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Gallego-Rudolf J, Wiesman AI, Pichet Binette A, Villeneuve S, Baillet S. Synergistic association of Aβ and tau pathology with cortical neurophysiology and cognitive decline in asymptomatic older adults. Nat Neurosci 2024:10.1038/s41593-024-01763-8. [PMID: 39294489 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01763-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/13/2024] [Indexed: 09/20/2024]
Abstract
Animal and computational models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) indicate that early amyloid-β (Aβ) deposits drive neurons into a hyperactive regime, and that subsequent tau depositions manifest an opposite, suppressive effect as behavioral deficits emerge. Here we report analogous changes in macroscopic oscillatory neurophysiology in the human brain. We used positron emission tomography and task-free magnetoencephalography to test the effects of Aβ and tau deposition on cortical neurophysiology in 104 cognitively unimpaired older adults with a family history of sporadic AD. In these asymptomatic individuals, we found that Aβ depositions colocalize with accelerated neurophysiological activity. In those also presenting medial-temporal tau pathology, linear mixed effects of Aβ and tau depositions indicate a shift toward slower neurophysiological activity, which was also linked to cognitive decline. We conclude that early Aβ and tau depositions relate synergistically to human cortical neurophysiology and subsequent cognitive decline. Our findings provide insight into the multifaceted neurophysiological mechanisms engaged in the preclinical phases of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Gallego-Rudolf
- Douglas Research Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Alex I Wiesman
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Alexa Pichet Binette
- Douglas Research Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Sylvia Villeneuve
- Douglas Research Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sylvain Baillet
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
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Jiang Y, Neal J, Sompol P, Yener G, Arakaki X, Norris CM, Farina FR, Ibanez A, Lopez S, Al-Ezzi A, Kavcic V, Güntekin B, Babiloni C, Hajós M. Parallel electrophysiological abnormalities due to COVID-19 infection and to Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. Alzheimers Dement 2024. [PMID: 39206795 DOI: 10.1002/alz.14089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Many coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive individuals exhibit abnormal electroencephalographic (EEG) activity reflecting "brain fog" and mild cognitive impairments even months after the acute phase of infection. Resting-state EEG abnormalities include EEG slowing (reduced alpha rhythm; increased slow waves) and epileptiform activity. An expert panel conducted a systematic review to present compelling evidence that cognitive deficits due to COVID-19 and to Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD) are driven by overlapping pathologies and neurophysiological abnormalities. EEG abnormalities seen in COVID-19 patients resemble those observed in early stages of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly ADRD. It is proposed that similar EEG abnormalities in Long COVID and ADRD are due to parallel neuroinflammation, astrocyte reactivity, hypoxia, and neurovascular injury. These neurophysiological abnormalities underpinning cognitive decline in COVID-19 can be detected by routine EEG exams. Future research will explore the value of EEG monitoring of COVID-19 patients for predicting long-term outcomes and monitoring efficacy of therapeutic interventions. HIGHLIGHTS: Abnormal intrinsic electrophysiological brain activity, such as slowing of EEG, reduced alpha wave, and epileptiform are characteristic findings in COVID-19 patients. EEG abnormalities have the potential as neural biomarkers to identify neurological complications at the early stage of the disease, to assist clinical assessment, and to assess cognitive decline risk in Long COVID patients. Similar slowing of intrinsic brain activity to that of COVID-19 patients is typically seen in patients with mild cognitive impairments, ADRD. Evidence presented supports the idea that cognitive deficits in Long COVID and ADRD are driven by overlapping neurophysiological abnormalities resulting, at least in part, from neuroinflammatory mechanisms and astrocyte reactivity. Identifying common biological mechanisms in Long COVID-19 and ADRD can highlight critical pathologies underlying brain disorders and cognitive decline. It elucidates research questions regarding cognitive EEG and mild cognitive impairment in Long COVID that have not yet been adequately investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Jiang
- Aging Brain and Cognition Laboratory, Department of Behavioral Science, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
- Sanders Brown Center on Aging, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
| | - Jennifer Neal
- Aging Brain and Cognition Laboratory, Department of Behavioral Science, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
| | - Pradoldej Sompol
- Sanders Brown Center on Aging, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
| | - Görsev Yener
- Faculty of Medicine, Dept of Neurology, İzmir University of Economics, İzmir, Turkey
- IBG: International Biomedicine and Genome Center, İzmir, Turkey
| | - Xianghong Arakaki
- Cognition and Brain Integration Laboratory, Department of Neurosciences, Huntington Medical Research Institutes, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Christopher M Norris
- Sanders Brown Center on Aging, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
| | | | - Agustin Ibanez
- BrainLat: Latin American Brain Health Institute, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Santiago, Chile
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Victoria, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- GBHI: Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Susanna Lopez
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "V. Erspamer,", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Abdulhakim Al-Ezzi
- Cognition and Brain Integration Laboratory, Department of Neurosciences, Huntington Medical Research Institutes, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Voyko Kavcic
- Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA
| | - Bahar Güntekin
- Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technologies (SABITA), Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Department of Biophysics, School of Medicine, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Claudio Babiloni
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "V. Erspamer,", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Hospital San Raffaele Cassino, Cassino, Frosinone, Italy
| | - Mihály Hajós
- Cognito Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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Webert LK, Schantell M, John JA, Coutant AT, Okelberry HJ, Horne LK, Sandal ME, Mansouri A, Wilson TW. Regular cannabis use modulates gamma activity in brain regions serving motor control. J Psychopharmacol 2024:2698811241268876. [PMID: 39140179 DOI: 10.1177/02698811241268876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND People who regularly use cannabis exhibit altered brain dynamics during cognitive control tasks, though the impact of regular cannabis use on the neural dynamics serving motor control remains less understood. AIMS We sought to investigate how regular cannabis use modulates the neural dynamics serving motor control. METHODS Thirty-four people who regularly use cannabis (cannabis+) and 33 nonusers (cannabis-) underwent structured interviews about their substance use history and performed the Eriksen flanker task to map the neural dynamics serving motor control during high-density magnetoencephalography (MEG). The resulting neural data were transformed into the time-frequency domain to examine oscillatory activity and were imaged using a beamforming approach. RESULTS MEG sensor-level analyses revealed robust beta (16-24 Hz) and gamma oscillations (66-74 Hz) during motor planning and execution, which were imaged using a beamformer. Both responses peaked in the left primary motor cortex and voxel time series were extracted to evaluate the spontaneous and oscillatory dynamics. Our key findings indicated that the cannabis+ group exhibited weaker spontaneous gamma activity in the left primary motor cortex relative to the cannabis- group, which scaled with cannabis use and behavioral metrics. Interestingly, regular cannabis use was not associated with differences in oscillatory beta and gamma activity, and there were no group differences in spontaneous beta activity. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that regular cannabis use is associated with suppressed spontaneous gamma activity in the left primary motor cortex, which scales with the degree of cannabis use disorder symptomatology and is coupled to behavioral task performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren K Webert
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Mikki Schantell
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Jason A John
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Anna T Coutant
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Hannah J Okelberry
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Lucy K Horne
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Megan E Sandal
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Amirsalar Mansouri
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Tony W Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA
