The KEY Institute for Brain-Mind Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry, Zurich, Switzerland.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Clin Neurophysiol. 2021 Jan;132(1):13-22. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2020.10.006. Epub 2020 Oct 29.
Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by psychiatric, cognitive, and motor disturbances. The study aimed to determine electroencephalography (EEG) global state and microstate changes in HD and their relationship with cognitive and behavioral impairments.
EEGs from 20 unmedicated HD patients and 20 controls were compared using global state properties (connectivity and dimensionality) and microstate properties (EEG microstate analysis). For four microstate classes (A, B, C, D), three parameters were computed: duration, occurrence, coverage. Global- and microstate properties were compared between groups and correlated with cognitive test scores for patients.
Global state analysis showed reduced connectivity in HD and an increasing dimensionality with increasing HD severity. Microstate analysis revealed parameter increases for classes A and B (coverage), decreases for C (occurrence) and D (coverage and occurrence). Disease severity and poorer test performances correlated with parameter increases for class A (coverage and occurrence), decreases for C (coverage and duration) and a dimensionality increase.
Global state changes may reflect higher functional dissociation between brain areas and the complex microstate changes possibly the widespread neuronal death and corresponding functional deficits in brain regions associated with HD symptomatology.
Combining global- and microstate analyses can be useful for a better understanding of progressive brain deterioration in HD.
亨廷顿病（HD）的特征是精神、认知和运动障碍。本研究旨在确定 HD 患者脑电图（EEG）的全局状态和微状态变化及其与认知和行为障碍的关系。
使用全局状态特性（连通性和维度）和微状态特性（EEG 微状态分析）比较 20 名未经治疗的 HD 患者和 20 名对照的 EEG。对于四个微状态类（A、B、C、D），计算了三个参数：持续时间、出现次数、覆盖范围。比较了组间的全局和微状态特性，并与患者的认知测试评分相关。
全局状态分析显示 HD 患者的连通性降低，随着 HD 严重程度的增加，维度增加。微状态分析显示类 A 和 B（覆盖范围）的参数增加，C（出现次数）和 D（覆盖范围和出现次数）的参数减少。疾病严重程度和较差的测试表现与类 A（覆盖范围和出现次数）的参数增加、C（覆盖范围和持续时间）的参数减少以及维度增加相关。
全局状态变化可能反映了大脑区域之间更高的功能分离，而复杂的微状态变化可能反映了与 HD 症状相关的大脑区域广泛的神经元死亡和相应的功能缺陷。
结合全局和微状态分析可有助于更好地理解 HD 中进行性大脑恶化。
