Measuring mild cognitive impairment whole-brain electroencephalography phase-amplitude coupling connectivity using
Hao Zhang1,2, Junye Wu1,2, Zhijie Bian3
1Hebei Key Laboratory of Information Transmission and Signal Processing, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, People's Republic of China.
Journal of Neural Engineering
|November 20, 2025
Summary
A new phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) estimator, polar mutual information (PoMI), accurately quantifies neural oscillations. This method reveals reduced frontal PAC connectivity in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biophysics
- Signal Processing
Background:
- Phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) is crucial for neural communication.
- Existing PAC estimators have limitations in application scenarios.
- Developing robust PAC estimation methods is essential for understanding brain function.
Purpose of the Study:
- Introduce a novel PAC estimator, polar mutual information (PoMI).
- Evaluate PoMI's performance against established PAC estimators.
- Investigate PAC alterations in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using PoMI.
Main Methods:
- Compared PoMI with mean vector length, Kullback-Libler distance, general linear model, and phase-locking value.
- Assessed PoMI's sensitivity to coupling strength, data length, noise, and frequency bands.
- Analyzed whole-brain PAC connectivity in 54 healthy controls and 41 MCI patients using resting-state EEG.
Main Results:
- PoMI demonstrated high sensitivity to coupling strength, low data length dependency, and noise insensitivity.
- PoMI reliably quantifies PAC in neural oscillations.
- MCI patients showed reduced frontal lobe PAC connectivity but enhanced parietal and occipital lobe PAC activity.
Conclusions:
- The PoMI algorithm is a reliable and effective PAC estimator.
- Altered prefrontal PAC connectivity in MCI may indicate neuronal degeneration.
- PoMI can be a valuable tool for studying neurological disorders.
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