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Wiesman AI, Gallego-Rudolf J, Villeneuve S, Baillet S, Wilson TW. Alignments between cortical neurochemical systems, proteinopathy and neurophysiological alterations along the Alzheimer's disease continuum. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.04.13.24305551. [PMID: 38645027 PMCID: PMC11030470 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.13.24305551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Two neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are the accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) proteins and alterations in cortical neurophysiological signaling. Despite parallel research indicating disruption of multiple neurotransmitter systems in AD, it has been unclear whether these two phenomena are related to the neurochemical organization of the cortex. We leveraged task-free magnetoencephalography and positron emission tomography, with a cortical atlas of 19 neurotransmitters to study the alignment and interactions between alterations of neurophysiological signaling, Aβ deposition, and the neurochemical gradients of the human cortex. In patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (N = 18) and probable AD (N = 20), we found that changes in rhythmic, but not arrhythmic, cortical neurophysiological signaling relative to healthy controls (N = 20) are topographically aligned with cholinergic, serotonergic, and dopaminergic neurochemical systems. These neuro-physio-chemical alignments are related to the severity of cognitive and behavioral impairments. We also found that cortical Aβ plaques are preferentially deposited along neurochemical boundaries, and mediate how beta-band rhythmic cortical activity maps align with muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Finally, we show in an independent dataset that many of these alignments manifest in the asymptomatic stages of cortical Aβ accumulation (N = 33; N = 71 healthy controls), particularly the Aβ-neurochemical alignments (57.1%) and neuro-physio-chemical alignments in the alpha frequency band (62.5%). Overall, the present study demonstrates that the expression of pathology in pre-clinical and clinical AD aligns topographically with the cortical distribution of chemical neuromodulator systems, scaling with clinical severity and with implications for potential pharmacotherapeutic pathways.
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Power L, Friedman A, Bardouille T. Atypical paroxysmal slow cortical activity in healthy adults: Relationship to age and cognitive performance. Neurobiol Aging 2024; 136:44-57. [PMID: 38309051 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2024]
Abstract
Paroxysmal patterns of slow cortical activity have been detected in EEG recordings from individuals with age-related neuropathology and have been shown to be correlated with cognitive dysfunction and blood-brain barrier disruption in these participants. The prevalence of these events in healthy participants, however, has not been studied. In this work, we inspect MEG recordings from 623 healthy participants from the Cam-CAN dataset for the presence of paroxysmal slow wave events (PSWEs). PSWEs were detected in approximately 20% of healthy participants in the dataset, and participants with PSWEs tended to be older and have lower cognitive performance than those without PSWEs. In addition, event features changed linearly with age and cognitive performance, resulting in longer and slower events in older adults, and more widespread events in those with low cognitive performance. These findings provide the first evidence of PSWEs in a subset of purportedly healthy adults. Going forward, these events may have utility as a diagnostic biomarker for atypical brain activity in older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsey Power
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Alon Friedman
- Department of Medical Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Timothy Bardouille
- Department of Physics & Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
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Verma P, Ranasinghe K, Prasad J, Cai C, Xie X, Lerner H, Mizuiri D, Miller B, Rankin K, Vossel K, Cheung SW, Nagarajan SS, Raj A. Impaired long-range excitatory time scale predicts abnormal neural oscillations and cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Res Ther 2024; 16:62. [PMID: 38504361 PMCID: PMC10953266 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-024-01426-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, progressively impairing cognitive abilities. While neuroimaging studies have revealed functional abnormalities in AD, how these relate to aberrant neuronal circuit mechanisms remains unclear. Using magnetoencephalography imaging we documented abnormal local neural synchrony patterns in patients with AD. To identify global abnormal biophysical mechanisms underlying the spatial and spectral electrophysiological patterns in AD, we estimated the parameters of a biophysical spectral graph model (SGM). METHODS SGM is an analytic neural mass model that describes how long-range fiber projections in the brain mediate the excitatory and inhibitory activity of local neuronal subpopulations. Unlike other coupled neuronal mass models, the SGM is linear, available in closed-form, and parameterized by a small set of biophysical interpretable global parameters. This facilitates their rapid and unambiguous inference which we performed here on a well-characterized clinical population of patients with AD (N = 88, age = 62.73 +/- 8.64 years) and a cohort of age-matched controls (N = 88, age = 65.07 +/- 9.92 years). RESULTS Patients with AD showed significantly elevated long-range excitatory neuronal time scales, local excitatory neuronal time scales and local inhibitory neural synaptic strength. The long-range excitatory time scale had a larger effect size, compared to local excitatory time scale and inhibitory synaptic strength and contributed highest for the accurate classification of patients with AD from controls. Furthermore, increased long-range time scale was associated with greater deficits in global cognition. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that long-range excitatory time scale of neuronal activity, despite being a global measure, is a key determinant in the local spectral signatures and cognition in the human brain, and how it might be a parsimonious factor underlying altered neuronal activity in AD. Our findings provide new insights into mechanistic links between abnormal local spectral signatures and global connectivity measures in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parul Verma
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Kamalini Ranasinghe
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Chang Cai
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Xihe Xie
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Hannah Lerner
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Danielle Mizuiri
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Bruce Miller
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Katherine Rankin
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Keith Vossel
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Research and Care, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Steven W Cheung
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Surgical Services, Veterans Affairs, San Francisco, USA
| | - Srikantan S Nagarajan
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ashish Raj
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
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Kopčanová M, Tait L, Donoghue T, Stothart G, Smith L, Flores-Sandoval AA, Davila-Perez P, Buss S, Shafi MM, Pascual-Leone A, Fried PJ, Benwell CSY. Resting-state EEG signatures of Alzheimer's disease are driven by periodic but not aperiodic changes. Neurobiol Dis 2024; 190:106380. [PMID: 38114048 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Electroencephalography (EEG) has shown potential for identifying early-stage biomarkers of neurocognitive dysfunction associated with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD). A large body of evidence shows that, compared to healthy controls (HC), AD is associated with power increases in lower EEG frequencies (delta and theta) and decreases in higher frequencies (alpha and beta), together with slowing of the peak alpha frequency. However, the pathophysiological processes underlying these changes remain unclear. For instance, recent studies have shown that apparent shifts in EEG power from high to low frequencies can be driven either by frequency specific periodic power changes or rather by non-oscillatory (aperiodic) changes in the underlying 1/f slope of the power spectrum. Hence, to clarify the mechanism(s) underlying the EEG alterations associated with AD, it is necessary to account for both periodic and aperiodic characteristics of the EEG signal. Across two independent datasets, we examined whether resting-state EEG changes linked to AD reflect true oscillatory (periodic) changes, changes in the aperiodic (non-oscillatory) signal, or a combination of both. We found strong evidence that the alterations are purely periodic in nature, with decreases in oscillatory power at alpha and beta frequencies (AD < HC) leading to lower (alpha + beta) / (delta + theta) power ratios in AD. Aperiodic EEG features did not differ between AD and HC. By replicating the findings in two cohorts, we provide robust evidence for purely oscillatory pathophysiology in AD and against aperiodic EEG changes. We therefore clarify the alterations underlying the neural dynamics in AD and emphasize the robustness of oscillatory AD signatures, which may further be used as potential prognostic or interventional targets in future clinical investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Kopčanová
- Division of Psychology, School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK.
