Spectrum-specific encephalography standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography network and gray matter correlations in vascular dementia patients

Abstract

Vascular dementia, secondary to Alzheimer’s dementia, ranks as one of the most frequent dementia types. The process of vascular dementia is divergent with other neurodegenerative dementias and thus reversible at the early cognitive disorder or mild dementia stages. The encephalography and neuroimaging data mining at different stages would bring neuromodulation strategies in practice; 15 mild cognitive impairment patients and 16 mild vascular dementia patients as well as 17 cognitive healthy controls were screened in this study. Cognitive tests such as Mini-Mental State Examination, Montreal cognitive assessment, voxel-based morphometry, electroencephalography, and standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography connectivity network were conducted. Compared with healthy group, voxel-based morphometry analysis showed a decrease in gray/cerebrospinal fluid ratio ( p < .05) in mild dementia group; the energy power of gamma band decreased ( p < .05) in mild dementia group; and electroencephalography standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography analysis showed wider frontal and temporal lobe involvement in mild dementia patients ( p < .05). Network topological analysis screened top 10 key Brodmann areas (44R, 7R, 8L, 22L, 47L, 27L, 1L, 1R, 7R, 43L), which could be underlying neuromodulators for dementia patients. Electroencephalography as well as structural magnetic resonance imaging could be used for the evaluation of cognitive disorder patients. The spectrum-specific standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography analysis and connectivity network analysis could shed light on the neuromodulator targets in the early phase of dementia.