Severity of dementia correlates with loss of broad-band visual cortical responses

We have shown that the response to flash stimulation of the occipital electroencephalogram (EEG) in Alzheimer disease (AD) patients is smaller than in normal subjects. To ascertain whether this is a specific feature of AD or a nonspecific effect of dementia, we investigated in AD and multi-infarct dementia (MID) patients the relationship between cognitive function, measured as Mini-Mental State Examination score, and EEG power response, measured as the difference in spectral power between flash-stimulated EEG and resting EEG. Both variables were positively correlated and the regression equations of AD and MID patients were not significantly different, showing nonspecificity. The coupling between cognitive function and power response is discussed in relation to the dynamic binding hypothesis of cognition.