| | - Luke Tait
- Centre for Systems Modelling and Quantitative Biomedicine, School of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK; Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, Cardiff, UK
| | - Thomas Donoghue
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, USA
| | | | - Laura Smith
- Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Aimee Arely Flores-Sandoval
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany; Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Paula Davila-Perez
- Rey Juan Carlos University Hospital (HURJC), Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain; Health Research Institute-Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Stephanie Buss
- Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mouhsin M Shafi
- Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alvaro Pascual-Leone
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research and Deanna and Sidney Wolk Center for Memory Health, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Peter J Fried
- Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Christopher S Y Benwell
- Division of Psychology, School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
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8
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Wiesman AI, da Silva Castanheira J, Degroot C, Fon EA, Baillet S, Network QP. Adverse and compensatory neurophysiological slowing in Parkinson's disease. Prog Neurobiol 2023; 231:102538. [PMID: 37832713 PMCID: PMC10872886 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2023.102538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) exhibit multifaceted changes in neurophysiological brain activity, hypothesized to represent a global cortical slowing effect. Using task-free magnetoencephalography and extensive clinical assessments, we found that neurophysiological slowing in PD is differentially associated with motor and non-motor symptoms along a sagittal gradient over the cortical anatomy. In superior parietal regions, neurophysiological slowing reflects an adverse effect and scales with cognitive and motor impairments, while across the inferior frontal cortex, neurophysiological slowing is compatible with a compensatory role. This adverse-to-compensatory gradient is sensitive to individual clinical profiles, such as drug regimens and laterality of symptoms; it is also aligned with the topography of neurotransmitter and transporter systems relevant to PD. We conclude that neurophysiological slowing in patients with PD signals both deleterious and protective mechanisms of the disease, from posterior to anterior regions across the cortex, respectively, with functional and clinical relevance to motor and cognitive symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex I Wiesman
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
| | | | - Clotilde Degroot
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Edward A Fon
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Sylvain Baillet
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
| | - Quebec Parkinson Network
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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9
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Verma P, Ranasinghe K, Prasad J, Cai C, Xie X, Lerner H, Mizuiri D, Miller B, Rankin K, Vossel K, Cheung SW, Nagarajan S, Raj A. Impaired long-range excitatory time scale predicts abnormal neural oscillations and cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-2579392. [PMID: 36993350 PMCID: PMC10055509 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2579392/v3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, progressively impairing memory and cognition. While neuroimaging studies have revealed functional abnormalities in AD, how these relate to aberrant neuronal circuit mechanisms remains unclear. Using magnetoencephalography imaging we documented abnormal local neural synchrony patterns in patients with AD. To identify abnormal biophysical mechanisms underlying these abnormal electrophysiological patterns, we estimated the parameters of a spectral graph-theory model (SGM). SGM is an analytic model that describes how long-range fiber projections in the brain mediate the excitatory and inhibitory activity of local neuronal subpopulations. The long-range excitatory time scale was associated with greater deficits in global cognition and was able to distinguish AD patients from controls with high accuracy. These results demonstrate that long-range excitatory time scale of neuronal activity, despite being a global measure, is a key determinant in the spatiospectral signatures and cognition in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parul Verma
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kamalini Ranasinghe
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Chang Cai
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Xihe Xie
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Hannah Lerner
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Danielle Mizuiri
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Bruce Miller
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Katherine Rankin
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Keith Vossel
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Research and Care, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Steven W Cheung
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Surgical Services, Veterans Affairs, San Francisco, USA
| | - Srikantan Nagarajan
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ashish Raj
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
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10
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Christopher-Hayes NJ, Embury CM, Wiesman AI, May PE, Schantell M, Johnson CM, Wolfson SL, Murman DL, Wilson TW. Piecing it together: atrophy profiles of hippocampal subfields relate to cognitive impairment along the Alzheimer's disease spectrum. Front Aging Neurosci 2023; 15:1212197. [PMID: 38020776 PMCID: PMC10644116 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1212197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction People with Alzheimer's disease (AD) experience more rapid declines in their ability to form hippocampal-dependent memories than cognitively normal healthy adults. Degeneration of the whole hippocampal formation has previously been found to covary with declines in learning and memory, but the associations between subfield-specific hippocampal neurodegeneration and cognitive impairments are not well characterized in AD. To improve prognostic procedures, it is critical to establish in which hippocampal subfields atrophy relates to domain-specific cognitive declines among people along the AD spectrum. In this study, we examine high-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the medial temporal lobe and extensive neuropsychological data from 29 amyloid-positive people on the AD spectrum and 17 demographically-matched amyloid-negative healthy controls. Methods Participants completed a battery of neuropsychological exams including select tests of immediate recollection, delayed recollection, and general cognitive status (i.e., performance on the Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE] and Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA]). Hippocampal subfield volumes (CA1, CA2, CA3, dentate gyrus, and subiculum) were measured using a dedicated MRI slab sequence targeting the medial temporal lobe and used to compute distance metrics to quantify AD spectrum-specific atrophic patterns and their impact on cognitive outcomes. Results Our results replicate prior studies showing that CA1, dentate gyrus, and subiculum hippocampal subfield volumes were significantly reduced in AD spectrum participants compared to amyloid-negative controls, whereas CA2 and CA3 did not exhibit such patterns of atrophy. Moreover, degeneration of the subiculum along the AD spectrum was linked to a significant decline in general cognitive status measured by the MMSE, while degeneration scores of the CA1 and dentate gyrus were more widely associated with declines on the MMSE and tests of learning and memory. Discussion These findings provide evidence that subfield-specific patterns of hippocampal degeneration, in combination with cognitive assessments, may constitute a sensitive prognostic approach and could be used to better track disease trajectories among individuals on the AD spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J. Christopher-Hayes
