Concordance and test-retest consistency of sleep biomarker-based neurodegenerative disorder profiling.

Biomarkers that aid in early detection of neurodegeneration are needed to enable early symptomatic treatment and enable identification of people who may benefit from neuroprotective interventions. Increasing evidence suggests that sleep biomarkers may be useful, given the bi-directional relationship between sleep and neurodegeneration and the prominence of sleep disturbances and altered sleep architectural characteristics in several neurodegenerative disorders. This study aimed to demonstrate that sleep can accurately characterize specific neurodegenerative disorders (NDD).

EEG and ERP biosignatures of mild cognitive impairment for longitudinal monitoring of early cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease.

Cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease is associated with electroencephalographic (EEG) biosignatures even at early stages of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The aim of this work is to provide a unified measure of cognitive decline by aggregating biosignatures from multiple EEG modalities and to evaluate repeatability of the composite measure at an individual level. These modalities included resting state EEG (eyes-closed) and two event-related potential (ERP) tasks on visual memory and attention.

Autonomic dysregulation during sleep in Parkinsonian spectrum disorders - A proof of concept.

Introduction: Autonomic dysfunction is common in α-synucleinopathies such as Lewy Body dementias (LBD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and isolated REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (iRBD). We analyzed pulse-rate changes during sleep to index autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction in patients with α-synucleinopathies vs. non-synucleinopathy groups expected to have normal ANS function.

Proof-of-concept for characterization of neurodegenerative disorders utilizing two non-REM sleep biomarkers.

Study Objective: This proof-of-concept study aimed to determine whether the combined features of two non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep biomarkers acquired predominantly in-home could characterize different neurodegenerative disorders.

Methods: Sleep spindle duration and non-REM hypertonia (NRH) were evaluated in seven groups including a control group (CG = 61), and participants with isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD = 19), mild cognitive impairment (MCI = 41), Parkinson disease (PD = 16), Alzheimer disease dementia (ADem = 29), dementia with Lewy Bodies or Parkinson disease dementia (LBD = 19) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP = 13). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Mann-Whitney , intra-class (ICC) and Spearman ranked correlations, Bland-Altman plots and Kappa scores, Chi-square and Fisher exact probability test, and multiple-logistic regression were focused primarily on spindle duration and NRH and the frequencies assigned to the four normal/abnormal spindle duration/NRH combinations.

Perceived effects of cannabis: Generalizability of changes in driving performance.

Objective: The objective of this analysis was to determine the generalizability of the relationship between different samples of a driver's perceived state after cannabis use and related performance while operating a motor vehicle.

Methods: Data were collected from 52 subjects in a study examining the effects of cannabis on driving performance. Data were analyzed using the SAS GLM Select procedure, using stepwise selection, with subjective effects, dosing condition (placebo vs.

Intermittent brain network reconfigurations and the resistance to social media influence.

Since its development, social media has grown as a source of information and has a significant impact on opinion formation. Individuals interact with others and content via social media platforms in a variety of ways, but it remains unclear how decision-making and associated neural processes are impacted by the online sharing of informational content, from factual to fabricated. Here, we use EEG to estimate dynamic reconfigurations of brain networks and probe the neural changes underlying opinion change (or formation) within individuals interacting with a simulated social media platform.

Non-REM sleep with hypertonia in Parkinsonian Spectrum Disorders: A pilot investigation.

Introduction: From an ongoing multicenter effort toward differentiation of Parkinsonian spectrum disorders (PSD) from other types of neurodegenerative disorders, the sleep biomarker non-rapid-eye-movement sleep with hypertonia (NRH) emerged.

Methods: This study included in the PSD group patients with dementia with Lewy bodies/Parkinson disease dementia (DLB/PDD = 16), Parkinson disease (PD = 16), and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP = 13). The non-PSD group included patients with Alzheimer disease dementia (AD = 24), mild cognitive impairment (MCI = 35), and a control group with normal cognition (CG = 61).

Alterations in Electroencephalography Theta as Candidate Biomarkers of Acute Cannabis Intoxication.

