Correlation Between EEG Functional Connectivity and Fasting Blood Glucose in Healthy Subjects

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Metabolic Physiology
• Biomarker Development

Background:

• Glucose metabolism is vital for human physiology, particularly brain energy supply.
• Hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia have significant neurological and cardiological implications.
• Understanding glucose's effect on brain function is crucial for metabolic and neurocognitive health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between electroencephalographic (EEG) functional connectivity and fasting blood glucose concentration.
• To explore these relationships in healthy individuals with normal blood glucose levels.
• To identify potential EEG-based biomarkers for metabolic and neurocognitive monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Recruited forty-four healthy volunteers for resting-state, eyes-closed 30-channel EEG recordings.
• Collected fasting blood samples concurrently with EEG recordings.
• Calculated magnitude-squared coherence (MSC) across EEG frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma) to assess functional connectivity.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant negative correlation was observed between MSC and fasting blood glucose concentration in the delta and gamma frequency bands.
• These findings indicate that variations within the normal range of blood glucose can influence brain functional connectivity.
• The results highlight a measurable link between glucose metabolism and specific EEG frequency band coherence.

Conclusions:

• Fasting blood glucose concentration is associated with functional connectivity patterns in the human brain.
• The observed correlations in delta and gamma bands suggest glucose metabolism plays a role in neural communication.
• This study represents a step towards developing novel biomarkers for monitoring neurological and cognitive function, aiding in early detection of metabolic and neurocognitive disorders.