Inter-band Bispectral Analysis of EEG Background Activity to Characterize Alzheimer's Disease Continuum.

Aarón Maturana-Candelas,Saúl J Ruiz-Gómez,Carlos Gómez,Roberto Hornero,Jesús Poza

doi:10.3389/fncom.2020.00070

Abstract

The aim of this study was to characterize the EEG alterations in inter-band interactions along the Alzheimer's disease (AD) continuum. For this purpose, EEG background activity from 51 healthy control subjects, 51 mild cognitive impairment patients, 50 mild AD patients, 50 moderate AD patients, and 50 severe AD patients was analyzed by means of bispectrum. Three inter-band features were extracted from bispectrum matrices: bispectral relative power (BispRP), cubic bispectral entropy (BispEn), and bispectral median frequency (BispMF). BispRP results showed an increase of delta and theta interactions with other frequency bands and the opposite behavior for alpha, beta-1, and beta-2. Delta and theta interactions, along with the rest of the spectrum, also experimented a decrease of BispEn with disease progression, suggesting these bands interact with a reduced variety of components in advanced stages of dementia. Finally, BispMF showed a consistent reduction along the AD continuum in all bands, which is reflective of an interaction of the global spectrum with lower frequency bands as the disease develops. Our results indicate a progressive decrease in inter-band interactions with the severity of the disease, especially those involving high frequency components. Since inter-band coupling oscillations are related to complex and multi-scaled brain processes, these alterations likely reflect the neurodegeneration associated with the AD continuum.

Highlights

Dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurological disorder that exhibits brain changes leading to cognitive and physical impairment
We propose three measures: bispectral relative power (BispRP), bispectral cubic entropy (BispEn), and bispectral median frequency (BispMF), calculated from the regions of the bispectrum that display the interactions between each band and the global spectrum
Bispectrum and derived features were obtained for 51 healthy control (HC) subjects, 51 MCI patients, 50 ADMIL patients, 50 ADMOD patients, and 50 ADSEV patients

Summary

Introduction

Dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurological disorder that exhibits brain changes leading to cognitive and physical impairment. Some general symptoms are typically associated with AD, such as loss of short-term memory, behavioral changes, and problems with abstract reasoning, planning, and decision making (Alzheimer Association, 2018). Dementia progression is mainly divided in three severity stages: mild, moderate, and severe (Reisberg et al, 1982). Mild AD patients (ADMIL) are generally independent in a daily basis, requiring some assistance in order to ensure safety. They are often able to perform high cognitive tasks, such as driving, working or leisure activities.

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