Resting state electroencephalography contributes to the detection of disease progression and prediction of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation modulations in patients with subjective cognitive decline

Abstract

Abstract Background Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is the subjective perception of a decline in cognition and is recognized as the earliest symptomatic manifestation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Detection and treatment strategies for SCD are urgently needed to slow or halt AD progression. Methods Fifty-four participants were included. Electroencephalography (EEG) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) were applied. Results SCD showed a decreased power spectrum, enhanced functional connectivity (FC), and increased global and local network topological features mostly restricted to the β band. 10 Hz rTMS significantly improved cognition in SCD by acting on the FC feature. The interaction between the four EEG features contributed to the detection of disease progression and prediction of rTMS modulations with an adjusted R2 of 0.856 and an accuracy of 77.8%. Conclusions EEG-based features may be considered as the earliest biomarkers of AD. rTMS significantly mitigate cognitive function in SCD may through modulating FC. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1800019199)