.

Conclusions:

• Decreased resting-state functional connectivity, particularly in the left frontoparietal network during the alpha frequency band, is associated with executive dysfunction in Parkinson's disease.
• These findings suggest that disruptions in frontal-parietal communication may contribute to cognitive impairments in PD.
• EEG coherence analysis offers a potential biomarker for assessing executive function deficits in PD.