Firefly uncovers way of measuring SCD, MCI, dementia in Alzheimer’s patients

Firefly Neuroscience (AIFF) highlighted a leap forward in Alzheimer’s research to distinguish between subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia in a scalable, accessible way to promote earlier detection and intervention. In the study, while EEG/ERP and volumetric magnetic resonance imaging each helped alone, the best results came when both were combined. Just using EEG measures, three EEG measures stood out: reaction time; commission errors; and, P300b amplitude. Using these EEG assessments, researchers could categorize subjects with ~80% accuracy. With respect to vMRI assessment, of all the brain areas, only the left temporal lobe size was a powerful MRI predictor, where smaller size tended to correlate to cognitive issues. Combing EEG measures with the size of the left temporal lobe from the MRI boosted accuracy to ~87%. This study demonstrates the potential of a primarily physiological diagnostic model for differentiating SCD, MCI, and dementia using EEG/ERP , especially when combined with volumetric brain MRI. In addition, the accessibility of EEG/ERP and vMRI means that these tools can be used as adjuncts to clinical assessments to help increase the diagnostic certainty of SCD, MCI, and dementia.