Resting State Alpha Electroencephalographic Rhythms Are Affected by Sex in Cognitively Unimpaired Seniors and Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Amnesic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Retrospective and Exploratory Study.

In the present retrospective and exploratory study, we tested the hypothesis that sex may affect cortical sources of resting state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms recorded in normal elderly (Nold) seniors and patients with Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment (ADMCI). Datasets in 69 ADMCI and 57 Nold individuals were taken from an international archive. The rsEEG rhythms were investigated at individual delta, theta, and alpha frequency bands and fixed beta (14-30 Hz) and gamma (30-40 Hz) bands. Each group was stratified into matched females and males. The sex factor affected the magnitude of rsEEG source activities in the Nold seniors. Compared with the males, the females were characterized by greater alpha source activities in all cortical regions. Similarly, the parietal, temporal, and occipital alpha source activities were greater in the ADMCI-females than the males. Notably, the present sex effects did not depend on core genetic (APOE4), neuropathological (Aß42/phospho-tau ratio in the cerebrospinal fluid), structural neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular (MRI) variables characterizing sporadic AD-related processes in ADMCI seniors. These results suggest the sex factor may significantly affect neurophysiological brain neural oscillatory synchronization mechanisms underpinning the generation of dominant rsEEG alpha rhythms to regulate cortical arousal during quiet vigilance.

Reactivity of posterior cortical electroencephalographic alpha rhythms during eyes opening in cognitively intact older adults and patients with dementia due to Alzheimer's and Lewy body diseases.

Please modify the Abstract as follows:Here we tested if the reactivity of posterior resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) alpha rhythms from the eye-closed to the eyes-open condition may differ in patients with dementia due to Lewy Bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's disease (ADD) as a functional probe of the dominant neural synchronization mechanisms regulating the vigilance in posterior visual systems.We used clinical, demographical, and rsEEG datasets in 28 older adults (Healthy), 42 DLB, and 48 ADD participants. The eLORETA freeware was used to estimate cortical rsEEG sources.Results showed a substantial (> -10%) reduction in the posterior alpha activities during the eyes-open condition in 24 Healthy, 26 ADD, and 22 DLB subjects. There were lower reductions in the posterior alpha activities in the ADD and DLB groups than in the Healthy group. That reduction in the occipital region was lower in the DLB than in the ADD group.These results suggest that DLB patients may suffer from a greater alteration in the neural synchronization mechanisms regulating vigilance in occipital cortical systems compared to ADD patients.