Intra-hemispheric alpha coherence decreases with increasing cognitive impairment in HIV patients

Inter-hemispheric and intra-hemispheric canonical coherences in the alpha range between EEG signals collected from frontal and posterior groups of electrodes were estimated for 38 HIV positive subjects and 23 uninfected controls. Neuropsychological testing was used to categorize the degree of cognitive impairment evident in each of the subjects. A linear regression analysis provided evidence that intra-hemispheric coherence decreased with increasing cognitive impairment in impaired HIV+ subjects, as measured by a Global Impairment Score (GIS). There was no evidence that cognitively unimpaired HIV+ subjects differed in coherence when compared to uninfected control subjects. Severely impaired HIV+ subjects showed significantly decreased coherence compared to uninfected controls. These data contradict previous work demonstrating increased intra-hemispheric and inter-hemispheric alpha coherence in impaired HIV subjects. In addition, they provide evidence that intra-hemispheric (and possibly inter-hemispheric) disconnection is associated with cognitive impairment in HIV.