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Christine M. Embury
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Alex I. Wiesman
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Pamela E. May
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Mikki Schantell
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
- College of Medicine, UNMC, Omaha, NE, United States
| | | | | | - Daniel L. Murman
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States
- Memory Disorders and Behavioral Neurology Program, UNMC, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Tony W. Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
- College of Medicine, UNMC, Omaha, NE, United States
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, United States
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11
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Scheijbeler EP, de Haan W, Stam CJ, Twisk JWR, Gouw AA. Longitudinal resting-state EEG in amyloid-positive patients along the Alzheimer's disease continuum: considerations for clinical trials. Alzheimers Res Ther 2023; 15:182. [PMID: 37858173 PMCID: PMC10585755 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-023-01327-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND To enable successful inclusion of electroencephalography (EEG) outcome measures in Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical trials, we retrospectively mapped the progression of resting-state EEG measures over time in amyloid-positive patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia due to AD. METHODS Resting-state 21-channel EEG was recorded in 148 amyloid-positive AD patients (MCI, n = 88; dementia due to AD, n = 60). Two or more EEG recordings were available for all subjects. We computed whole-brain and regional relative power (i.e., theta (4-8 Hz), alpha1 (8-10 Hz), alpha2 (10-13 Hz), beta (13-30 Hz)), peak frequency, signal variability (i.e., theta permutation entropy), and functional connectivity values (i.e., alpha and beta corrected amplitude envelope correlation, theta phase lag index, weighted symbolic mutual information, inverted joint permutation entropy). Whole-group linear mixed effects models were used to model the development of EEG measures over time. Group-wise analysis was performed to investigate potential differences in change trajectories between the MCI and dementia subgroups. Finally, we estimated the minimum sample size required to detect different treatment effects (i.e., 50% less deterioration, stabilization, or 50% improvement) on the development of EEG measures over time, in hypothetical clinical trials of 1- or 2-year duration. RESULTS Whole-group analysis revealed significant regional and global oscillatory slowing over time (i.e., increased relative theta power, decreased beta power), with strongest effects for temporal and parieto-occipital regions. Disease severity at baseline influenced the EEG measures' rates of change, with fastest deterioration reported in MCI patients. Only AD dementia patients displayed a significant decrease of the parieto-occipital peak frequency and theta signal variability over time. We estimate that 2-year trials, focusing on amyloid-positive MCI patients, require 36 subjects per arm (2 arms, 1:1 randomization, 80% power) to detect a stabilizing treatment effect on temporal relative theta power. CONCLUSIONS Resting-state EEG measures could facilitate early detection of treatment effects on neuronal function in AD patients. Their sensitivity depends on the region-of-interest and disease severity of the study population. Conventional spectral measures, particularly recorded from temporal regions, present sensitive AD treatment monitoring markers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elliz P Scheijbeler
- Clinical Neurophysiology and MEG Center, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC Location VUmc, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC Location VUmc, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
| | - Willem de Haan
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC Location VUmc, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Cornelis J Stam
- Clinical Neurophysiology and MEG Center, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC Location VUmc, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Jos W R Twisk
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC Location VUmc, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Alida A Gouw
- Clinical Neurophysiology and MEG Center, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC Location VUmc, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC Location VUmc, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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12
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Meehan CE, Schantell M, Springer SD, Wiesman AI, Wolfson SL, O'Neill J, Murman DL, Bares SH, May PE, Johnson CM, Wilson TW. Movement-related beta and gamma oscillations indicate parallels and disparities between Alzheimer's disease and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder. Neurobiol Dis 2023; 186:106283. [PMID: 37683957 PMCID: PMC10545947 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
People with HIV (PWH) often develop HIV-related neurological impairments known as HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND), but cognitive dysfunction in older PWH may also be due to age-related disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Discerning these two conditions is challenging since the specific neural characteristics are not well understood and limited studies have probed HAND and AD spectrum (ADS) directly. We examined the neural dynamics underlying motor processing during cognitive interference using magnetoencephalography (MEG) in 22 biomarker-confirmed patients on the ADS, 22 older participants diagnosed with HAND, and 30 healthy aging controls. MEG data were transformed into the time-frequency domain to examine movement-related oscillatory activity and the impact of cognitive interference on distinct stages of motor programming. Both cognitively impaired groups (ADS/HAND) performed significantly worse on the task (e.g., less accurate and slower reaction time) and exhibited reductions in frontal and cerebellar beta and parietal gamma activity relative to controls. Disease-specific aberrations were also detected such that those with HAND exhibited weaker gamma interference effects than those on the ADS in frontoparietal and motor areas. Additionally, temporally distinct beta interference effects were identified, with ADS participants exhibiting stronger beta interference activity in the temporal cortex during motor planning, along with weaker beta interference oscillations dispersed across frontoparietal and cerebellar cortices during movement execution relative to those with HAND. These results indicate both overlapping and distinct neurophysiological aberrations in those with ADS disorders or HAND in key motor and top-down cognitive processing regions during cognitive interference and provide new evidence for distinct neuropathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe E Meehan
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA
| | - Mikki Schantell
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Seth D Springer
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Alex I Wiesman
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Jennifer O'Neill
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, UNMC, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Daniel L Murman
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA; Memory Disorders & Behavioral Neurology Program, UNMC, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Sara H Bares
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, UNMC, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Pamela E May
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | | | - Tony W Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA.
