Abnormal-induced theta activity supports early directed-attention network deficits in progressive MCI

Deiber, Marie-Pierre; Ibañez, Vicente; Missonnier, Pascal; Herrmann, François; Fazio-Costa, Lara; Gold, Gabriel; Giannakopoulos, Panteleimon

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2007.11.021

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Volume 30, Issue 9 , Pages 1444-1452, September 2009

Abnormal-induced theta activity supports early directed-attention network deficits in progressive MCI

Marie-Pierre Deiber
- Clinical Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging Unit, Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Geneva, 2 chemin du Petit-Bel-Air, 1225 Chêne-Bourg, Geneva, Switzerland
- INSERM U877, Faculty of Medicine, Domaine de La Merci, 38706 La Tronche, France
- Corresponding author at: Clinical Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging Unit, Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Geneva, 2 chemin du Petit-Bel-Air, 1225 Chêne-Bourg, Geneva, Switzerland. Tel.: +41 22 305 53 82; fax: +41 22 305 53 75.
Vicente Ibañez
- Clinical Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging Unit, Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Geneva, 2 chemin du Petit-Bel-Air, 1225 Chêne-Bourg, Geneva, Switzerland
Pascal Missonnier
- Clinical Neurophysiology and Neuroimaging Unit, Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Geneva, 2 chemin du Petit-Bel-Air, 1225 Chêne-Bourg, Geneva, Switzerland
- Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Geneva, 2 chemin du Petit-Bel-Air, 1225 Chêne-Bourg, Geneva, Switzerland
François Herrmann
- Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, University Hospitals of Geneva, 3 chemin du Pont-Bochet, 1226 Thônex, Geneva, Switzerland
Lara Fazio-Costa
- Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, University Hospitals of Geneva, 3 chemin du Pont-Bochet, 1226 Thônex, Geneva, Switzerland
Gabriel Gold
- Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, University Hospitals of Geneva, 3 chemin du Pont-Bochet, 1226 Thônex, Geneva, Switzerland
Panteleimon Giannakopoulos
- Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Geneva, 2 chemin du Petit-Bel-Air, 1225 Chêne-Bourg, Geneva, Switzerland
- Division of Old Age Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Lausanne, Site de Cery, Route du Mont, 1008 Prilly, Switzerland

Received 15 May 2007; received in revised form 5 November 2007; accepted 19 November 2007. published online 07 January 2008.

Abstract

The electroencephalography (EEG) theta frequency band reacts to memory and selective attention paradigms. Global theta oscillatory activity includes a posterior phase-locked component related to stimulus processing and a frontal-induced component modulated by directed attention. To investigate the presence of early deficits in the directed attention-related network in elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), time–frequency analysis at baseline was used to assess global and induced theta oscillatory activity (4–6Hz) during n-back working memory tasks in 29 individuals with MCI and 24 elderly controls (EC). At 1-year follow-up, 13 MCI patients were still stable and 16 had progressed. Baseline task performance was similar in stable and progressive MCI cases. Induced theta activity at baseline was significantly reduced in progressive MCI as compared to EC and stable MCI in all n-back tasks, which were similar in terms of directed attention requirements. While performance is maintained, the decrease of induced theta activity suggests early deficits in the directed-attention network in progressive MCI, whereas this network is functionally preserved in stable MCI.