Temporoparietal electrophysiological differences characterize patients with Alzheimer's disease: a split-half...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Medical Imaging
• Neurology

Background:

• Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder.
• Early diagnosis of AD is crucial for timely intervention and management.
• Quantified electroencephalography (qEEG) offers a non-invasive method to assess brain function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in resting-state qEEG patterns between individuals with probable Alzheimer's disease and healthy controls.
• To explore the correlation between qEEG measures and cognitive function in early-stage AD.
• To assess the diagnostic accuracy and replicability of qEEG in distinguishing AD patients.

Main Methods:

• 189 subjects (60 probable AD, 129 controls) underwent resting-state qEEG.
• Topographic mapping and EEG spectral analysis were employed to analyze brain activity.
• Long-latency evoked potentials were also analyzed.
• Neuropsychological tests assessed cognitive functions like memory and verbal fluency.
• The cohort was split to validate discriminant function analysis.

Main Results:

• AD patients exhibited significant topographic differences compared to controls, maximal in posterior temporal/parietal regions.
• EEG spectral analysis revealed increased theta and decreased beta activity in AD patients.
• qEEG measures significantly correlated with cognitive scores in delayed recall and verbal fluency.
• A discriminant function achieved 86% accuracy in identifying subjects (91% controls, 77% AD).

Conclusions:

• Resting-state qEEG can identify distinct neurophysiological markers associated with Alzheimer's disease.
• qEEG patterns correlate with specific cognitive deficits observed in early AD.
• qEEG demonstrates potential as a reliable tool for differentiating AD patients from healthy individuals.