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13
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Bergwell H, Trevarrow MP, Heinrichs-Graham E, Reelfs A, Ott LR, Penhale SH, Wilson TW, Kurz MJ. Aberrant age-related alterations in spontaneous cortical activity in participants with cerebral palsy. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1163964. [PMID: 37521295 PMCID: PMC10374009 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1163964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most common neurodevelopmental motor disability, resulting in life-long sensory, perception and motor impairments. Moreover, these impairments appear to drastically worsen as the population with CP transitions from adolescents to adulthood, although the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms remain poorly understood. Methods We began to address this knowledge gap by utilizing magnetoencephalographic (MEG) brain imaging to study how the amplitude of spontaneous cortical activity (i.e., resting state) is altered during this transition period in a cohort of 38 individuals with spastic diplegic CP (Age range = 9.80-47.50 years, 20 females) and 67 neurotypical controls (NT) (Age range = 9.08-49.40 years, Females = 27). MEG data from a five-minute eyes closed resting-state paradigm were source imaged, and the power within the delta (2-4 Hz), theta (5-7 Hz), alpha (8-12 Hz), beta (15-29 Hz), and gamma (30-59 Hz) frequency bands were computed. Results For both groups, the delta and theta spontaneous power decreased in the bilateral temporoparietal and superior parietal regions with age, while alpha, beta, and gamma band spontaneous power increased in temporoparietal, frontoparietal and premotor regions with age. We also found a significant group x age interaction, such that participants with CP demonstrated significantly less age-related increases in the spontaneous beta activity in the bilateral sensorimotor cortices compared to NT controls. Discussion Overall, these results demonstrate that the spontaneous neural activity in individuals with CP has an altered trajectory when transitioning from adolescents to adulthood. We suggest that these differences in spontaneous cortical activity may play a critical role in the aberrant motor actions seen in this patient group, and may provide a neurophysiological marker for assessing the effectiveness of current treatment strategies that are directed at improving the mobility and sensorimotor impairments seen in individuals with CP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Bergwell
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Michael P. Trevarrow
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Elizabeth Heinrichs-Graham
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, United States
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Anna Reelfs
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Lauren R. Ott
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Samantha H. Penhale
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Tony W. Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, United States
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Max J. Kurz
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, United States
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, United States
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14
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Casagrande CC, Rempe MP, Springer SD, Wilson TW. Comprehensive review of task-based neuroimaging studies of cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease using electrophysiological methods. Ageing Res Rev 2023; 88:101950. [PMID: 37156399 PMCID: PMC10261850 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2023.101950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
With an aging population, cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disorders are an emerging public health crises with enormous, yet still under-recognized burdens. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia, and the number of cases is expected to dramatically rise in the upcoming decades. Substantial efforts have been placed into understanding the disease. One of the primary avenues of research is neuroimaging, and while positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are most common, crucial recent advancements in electrophysiological methods such as magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) have provided novel insight into the aberrant neural dynamics at play in AD pathology. In this review, we outline task-based M/EEG studies published since 2010 using paradigms probing the cognitive domains most affected by AD, including memory, attention, and executive functioning. Furthermore, we provide important recommendations for adapting cognitive tasks for optimal use in this population and adjusting recruitment efforts to improve and expand future neuroimaging work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe C Casagrande
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA
| | - Maggie P Rempe
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA; College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Seth D Springer
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA; College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Tony W Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA; Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 68178, USA.
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15
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Kopčanová M, Tait L, Donoghue T, Stothart G, Smith L, Sandoval AAF, Davila-Perez P, Buss S, Shafi MM, Pascual-Leone A, Fried PJ, Benwell CS. Resting-state EEG signatures of Alzheimer's disease are driven by periodic but not aperiodic changes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.11.544491. [PMID: 37398162 PMCID: PMC10312609 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.11.544491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Electroencephalography (EEG) has shown potential for identifying early-stage biomarkers of neurocognitive dysfunction associated with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD). A large body of evidence shows that, compared to healthy controls (HC), AD is associated with power increases in lower EEG frequencies (delta and theta) and decreases in higher frequencies (alpha and beta), together with slowing of the peak alpha frequency. However, the pathophysiological processes underlying these changes remain unclear. For instance, recent studies have shown that apparent shifts in EEG power from high to low frequencies can be driven either by frequency specific periodic power changes or rather by non-oscillatory (aperiodic) changes in the underlying 1/f slope of the power spectrum. Hence, to clarify the mechanism(s) underlying the EEG alterations associated with AD, it is necessary to account for both periodic and aperiodic characteristics of the EEG signal. Across two independent datasets, we examined whether resting-state EEG changes linked to AD reflect true oscillatory (periodic) changes, changes in the aperiodic (non-oscillatory) signal, or a combination of both. We found strong evidence that the alterations are purely periodic in nature, with decreases in oscillatory power at alpha and beta frequencies (AD < HC) leading to lower (alpha + beta) / (delta + theta) power ratios in AD. Aperiodic EEG features did not differ between AD and HC. By replicating the findings in two cohorts, we provide robust evidence for purely oscillatory pathophysiology in AD and against aperiodic EEG changes. We therefore clarify the alterations underlying the neural dynamics in AD and emphasise the robustness of oscillatory AD signatures, which may further be used as potential prognostic or interventional targets in future clinical investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Kopčanová
- Division of Psychology, School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Luke Tait
- Centre for Systems Modelling and Quantitative Biomedicine, School of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, Cardiff, UK
| | - Thomas Donoghue
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, USA
| | | | - Laura Smith
- School of Psychology, University of Kent, Kent, UK
| | - Aimee Arely Flores Sandoval
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, 10117, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Paula Davila-Perez
- Rey Juan Carlos University Hospital (HURJC), Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
- Health Research Institute-Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Stephanie Buss
- Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Mouhsin M. Shafi
- Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Alvaro Pascual-Leone
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research and Deanna and Sidney Wolk Center for Memory Health, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston MA
| | - Peter J. Fried
- Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Christopher S.Y. Benwell
- Division of Psychology, School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
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16
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van Nifterick AM, Mulder D, Duineveld DJ, Diachenko M, Scheltens P, Stam CJ, van Kesteren RE, Linkenkaer-Hansen K, Hillebrand A, Gouw AA. Resting-state oscillations reveal disturbed excitation-inhibition ratio in Alzheimer's disease patients. Sci Rep 2023; 13:7419. [PMID: 37150756 PMCID: PMC10164744 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33973-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
An early disruption of neuronal excitation-inhibition (E-I) balance in preclinical animal models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been frequently reported, but is difficult to measure directly and non-invasively in humans. Here, we examined known and novel neurophysiological measures sensitive to E-I in patients across the AD continuum. Resting-state magnetoencephalography (MEG) data of 86 amyloid-biomarker-confirmed subjects across the AD continuum (17 patients diagnosed with subjective cognitive decline, 18 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 51 with dementia due to probable AD (AD dementia)), 46 healthy elderly and 20 young control subjects were reconstructed to source-space. E-I balance was investigated by detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), a functional E/I (fE/I) algorithm, and the aperiodic exponent of the power spectrum. We found a disrupted E-I ratio in AD dementia patients specifically, by a lower DFA, and a shift towards higher excitation, by a higher fE/I and a lower aperiodic exponent. Healthy subjects showed lower fE/I ratios (< 1.0) than reported in previous literature, not explained by age or choice of an arbitrary threshold parameter, which warrants caution in interpretation of fE/I results. Correlation analyses showed that a lower DFA (E-I imbalance) and a lower aperiodic exponent (more excitation) was associated with a worse cognitive score in AD dementia patients. In contrast, a higher DFA in the hippocampi of MCI patients was associated with a worse cognitive score. This MEG-study showed E-I imbalance, likely due to increased excitation, in AD dementia, but not in early stage AD patients. To accurately determine the direction of shift in E-I balance, validations of the currently used markers and additional in vivo markers of E-I are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne M van Nifterick
- Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Clinical Neurophysiology and MEG Center, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Systems and Network Neurosciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Danique Mulder
- Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Clinical Neurophysiology and MEG Center, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Denise J Duineveld
- Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Clinical Neurophysiology and MEG Center, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marina Diachenko
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Systems and Network Neurosciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Philip Scheltens
- Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Cornelis J Stam
- Clinical Neurophysiology and MEG Center, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Systems and Network Neurosciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ronald E van Kesteren
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Klaus Linkenkaer-Hansen
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Systems and Network Neurosciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Arjan Hillebrand
- Clinical Neurophysiology and MEG Center, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Systems and Network Neurosciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Alida A Gouw
- Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Clinical Neurophysiology and MEG Center, Neurology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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17
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Wiesman AI, Donhauser PW, Degroot C, Diab S, Kousaie S, Fon EA, Klein D, Baillet S. Aberrant neurophysiological signaling associated with speech impairments in Parkinson's disease. NPJ Parkinsons Dis 2023; 9:61. [PMID: 37059749 PMCID: PMC10104849 DOI: 10.1038/s41531-023-00495-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Difficulty producing intelligible speech is a debilitating symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD). Yet, both the robust evaluation of speech impairments and the identification of the affected brain systems are challenging. Using task-free magnetoencephalography, we examine the spectral and spatial definitions of the functional neuropathology underlying reduced speech quality in patients with PD using a new approach to characterize speech impairments and a novel brain-imaging marker. We found that the interactive scoring of speech impairments in PD (N = 59) is reliable across non-expert raters, and better related to the hallmark motor and cognitive impairments of PD than automatically-extracted acoustical features. By relating these speech impairment ratings to neurophysiological deviations from healthy adults (N = 65), we show that articulation impairments in patients with PD are associated with aberrant activity in the left inferior frontal cortex, and that functional connectivity of this region with somatomotor cortices mediates the influence of cognitive decline on speech deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex I Wiesman
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 Rue University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Peter W Donhauser
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 Rue University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Clotilde Degroot
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 Rue University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Sabrina Diab
- Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Shanna Kousaie
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Edward A Fon
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 Rue University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Denise Klein
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 Rue University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Center for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| | - Sylvain Baillet
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 Rue University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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18
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Hinault T, Baillet S, Courtney SM. Age-related changes of deep-brain neurophysiological activity. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:3960-3968. [PMID: 35989316 PMCID: PMC10068274 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive decline with age is associated with brain atrophy and reduced brain activations, but the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms are unclear, especially in deeper brain structures primarily affected by healthy aging or neurodegenerative processes. Here, we characterize time-resolved, resting-state magnetoencephalography activity of the hippocampus and subcortical brain regions in a large cohort of healthy young (20-30 years) and older (70-80 years) volunteers from the Cam-CAN (Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience) open repository. The data show age-related changes in both rhythmic and arrhythmic signal strength in multiple deeper brain regions, including the hippocampus, striatum, and thalamus. We observe a slowing of neural activity across deeper brain regions, with increased delta and reduced gamma activity, which echoes previous reports of cortical slowing. We also report reduced occipito-parietal alpha peak associated with increased theta-band activity in the hippocampus, an effect that may reflect compensatory processes as theta activity, and slope of arrhythmic activity were more strongly expressed when short-term memory performances were preserved. Overall, this study advances the understanding of the biological nature of inter-individual variability in aging. The data provide new insight into how hippocampus and subcortical neurophysiological activity evolve with biological age, and highlight frequency-specific effects associated with cognitive decline versus cognitive maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Hinault
- U1077 INSERM-EPHE-UNICAEN, Caen 14032, France
| | - S Baillet
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - S M Courtney
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States
- F.M. Kirby Research Center, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, MD 21205, United States
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19
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Ribarič S. Detecting Early Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer's Disease with Brain Synaptic Structural and Functional Evaluation. Biomedicines 2023; 11:355. [PMID: 36830892 PMCID: PMC9952956 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11020355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Early cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer's (AD) is associated with quantifiable structural and functional connectivity changes in the brain. AD dysregulation of Aβ and tau metabolism progressively disrupt normal synaptic function, leading to loss of synapses, decreased hippocampal synaptic density and early hippocampal atrophy. Advances in brain imaging techniques in living patients have enabled the transition from clinical signs and symptoms-based AD diagnosis to biomarkers-based diagnosis, with functional brain imaging techniques, quantitative EEG, and body fluids sampling. The hippocampus has a central role in semantic and episodic memory processing. This cognitive function is critically dependent on normal intrahippocampal connections and normal hippocampal functional connectivity with many cortical regions, including the perirhinal and the entorhinal cortex, parahippocampal cortex, association regions in the temporal and parietal lobes, and prefrontal cortex. Therefore, decreased hippocampal synaptic density is reflected in the altered functional connectivity of intrinsic brain networks (aka large-scale networks), including the parietal memory, default mode, and salience networks. This narrative review discusses recent critical issues related to detecting AD-associated early cognitive decline with brain synaptic structural and functional markers in high-risk or neuropsychologically diagnosed patients with subjective cognitive impairment or mild cognitive impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samo Ribarič
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Pathophysiology, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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20
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Rempe MP, Ott LR, Picci G, Penhale SH, Christopher-Hayes NJ, Lew BJ, Petro NM, Embury CM, Schantell M, Johnson HJ, Okelberry HJ, Losh KL, Willett MP, Losh RA, Wang YP, Calhoun VD, Stephen JM, Heinrichs-Graham E, Kurz MJ, Wilson TW. Spontaneous cortical dynamics from the first years to the golden years. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2212776120. [PMID: 36652485 PMCID: PMC9942851 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2212776120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
In the largest and most expansive lifespan magnetoencephalography (MEG) study to date (n = 434, 6 to 84 y), we provide critical data on the normative trajectory of resting-state spontaneous activity and its temporal dynamics. We perform cutting-edge analyses to examine age and sex effects on whole-brain, spatially-resolved relative and absolute power maps, and find significant age effects in all spectral bands in both types of maps. Specifically, lower frequencies showed a negative correlation with age, while higher frequencies positively correlated with age. These correlations were further probed with hierarchical regressions, which revealed significant nonlinear trajectories in key brain regions. Sex effects were found in absolute but not relative power maps, highlighting key differences between outcome indices that are generally used interchangeably. Our rigorous and innovative approach provides multispectral maps indicating the unique trajectory of spontaneous neural activity across the lifespan, and illuminates key methodological considerations with the widely used relative/absolute power maps of spontaneous cortical dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maggie P. Rempe
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE68198
- Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