The trend toward cannabis legalization in the United States over the past two decades has unsurprisingly been accompanied by an increase in the number of cannabis users and use patterns that potentially pose wider risks to the public like driving under the influence. As such, it is becoming increasingly important to develop methods to accurately quantify cannabis intoxication and its associated impairments on cognitive and motor function. Electroencephalography (EEG) offers a non-invasive method for quantitatively assessing neurophysiological biomarkers of intoxication and impairment with a high degree of temporal resolution.

Perceived effects of cannabis and changes in driving performance under the influence of cannabis.

Objective: Reports indicate that cannabis users will adapt their driving to compensate for the perceived drug effects of cannabis. This analysis examined the relationship between driver perceptions of their state contrasted with objective measures of their performance while operating a motor vehicle.

Methods: Data was collected from ten subjects in a study examining the effects of cannabis on driving performance.

Elevated Inter-Brain Coherence Between Subjects With Concordant Stances During Discussion of Social Issues.

Social media platforms offer convenient, instantaneous social sharing on a mass scale with tremendous impact on public perceptions, opinions, and behavior. There is a need to understand why information spreads including the human motivations, cognitive processes, and neural dynamics of large-scale sharing. This study introduces a novel approach for investigating the effect social media messaging and in-person discussion has on the inter-brain dynamics within small groups of participants.

EEG event related potentials in sustained, focused and divided attention tasks: Potential biomarkers for cognitive impairment in HIV patients.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the usability of event-related-potentials (ERPs) during sustained, focused, and divided attention tasks as biomarkers for cognitive decline in HIV patients.

Methods: EEG was acquired using a mobile/wireless 9-channel system in 39 persons with HIV, with well-controlled immune function and 63 healthy control participants (HCs) during three ERP tasks: sustained attention, focused attention, and divided attention.

Results: The HIV-group evidenced smaller late positive potential (LPP) and larger P200 amplitudes across the tasks compared to the HC group.

Resting state EEG biomarkers of cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment.

In this paper, we explore the utility of resting-state EEG measures as potential biomarkers for the detection and assessment of cognitive decline in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Neurophysiological biomarkers of AD derived from EEG and FDG-PET, once characterized and validated, would expand the set of existing diagnostic molecular biomarkers of AD pathology with associated biomarkers of disease progression and neural dysfunction. Since symptoms of AD often begin to appear later in life, successful identification of EEG-based biomarkers must account for age-related neurophysiological changes that occur even in healthy individuals.

EEG biomarkers acquired during a short, straight-line simulated drive to predict impairment from cannabis intoxication.

Objective: As cannabis use becomes more widely accepted, there is growing interest in its effects on brain function, specifically how it may impact daily functional activities such as driving, operating machinery, and other safety-related tasks. There are currently no validated methods for quantifying impairment from acute cannabis intoxication. The objective of this study was to identify neurophysiological correlates associated with driving simulator performance in subjects who were acutely intoxicated with cannabis.

Neurophysiological Biomarkers of Parkinson's Disease.

Background: There is a need for reliable and robust Parkinson's disease biomarkers that reflect severity and are sensitive to disease modifying investigational therapeutics.

Objective: To demonstrate the utility of EEG as a reliable, quantitative biomarker with potential as a pharmacodynamic endpoint for use in clinical assessments of neuroprotective therapeutics for Parkison's disease.

Methods: A multi modal study was performed including aquisition of resting state EEG data and dopamine transporter PET imaging from Parkinson's disease patients off medication and compared against age-matched controls.

Correlation of EEG biomarkers of cannabis with measured driving impairment.

The objective of this study was to use electroencephalogram (EEG) biomarkers derived from a short, easily administered neurocognitive testbed to determine acute cannabis intoxication and its effect on driving performance in a driving simulator. The data analyzed were from a study examining the relationship between psychomotor task performance, EEG data, and driving performance in a simulator. EEG data were collected using a STAT® X-24 EEG Wireless Sensor Headset, which was worn during the psychomotor and driving tasks.

Transcranial Impedance Changes during Sleep: A Rheoencephalography Study.

