Vergani A A, Mazzeo S, Moschini V, Burali R, Lassi M, Amato L G, Carpaneto J, Salvestrini G, Fabbiani C, Giacomucci G, Morinelli C, Emiliani F, Scarpino M, Bagnoli S, Ingannato A, Nacmias B, Padiglioni S, Sorbi S, Bessi V, Grippo A, Mazzoni A
The BioRobotics Institute, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera-Pisa, Italy; Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera-Pisa, Italy.
Research and Innovation Centre for Dementia-CRIDEM, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi, Largo Brambilla 3, Florence 50134, Italy; Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina, 58, 20132 Milano, Italy; IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, Piazza Edmondo Malan, 2, 20097 San Donato Milanese, Italy.
Neuroimage Clin. 2025;45:103760. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103760. Epub 2025 Feb 25.
Subjective cognitive decline (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease stages lack well-defined electrophysiological correlates, creating a critical gap in the identification of robust biomarkers for early diagnosis and intervention. In this study, we analysed event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded during a sustained visual attention task in a cohort of 178 individuals (119 SCD, 40 MCI, and 19 healthy subjects, HS) to investigate sensory and cognitive processing alterations associated with these conditions. SCD patients exhibited significant attenuation in both sensory (P1, N1, P2) and cognitive (P300, P600, P900) components compared to HS, with cognitive components showing performance-related gains. In contrast, MCI patients did not show a further decrease in any ERP component compared to SCD. Instead, they exhibited compensatory enhancements, reversing the downward trend observed in SCD. This compensation resulted in a non-monotonic pattern of ERP alterations across clinical conditions, suggesting that MCI patients engage neural mechanisms to counterbalance sensory and cognitive deficits. These findings support the use of electrophysiological markers in support of medical decision-making, enhancing personalized prognosis and guiding targeted interventions in cognitive decline.
主观认知衰退（SCD）、轻度认知障碍（MCI）和阿尔茨海默病阶段缺乏明确的电生理相关性，这在识别用于早期诊断和干预的可靠生物标志物方面造成了关键差距。在本研究中，我们分析了178名个体（119名SCD患者、40名MCI患者和19名健康受试者，HS）在持续视觉注意力任务期间记录的事件相关电位（ERP），以研究与这些情况相关的感觉和认知加工改变。与HS相比，SCD患者在感觉（P1、N1、P2）和认知（P300、P600、P900）成分上均表现出显著衰减，认知成分显示出与表现相关的增加。相比之下，与SCD患者相比，MCI患者在任何ERP成分上均未表现出进一步下降。相反，他们表现出代偿性增强，扭转了SCD中观察到的下降趋势。这种代偿导致了跨临床情况的ERP改变的非单调模式，表明MCI患者采用神经机制来平衡感觉和认知缺陷。这些发现支持使用电生理标志物来辅助医疗决策，改善个性化预后并指导认知衰退的靶向干预。
