Quantile graphs for EEG-based diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

PLoS One. 2020 Jun 5;15(6):e0231169. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231169. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Known as a degenerative and progressive dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects about 25 million elderly people around the world. This illness results in a decrease in the productivity of people and places limits on their daily lives. Electroencephalography (EEG), in which the electrical brain activity is recorded in the form of time series and analyzed using signal processing techniques, is a well-known neurophysiological AD biomarker. EEG is noninvasive, low-cost, has a high temporal resolution, and provides valuable information about brain dynamics in AD. Here, we present an original approach based on the use of quantile graphs (QGs) for classifying EEG data. QGs map frequency, amplitude, and correlation characteristics of a time series (such as the EEG data of an AD patient) into the topological features of a network. The five topological network metrics used here-clustering coefficient, mean jump length, betweenness centrality, modularity, and Laplacian Estrada index-showed that the QG model can distinguish healthy subjects from AD patients, with open or closed eyes. The QG method also indicates which channels (corresponding to 19 different locations on the patients' scalp) provide the best discriminating power. Furthermore, the joint analysis of delta, theta, alpha, and beta wave results indicate that all AD patients under study display clear symptoms of the disease and may have it in its late stage, a diagnosis known a priori and supported by our study. Results presented here attest to the usefulness of the QG method in analyzing complex, nonlinear signals such as those generated from AD patients by EEGs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aging / physiology
  • Alzheimer Disease / diagnosis*
  • Computer Graphics
  • Electroencephalography*
  • Humans
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted*

Grants and funding

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001. L. E. B. acknowledges the support of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), grant 2016/17914-3. A. S. L. O. C. acknowledges the support of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), grants 2018/25358-9 and 2020/04989-0. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.