| | - Lauren R. Ott
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
- San Diego State University/University of California San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA92120
| | - Giorgia Picci
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
- Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
| | - Samantha H. Penhale
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
| | - Nicholas J. Christopher-Hayes
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California–Davis, Davis, CA95618
| | - Brandon J. Lew
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE68198
| | - Nathan M. Petro
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
- Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
| | - Christine M. Embury
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
| | - Mikki Schantell
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE68198
- Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
| | - Hallie J. Johnson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
| | - Hannah J. Okelberry
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
| | - Kathryn L. Losh
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
| | - Madelyn P. Willett
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
| | - Rebecca A. Losh
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
| | - Yu-Ping Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA70118
| | - Vince D. Calhoun
- Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University, Atlanta, GA30303
| | | | - Elizabeth Heinrichs-Graham
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
- Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE68178
| | - Max J. Kurz
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
- Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE68178
| | - Tony W. Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE68198
- Center for Pediatric Brain Health, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE68010
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE68178
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21
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Meehan CE, Schantell M, Wiesman AI, Wolfson SL, O’Neill J, Bares SH, Johnson CM, May PE, Murman DL, Wilson TW. Oscillatory markers of neuroHIV-related cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease during attentional interference processing. Aging (Albany NY) 2023; 15:524-541. [PMID: 36656738 PMCID: PMC9925679 DOI: 10.18632/aging.204496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
People with HIV (PWH) frequently experience mild cognitive decline, which is typically attributed to HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND). However, such declines could also be a sign of early Alzheimer's disease (AD) in older PWH. Distinguishing these two pathologies in PWH is exceedingly difficult, as there is a major knowledge gap regarding their neural and neuropsychological bases. In the current study, we begin to address this knowledge gap by recording magnetoencephalography (MEG) during a flanker interference task in 31 biomarker-confirmed patients on the AD spectrum (ADS), 25 older participants with HAND, and 31 cognitively-normal controls. MEG data was examined in the time-frequency domain using a data-driven approach. Our results indicated that the clinical groups (ADS/HAND) performed significantly worse than controls on the task and exhibited aberrations in interference-related theta and alpha oscillations, some of which were disease-specific. Specifically, patients (ADS/HAND) exhibited weaker interference activity in frontoparietal and cingulate cortices compared to controls, while the ADS group exhibited stronger theta interference than those with HAND in frontoparietal, occipital, and temporal cortices. These results reveal overlapping and distinct patterns of neurophysiological alterations among those with ADS and HAND in attentional processing centers and suggest the existence of unique oscillatory markers of each condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe E. Meehan
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska – Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA
| | - Mikki Schantell
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Alex I. Wiesman
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, CA
| | | | - Jennifer O’Neill
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, UNMC, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Sara H. Bares
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, UNMC, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | | | - Pamela E. May
- Department of Neurological Sciences, UNMC, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Daniel L. Murman
- Department of Neurological Sciences, UNMC, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
- Memory Disorders and Behavioral Neurology Program, UNMC, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Tony W. Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska – Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 68178, USA
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22
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van Nifterick AM, Gouw AA, van Kesteren RE, Scheltens P, Stam CJ, de Haan W. A multiscale brain network model links Alzheimer’s disease-mediated neuronal hyperactivity to large-scale oscillatory slowing. Alzheimers Res Ther 2022; 14:101. [PMID: 35879779 PMCID: PMC9310500 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-022-01041-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Background Neuronal hyperexcitability and inhibitory interneuron dysfunction are frequently observed in preclinical animal models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study investigates whether these microscale abnormalities explain characteristic large-scale magnetoencephalography (MEG) activity in human early-stage AD patients. Methods To simulate spontaneous electrophysiological activity, we used a whole-brain computational network model comprised of 78 neural masses coupled according to human structural brain topology. We modified relevant model parameters to simulate six literature-based cellular scenarios of AD and compare them to one healthy and six contrast (non-AD-like) scenarios. The parameters include excitability, postsynaptic potentials, and coupling strength of excitatory and inhibitory neuronal populations. Whole-brain spike density and spectral power analyses of the simulated data reveal mechanisms of neuronal hyperactivity that lead to oscillatory changes similar to those observed in MEG data of 18 human prodromal AD patients compared to 18 age-matched subjects with subjective cognitive decline. Results All but one of the AD-like scenarios showed higher spike density levels, and all but one of these scenarios had a lower peak frequency, higher spectral power in slower (theta, 4–8Hz) frequencies, and greater total power. Non-AD-like scenarios showed opposite patterns mainly, including reduced spike density and faster oscillatory activity. Human AD patients showed oscillatory slowing (i.e., higher relative power in the theta band mainly), a trend for lower peak frequency and higher total power compared to controls. Combining model and human data, the findings indicate that neuronal hyperactivity can lead to oscillatory slowing, likely due to hyperexcitation (by hyperexcitability of pyramidal neurons or greater long-range excitatory coupling) and/or disinhibition (by reduced excitability of inhibitory interneurons or weaker local inhibitory coupling strength) in early AD. Conclusions Using a computational brain network model, we link findings from different scales and models and support the hypothesis of early-stage neuronal hyperactivity underlying E/I imbalance and whole-brain network dysfunction in prodromal AD. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13195-022-01041-4.
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23
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Rempe MP, Lew BJ, Embury CM, Christopher-Hayes NJ, Schantell M, Wilson TW. Spontaneous sensorimotor beta power and cortical thickness uniquely predict motor function in healthy aging. Neuroimage 2022; 263:119651. [PMID: 36206940 PMCID: PMC10071137 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Spontaneous beta activity in the primary motor cortices has been shown to increase in amplitude with advancing age, and that such increases are tightly coupled to stronger motor-related beta oscillations during movement planning. However, the relationship between these age-related changes in spontaneous beta in the motor cortices, local cortical thickness, and overall motor function remains unclear. METHODS We collected resting-state magnetoencephalography (MEG), high-resolution structural MRI, and motor function scores using a neuropsychological battery from 126 healthy adults (56 female; age range = 22-72 years). MEG data were source-imaged and a whole-brain vertex-wise regression model was used to assess age-related differences in spontaneous beta power across the cortex. Cortical thickness was computed from the structural MRI data and local beta power and cortical thickness values were extracted from the sensorimotor cortices. To determine the unique contribution of age, spontaneous beta power, and cortical thickness to the prediction of motor function, a hierarchical regression approach was used. RESULTS There was an increase in spontaneous beta power with age across the cortex, with the strongest increase being centered on the sensorimotor cortices. Sensorimotor cortical thickness was not related to spontaneous beta power, above and beyond age. Interestingly, both cortical thickness and spontaneous beta power in sensorimotor regions each uniquely contributed to the prediction of motor function when controlling for age. DISCUSSION This multimodal study showed that cortical thickness and spontaneous beta activity in the sensorimotor cortices have dissociable contributions to motor function across the adult lifespan. These findings highlight the complexity of interactions between structure and function and the importance of understanding these interactions in order to advance our understanding of healthy aging and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maggie P Rempe
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Brandon J Lew
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Christine M Embury
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska - Omaha (UNO), Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Nicholas J Christopher-Hayes
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; Center for Mind and Brain, University of California - Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Mikki Schantell
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Tony W Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA; College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, NE, USA; Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA.
