Department of Psychology, University of Glasgow, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
Sci Rep. 2024 Jun 19;14(1):14135. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-64699-w.
Numerous prospective biomarkers are being studied for their ability to diagnose various stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). High-density electroencephalogram (EEG) methods show promise as an accurate, economical, non-invasive approach to measuring the electrical potentials of brains associated with AD. Event-related potentials (ERPs) may serve as clinically useful biomarkers of AD. Through analysis of secondary data, the present study examined the performance and distribution of N4/P6 ERPs across the frontoparietal network (FPN) using EEG topographic mapping. ERP measures and memory as a function of reaction time (RT) were compared between a group of (n = 63) mild untreated AD patients and a control group of (n = 73) healthy age-matched adults. Based on the literature presented, it was expected that healthy controls would outperform patients in peak amplitude and mean component latency across three parameters of memory when measured at optimal N4 (frontal) and P6 (parietal) locations. It was also predicted that the control group would exhibit neural cohesion through FPN integration during cross-modal tasks, thus demonstrating healthy cognitive functioning consistent with older healthy adults. By targeting select frontal and parietal EEG reference channels based on N4/P6 component time windows and positivity, our findings demonstrated statistically significant group variations between controls and patients in N4/P6 peak amplitudes and latencies during cross-modal testing. Our results also support that the N4 ERP might be stronger than its P6 counterpart as a possible candidate biomarker. We conclude through topographic mapping that FPN integration occurs in healthy controls but is absent in AD patients during cross-modal memory tasks.
目前正在研究大量的前瞻性生物标志物，以评估它们在诊断阿尔茨海默病（AD）各个阶段的能力。高密度脑电图（EEG）方法有望成为一种准确、经济、非侵入性的方法，用于测量与 AD 相关的大脑电潜力。事件相关电位（ERP）可能成为 AD 的有用临床生物标志物。通过对二次数据的分析，本研究使用脑电图地形图对额顶网络（FPN）中的 N4/P6 ERP 进行了性能和分布的研究。通过比较 63 名未经治疗的轻度 AD 患者组和 73 名健康年龄匹配成年人的对照组的 ERP 测量值和作为反应时间（RT）函数的记忆，研究了这两个组的表现。根据文献综述，预计健康对照组在记忆的三个参数（最佳 N4（额叶）和 P6（顶叶）位置测量时）的峰值幅度和平均成分潜伏期方面的表现将优于患者。同时还预测，在跨模态任务中，对照组将通过 FPN 整合来表现出神经凝聚力，从而展示出与年龄较大的健康成年人一致的健康认知功能。通过基于 N4/P6 成分时间窗口和正性选择额和顶脑电图参考通道，我们的研究结果表明，在跨模态测试中，对照组和患者在 N4/P6 峰值幅度和潜伏期之间存在统计学上显著的组间差异。我们的研究结果还支持 N4 ERP 可能比其 P6 对应物更强，是一个可能的候选生物标志物。通过地形图，我们得出结论，FPN 整合发生在健康对照组中，但在跨模态记忆任务中，AD 患者中不存在这种整合。
