QUANTITATIVE EEG CORRELATES OF OUTCOME IN OLDER PSYCHIATRIC-PATIENTS .1. CROSS-SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL ASSESSMENT OF PATIENTS WITH DEMENTIA

Using quantitative electroencephalographic coherence (a measure of syn chronized electrical activity between brain regions) the authors exami ned heterogeneity in clinical presentation and outcome inpatients with dementia. Patients (N = 114) with mild-to-moderate dementia of the Al zheimer's type (DAT) or multi-infarct dementia (MID) were examined for coherence from the left hemisphere. More than 70% diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing between DAT and MID subjects was achieved using coh erence measures alone. Also, decreased coherence measured across the R olandic fissure in the left hemisphere was significantly associated wi th poorer functional status of subjects at 2-year follow-up, despite s imilar levels of cognitive impairment at baseline. These findings sugg est that coherence is a useful measure for assessment and for predicti on of the course of illness in patients with dementia.