Carlino Elisa, Frisaldi Elisa, Rainero Innocenzo, Asteggiano Giovanni, Cappa Giorgetta, Tarenzi Luisella, Vighetti Sergio, Pollo Antonella, Pinessi Lorenzo, Benedetti Fabrizio
aDepartment of Neuroscience, University of Turin bNational Institute of Neuroscience, Turin cS. Lazzaro Medical Center, Division of Neurology dCentro Riabilitazione Ferrero S.r.l., Alba eGeriatric Department S.Croce e Carle Hospital, Cuneo, Italy.
Neuroreport. 2014 May 7;25(7):496-500. doi: 10.1097/WNR.0000000000000123.
Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a form of dementia characterized by a profound alteration in personality and social behavior and is associated with atrophy in the frontal and temporal brain regions. Despite recent advances, diagnosis of FTLD remains challenging. In the last decade, different studies have combined EEG analysis with mathematical models and theories that consider EEG signals as the result of nonlinear chaotic activity. The aim of the present study was to determine whether new nonlinear dynamic analysis can provide useful information on brain activity in FTLD patients. 19-lead EEG was recorded in patients with clinical diagnosis of FTLD and in healthy controls under two different conditions: closed eyes and open eyes. A nonlinear measure of complexity, correlation dimension (D2), was calculated. Our results show an increase in D2 in healthy individuals when the eyes are open, in keeping with an increase in information processing. Conversely, in FTLD patients, no increase in D2 occurred in the open eyes condition, and D2 was significantly lower than that observed in controls. Our results suggest that the dynamic processes underlying the EEG are less chaotic and complex in FTLD patients compared with normal individuals, thus providing important information on both brain functioning and possible clinical diagnostic applications.
额颞叶变性（FTLD）是一种痴呆症，其特征是人格和社会行为发生深刻改变，并与额叶和颞叶脑区萎缩有关。尽管最近取得了进展，但FTLD的诊断仍然具有挑战性。在过去十年中，不同的研究将脑电图（EEG）分析与数学模型及理论相结合，这些模型和理论将EEG信号视为非线性混沌活动的结果。本研究的目的是确定新的非线性动力学分析是否能为FTLD患者的脑活动提供有用信息。在两种不同条件下（闭眼和睁眼），对临床诊断为FTLD的患者和健康对照者进行了19导联脑电图记录。计算了一种复杂性的非线性度量——关联维数（D2）。我们的结果表明，健康个体在睁眼时D2增加，这与信息处理的增加一致。相反，在FTLD患者中，睁眼条件下D2没有增加，且D2显著低于对照组。我们的结果表明，与正常个体相比，FTLD患者脑电图背后的动态过程混沌性和复杂性较低，从而为脑功能和可能的临床诊断应用提供了重要信息。
