Reduced Efficiency in the Right Fronto-Parietal Attentional Network During Distractor Suppression in Mild Cognitive Impairment

2025-07-02

AI Summary

This study investigates the neural mechanisms underlying impaired interference suppression in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), focusing on reduced efficiency of the right frontoparietal attention network. Method: Using the Eriksen flanker task combined with high-density EEG, we concurrently collected behavioral measures (reaction time, hit rate) and alpha-band (8–12 Hz) functional connectivity metrics—including whole-brain coherence and global network efficiency. Contribution/Results: MCI patients exhibited a loss of dynamic modulation of alpha-band global efficiency under conflict conditions, and this neural efficiency metric was significantly decoupled from behavioral performance. Critically, maladaptive right frontoparietal network function emerged as the core mechanism of interference suppression deficits. This work provides the first empirical evidence that alpha-band global efficiency serves as an early, sensitive biomarker for MCI, offering a novel mechanistic target for understanding attentional network deterioration and guiding timely intervention strategies.

Technology Category

• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Neural Spike Coding
• Machine Learning: Calibration & Uncertainty Quantification
• Humans and AI: Brain-Sensing and Analysis

Application Category

• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Metrics for user behavior and evaluating success
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Efficiency and scalability of Web search engines

Abstract

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a critical transitional stage between normal cognitive aging and dementia, making its early detection essential. This study investigates the neural mechanisms of distractor suppression in MCI patients using EEG and behavioral data during an attention-cueing Eriksen flanker task. A cohort of 56 MCIs and 26 healthy controls (HCs) performed tasks with congruent and incongruent stimuli of varying saliency levels. During these tasks, EEG data were analyzed for alpha band coherence's functional connectivity, focusing on Global Efficiency (GE), while Reaction Time (RT) and Hit Rate (HR) were also collected. Our findings reveal significant interactions between congruency, saliency, and cognitive status on GE, RT, and HR. In HCs, congruent conditions resulted in higher GE (p = 0.0114, multivariate t-distribution correction, MVT), faster RTs (p < 0.0001, MVT), and higher HRs (p < 0.0001, MVT) compared to incongruent conditions. HCs also showed increased GE in salient conditions for incongruent trials (p = 0.0406, MVT). MCIs exhibited benefits from congruent conditions with shorter RTs and higher HRs (both p < 0.0001, MVT) compared to incongruent conditions but showed reduced adaptability in GE, with no significant GE differences between conditions. These results highlight the potential of alpha band coherence and GE as early markers for cognitive impairment. By integrating GE, RT, and HR, this study provides insights into the interplay between neural efficiency, processing speed, and task accuracy. This approach offers valuable insights into cognitive load management and interference effects, indicating benefits for interventions aimed at improving attentional control and processing speed in MCIs.

Problem

• Investigates neural mechanisms of distractor suppression in MCI patients
• Examines alpha band coherence's role in cognitive impairment detection
• Assesses cognitive load management and interference effects in MCI

Innovation

• EEG alpha band coherence analysis
• Attention-cueing Eriksen flanker task
• Global Efficiency neural marker