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24
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Petro NM, Ott LR, Penhale SH, Rempe MP, Embury CM, Picci G, Wang YP, Stephen JM, Calhoun VD, Wilson TW. Eyes-closed versus eyes-open differences in spontaneous neural dynamics during development. Neuroimage 2022; 258:119337. [PMID: 35636737 PMCID: PMC9385211 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Assessing brain activity during rest has become a widely used approach in developmental neuroscience. Extant literature has measured resting brain activity both during eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions, but the difference between these conditions has not yet been well characterized. Studies, limited to fMRI and EEG, have suggested that eyes-open versus -closed conditions may differentially impact neural activity, especially in visual cortices. METHODS Spontaneous cortical activity was recorded using MEG from 108 typically developing youth (9-15 years-old; 55 female) during separate sessions of eyes-open and eyes-closed rest. MEG source images were computed, and the strength of spontaneous neural activity was estimated in the canonical delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma bands, respectively. Power spectral density maps for eyes-open were subtracted from eyes-closed rest, and then submitted to vertex-wise regression models to identify spatially specific differences between conditions and as a function of age and sex. RESULTS Relative alpha power was weaker in the eyes-open compared to -closed condition, but otherwise eyes-open was stronger in all frequency bands, with differences concentrated in the occipital cortex. Relative theta power became stronger in the eyes-open compared to the eyes-closed condition with increasing age in frontal cortex. No differences were observed between males and females. CONCLUSIONS The differences in relative power from eyes-closed to -open conditions are consistent with changes observed in task-based visual sensory responses. Age differences occurred in relatively late developing frontal regions, consistent with canonical attention regions, suggesting that these differences could be reflective of developmental changes in attention processes during puberty. Taken together, resting-state paradigms using eyes-open versus -closed produce distinct results and, in fact, can help pinpoint sensory related brain activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan M Petro
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, Institute for Human Neuroscience, 378 Bucher Circle, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA
| | - Lauren R Ott
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, Institute for Human Neuroscience, 378 Bucher Circle, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA
| | - Samantha H Penhale
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, Institute for Human Neuroscience, 378 Bucher Circle, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA
| | - Maggie P Rempe
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, Institute for Human Neuroscience, 378 Bucher Circle, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA; College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Christine M Embury
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, Institute for Human Neuroscience, 378 Bucher Circle, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Giorgia Picci
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, Institute for Human Neuroscience, 378 Bucher Circle, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA
| | - Yu-Ping Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | | | - Vince D Calhoun
- Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Tony W Wilson
- Boys Town National Research Hospital, Institute for Human Neuroscience, 378 Bucher Circle, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA; Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA.
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25
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Springer SD, Wiesman AI, May PE, Schantell M, Johnson HJ, Willett MP, Castelblanco CA, Eastman JA, Christopher-Hayes NJ, Wolfson SL, Johnson CM, Murman DL, Wilson TW. Altered visual entrainment in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: magnetoencephalography evidence. Brain Commun 2022; 4:fcac198. [PMID: 35974799 PMCID: PMC9374481 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent research has indicated that rhythmic visual entrainment may be useful in clearing pathological protein deposits in the central nervous system of mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. However, visual entrainment studies in human patients with Alzheimer’s disease are rare, and as such the degree to which these patients exhibit aberrations in the neural tracking of rhythmic visual stimuli is unknown. To fill this gap, we recorded magnetoencephalography during a 15 Hz visual entrainment paradigm in amyloid-positive patients on the Alzheimer’s disease spectrum and compared their neural responses to a demographically matched group of biomarker-negative healthy controls. Magnetoencephalography data were imaged using a beamformer and virtual sensor data were extracted from the peak visual entrainment responses. Our results indicated that, relative to healthy controls, participants on the Alzheimer’s disease spectrum exhibited significantly stronger 15 Hz entrainment in primary visual cortices relative to a pre-stimulus baseline period. However, the two groups exhibited comparable absolute levels of neural entrainment, and higher absolute levels of entertainment predicted greater Mini-mental Status Examination scores, such that those patients whose absolute entrainment amplitude was closer to the level seen in controls had better cognitive function. In addition, 15 Hz periodic activity, but not aperiodic activity, during the pre-stimulus baseline period was significantly decreased in patients on the Alzheimer’s disease spectrum. This pattern of results indicates that patients on the Alzheimer’s disease spectrum exhibited increased visual entrainment to rhythmic stimuli and that this increase is likely compensatory in nature. More broadly, these results show that visual entrainment is altered in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and should be further examined in future studies, as changes in the capacity to entrain visual stimuli may prove useful as a marker of Alzheimer’s disease progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seth D Springer
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital , Omaha, NE 68010 , USA
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha, NE 68198 , USA
| | - Alex I Wiesman
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha, NE 68198 , USA
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University , Montreal, QC H3A 2B4 , Canada
| | - Pamela E May
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha, NE 68198 , USA
| | - Mikki Schantell
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital , Omaha, NE 68010 , USA
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha, NE 68198 , USA
| | - Hallie J Johnson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital , Omaha, NE 68010 , USA
| | - Madelyn P Willett
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital , Omaha, NE 68010 , USA
| | - Camilo A Castelblanco
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital , Omaha, NE 68010 , USA
| | - Jacob A Eastman
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital , Omaha, NE 68010 , USA
| | - Nicholas J Christopher-Hayes
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital , Omaha, NE 68010 , USA
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California Davis , Davis, CA 95616 , USA
| | - Sara L Wolfson
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha, NE 68198 , USA
| | - Craig M Johnson
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha, NE 68198 , USA
| | - Daniel L Murman
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha, NE 68198 , USA
- Memory Disorders & Behavioral Neurology Program, University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha, NE 68010 , USA
| | - Tony W Wilson
- Institute for Human Neuroscience, Boys Town National Research Hospital , Omaha, NE 68010 , USA
- College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha, NE 68198 , USA
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Creighton University , Omaha, NE 68178 , USA
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