Resting state electroencephalographic alpha rhythms are sensitive to Alzheimer's disease mild cognitive impairment progression at a 6-month follow-up

Are posterior resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) alpha rhythms sensitive to the Alzheimer's disease mild cognitive impairment (ADMCI) progression at a 6-month follow-up? Clinical, cerebrospinal, neuroimaging, and rsEEG datasets in 52 ADMCI and 60 Healthy old seniors (equivalent groups for demographic features) were available from an international archive (www.pdwaves.eu). The ADMCI patients were arbitrarily divided into two groups: REACTIVE and UNREACTIVE, based on the reduction (reactivity) in the posterior rsEEG alpha eLORETA source activities from the eyes-closed to eyes-open condition at >= -10% and -10%, respectively. 75% of the ADMCI patients were REACTIVE. Compared to the UNREACTIVE group, the REACTIVE group showed (1) less abnormal posterior rsEEG source activity during the eyes-closed condition and (2) a decrease in that activity at the 6-month follow-up. These effects could not be explained by neuroimaging and neuropsychological biomarkers of AD. Such a biomarker might reflect abnormalities in cortical arousal in quiet wakefulness to be used for clinical studies in ADMCI patients using 6-month follow-ups.