Attenuation of temporal correlations of neuronal oscillations in patients with mild spastic diplegia

The aim of this study was to investigate the temporal correlations of neuronal oscillations in patients with mild spastic diplegia (MSD). Resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded from 15 male adolescent and young adult patients with MSD and 15 healthy controls. We characterized the temporal correlations of neuronal oscillations, both on long temporal scale (i.e., >1 second) and short-to-intermediate temporal scale (i.e., <≈1 second) using detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) and an analysis of the life- and waiting-time statistics of oscillation bursts respectively. The DFA exponents at alpha and beta bands, the life-time biomarker of alpha oscillation, and the life- and waiting-time biomarkers of beta oscillation were significantly attenuated in the patients compared with controls. Moreover, altered scalp distributions of some temporal correlation measures were found at alpha and beta bands in these patients. All these findings suggest that MSD is associated with highly volatile neuronal states of alpha and beta oscillations on short-to-intermediate and much longer time scales, which may be related to cognitive dysfunction in patients with MSD.