Sex specific EEG signatures associated with cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in mild cognitive impairment

• Published in: Clinical neurophysiology 2022-10, Vol.142, p.190-198
• Main Authors: Chino-Vilca, Brenda, Rodríguez-Rojo, Inmaculada Concepción, Torres-Simón, Lucía, Cuesta, Pablo, Vendrell, Anna Carnes, Piñol-Ripoll, Gerard, Huerto, Raquel, Tahan, Nuria, Maestú, Fernando
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomarkers electroencephalography; Brain oscillations; Cerebrospinal fluid; Mild cognitive impairment; Neuropsychology
• ISSN: 1388-2457; 1872-8952
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2022.08.007

•EEG spectral power is a non-invasive approach for tracking AD neuropathology.•This study contributes to the validity of EEG-based biomarkers for the early diagnosis of AD.•Results provide potential sex-related differences regarding the association between EEG-CSF parameters. The use of the electroencephalography (EEG) technique in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) diagnosis is scarce due to a lack of validation of its neurophysiological information with current biomarkers. Therefore, our goal was to assess correlations between brain spectral power signatures and cerebrospinal fluid markers (CSF) such as amyloid-β 42 load (Aβ-42), total tau (t-tau), and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) in a mild cognitive impairment (MCI) population. Furthermore, given the AD sex-dependent vulnerability related to CSF biomarkers, we went a little forward looking for different electrophysiological correlations for males and females independently. A data-driven approach was employed to determine bidimensional spectral power signatures (space-frequency) that correlated (Spearman) significantly with any of the three CSF markers in 27 patients with MCI in any of the two sex-dependent subsamples (i.e., 12 females and 15 males). Our main significant outcomes evidenced 1) a negative correlation of Aβ-42 load with central-posterior theta power and a negative correlation of t-tau with widespread alpha power within the male subsample, and 2) a significant negative correlation between t-tau and widespread beta power in the female subgroup. There is a distinctive profile of correlations between resting-state electrophysiological signatures and CSF markers in male and female individuals. The combination of these two measures would be pointing out the need of a more personalized approach to promote early AD diagnosis.