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Cognition-related EEG abnormalities in nondemented Down syndrome subjects
Politoff AL, Stadter RP, Monson N, Hass P.. Dementia (Basel, Switzerland), 1996-03-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Down syndrome (DS) subjects develop Alzheimer disease (AD) histopathology before they develop dementia. We compared the resting and flash stimulated electroencephalogram (EEG) of nondemented adult DS and age-matched control subjects, in search of EEG abnormalities that might correlate with AD histopathology. DS subjects had increased absolute power in all the EEG bands, independent of cognition functions measured by the Mini Mental State Examination and Picture Absurdities Test scores. In the power spectrum of the resting EEG, we found a cognition-related increase in power at 4.5 and 8.8 Hz, indicative of alpha-slowing, as in AD patients. In the stimulated EEG, we found several cognition-related abnormalities, such as decreased responses to 12-Hz stimulation and decreased integral of beta- and gamma-band responses, indicative of decreased responsiveness to photic stimulation, as in AD patients. Therefore, nondemented DS and AD patients share several cognition related EEG abnormalities which are probably due to AD histopathology.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Politoff, A. L., Stadter, R. P., Monson, N., & Hass, P. (1996). Cognition-related EEG abnormalities in nondemented Down syndrome subjects. Dementia (Basel, Switzerland). https://doi.org/10.1159/000106856
Vancouver
Politoff AL, Stadter RP, Monson N, Hass P. Cognition-related EEG abnormalities in nondemented Down syndrome subjects. Dementia (Basel, Switzerland). 1996. doi:10.1159/000106856. PMID: 8866678.
BibTeX
@article{politoff1996-8866678,
author = {Politoff, A. L. and Stadter, R. P. and Monson, N. and Hass, P.},
title = {{Cognition-related EEG abnormalities in nondemented Down syndrome subjects}},
journal = {Dementia (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {1996},
doi = {10.1159/000106856},
pmid = {8866678},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1159/000106856}
}
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Key findings
- In the power spectrum of the resting EEG, we found a cognition-related increase in power at 4.5 and 8.8 Hz, indicative of alpha-slowing, as in AD patients.
- In the stimulated EEG, we found several cognition-related abnormalities, such as decreased responses to 12-Hz stimulation and decreased integral of beta- and gamma-band responses, indicative of decreased responsiveness to photic stimulation, as in AD patients.
Why it matters
This EEG study found that adults with Down syndrome who did not have dementia already showed brain wave patterns similar to those seen in Alzheimer's patients. The authors suggest these abnormalities are probably due to Alzheimer's brain changes, but the study did not test any treatment.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 29/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record and senior author's track record, so those were left out: it earned 27 of the 92 points we could judge it on, which is 29 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Dementia (Basel, Switzerland)) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1996 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 28 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.9 citations a year over 32 year(s) since 1996 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 1.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 2 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Patricia Hass holds only 5 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | University of North Dakota: institution h-index 305 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 8866678) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 27 / 92 | Scored on 18 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 27 of the 92 points we could judge it on is 29 out of 100. |
| Total | 29 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Later studies that cite this one
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