Objective: To demonstrate the utility of rheoencephalography (REG) for measuring cerebral blood flow and fluid dynamics during different stages of sleep.

Methods: Anteroposterior cranial electrical impedance was measured with concurrent polysomnography in a group of healthy subjects during sleep. Transcranial electrical impedance was characterized by measuring the peak-to-trough and envelope of the filtered pulsative REG signal as well as its frequency.

EEG-Based Neurocognitive Metrics May Predict Simulated and On-Road Driving Performance in Older Drivers.

The number of older drivers is steadily increasing, and advancing age is associated with a high rate of automobile crashes and fatalities. This can be attributed to a combination of factors including decline in sensory, motor, and cognitive functions due to natural aging or neurodegenerative diseases such as HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder (HAND). Current clinical assessment methods only modestly predict impaired driving.

Head Position During Sleep: Potential Implications for Patients with Neurodegenerative Disease.

Background: The characterization of sleep in those with neurodegenerative disease (NDD) is essential in understanding the potential neurobiological mechanisms that underlie the connection between sleep disruption and NDD manifestations and progression.

Objective: Explore the inter-relationships between NDD and age, sex, diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea, snoring, and duration of sleep time with the head in the supine and non-supine positions.

Methods: A case-control design was used to evaluate differences in sleep position obtained from multi-night, in-home Sleep Profiler recordings in 45 patients with diagnosed NDD (24 with mild cognitive impairment, 15 with Alzheimer's disease, and 6 with Lewy Body, Parkinson's, or other dementias) and 120 age-sex matched controls with normal cognition (NC).

Comparison of EMG power during sleep from the submental and frontalis muscles.

Objective: Submentalis electromyography (EMG) and frontalis electromyography (EMG) muscle activities have been used to assist in the staging of sleep and detection of disruptions in sleep. This study was designed to assess the concordance between EMG and EMG power, by and across sleep stages.

Methods: Forty-three records with simultaneous acquisition of differential signals from the submental and frontalis muscles were evaluated.

Event-related potentials during sustained attention and memory tasks: Utility as biomarkers for mild cognitive impairment.

Introduction: The objective of the study is to validate attention and memory tasks that elicit event-related potentials (ERPs) for utility as sensitive biomarkers for early dementia.

Methods: A 3-choice vigilance task designed to evaluate sustained attention and standard image recognition memory task designed to evaluate attention, encoding, and image recognition memory were administered with concurrent electroencephalography acquisition to elicit ERPs in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy cohorts. ERPs were averaged, and mean or maximum amplitude of components was measured and compared between and within cohorts.

Comparison of Medical and Consumer Wireless EEG Systems for Use in Clinical Trials.

To compare quantitative EEG signal and test-retest reliability of medical grade and consumer EEG systems. Resting state EEG was acquired by two medical grade (B-Alert, Enobio) and two consumer (Muse, Mindwave) EEG systems in five healthy subjects during two study visits. EEG patterns, power spectral densities (PSDs) and test/retest reliability in eyes closed and eyes open conditions were compared across the four systems, focusing on Fp1, the only common electrode.

Behavioral and Neurophysiological Signatures of Benzodiazepine-Related Driving Impairments.

Impaired driving due to drug use is a growing problem worldwide; estimates show that 18-23.5% of fatal accidents, and up to 34% of injury accidents may be caused by drivers under the influence of drugs (Drummer et al., 2003; Walsh et al.

Characterizing donation behavior from psychophysiological indices of narrative experience.

Research on narrative persuasion has yet to investigate whether this process influences behavior. The current study explored whether: (1) a narrative could persuade participants to donate to a charity, a prosocial, behavioral decision; (2) psychophysiological metrics can delineate the differences between donation/non-donation behaviors; and (3) donation behavior can be correlated with measures of psychophysiology, self-reported reactions to the narrative, and intrinsic characteristics. Participants (n = 49) completed personality/disposition questionnaires, viewed one of two versions of a narrative while EEG and ECG were recorded, completed a questionnaire regarding their reactions to the narrative, and were given an opportunity to donate to a charity related to the themes of the narrative.