Sluggish Brainwave Activity in Dementia Predicts Severity of Cognitive Impairment
Technology Networks | November 26, 2018
To turn back the clock on Alzheimer’s disease, many researchers are seeking ways to effectively diagnose the neurodegenerative disorder earlier. One potential way to do this is by tracking a person’s brainwave activity, which slows down in certain brain regions that are likely to be affected by the disease next, according to recent findings by Baycrest researchers.
The study, published online in the journal, Human Brain Mapping, found that individuals potentially in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (mild cognitive impairment) and those with a rare form of language dementia (primary progressive aphasia) exhibited sluggish brainwaves and subtle signs of damage in the brain regions responsible for memory and planning. These individuals only displayed minor memory and thinking problems, but their slowing brainwaves predicted the severity of their condition, such as their degree of memory loss.