Who needs a crystal ball while you’ve got artificial intelligence?
Researchers at Mass General Brigham have developed a potentially game-changing AI tool able to detecting subtle changes in brain wave patterns that would predict cognitive decline years before symptoms appear.
“This might completely change how we approach dementia prevention,” said Dr. Shahab Haghayegh, lead creator of the study and an instructor at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Unlocking the secrets of brain waves
The AI tool works its magic by analyzing brain wave activity recorded during sleep using an electroencephalography (EEG) — a non-invasive technique that tracks electrical activity within the brain through sensors on the scalp.
The AI tool was developed using data from a separate trial on fracture risk, where women aged 65 and older took cognitive tests around the identical time they participated in a sleep study that included an overnight EEG.
Haghayegh and his team honed in on 281 participants who had normal cognitive function on the time of the initial sleep study, then repeated the identical cognitive tests five years later. By the second round of assessments, 96 of the ladies had developed cognitive impairment.
Researchers applied advanced information theory techniques to extract brainwave patterns from the EEG data collected through the sleep study. They then used AI to detect subtle changes in brain wave activity — especially in gamma band frequencies during deep sleep — amongst individuals who later developed cognitive impairment, even before symptoms surfaced.
The AI tool accurately flagged 85% of people who eventually experienced cognitive decline, with an overall accuracy of 77%.
“Using novel sophisticated analyses, advanced information theory tools and AI, we are able to detect subtle changes in brain wave patterns during sleep that signal future cognitive impairment, offering a window of opportunity for intervention years before symptoms appear,” Haghayegh said.
The promise of early intervention
A bit cognitive decline is par for the course as we age, with most individuals experiencing slower processing speed, memory lapses and trouble multitasking over time. But when it begins to interfere with each day life, it could be a red flag that something more serious is perhaps at play.
Research suggests that one in 10 US adults aged 65 and older have dementia, while one other 22% have mild cognitive impairment. Experts predict these numbers will rise significantly in the approaching years, largely driven by longer life expectancies and an aging population.
Because of the AI tool, early detection could give people beneficial time to make lifestyle changes — resembling exercising, staying mentally lively and eating a balanced weight-reduction plan — that will help preserve cognitive health before the results of impairment set in.
Early identification could also open the door for therapies and medications that slow disease progression or alleviate symptoms.
“The brand new, FDA-approved treatments for Alzheimer’s disease are effective at the sooner stages of dementia, but not the more advanced stages,” said Dr. Kun Hu, senior creator and physiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
“Interventions which might be performed even earlier — before someone shows signs of cognitive decline — are prone to be even simpler,” Hu added.
The research also paves the way in which for an exciting latest possibility: manipulating brain electrical activity to scale back the danger of cognitive decline.
Haghayegh and Hu are currently designing a clinical study to check whether electrical stimulation can alter EEG patterns during sleep.
Who needs a crystal ball while you’ve got artificial intelligence?
Researchers at Mass General Brigham have developed a potentially game-changing AI tool able to detecting subtle changes in brain wave patterns that would predict cognitive decline years before symptoms appear.
“This might completely change how we approach dementia prevention,” said Dr. Shahab Haghayegh, lead creator of the study and an instructor at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Unlocking the secrets of brain waves
The AI tool works its magic by analyzing brain wave activity recorded during sleep using an electroencephalography (EEG) — a non-invasive technique that tracks electrical activity within the brain through sensors on the scalp.
The AI tool was developed using data from a separate trial on fracture risk, where women aged 65 and older took cognitive tests around the identical time they participated in a sleep study that included an overnight EEG.
Haghayegh and his team honed in on 281 participants who had normal cognitive function on the time of the initial sleep study, then repeated the identical cognitive tests five years later. By the second round of assessments, 96 of the ladies had developed cognitive impairment.
Researchers applied advanced information theory techniques to extract brainwave patterns from the EEG data collected through the sleep study. They then used AI to detect subtle changes in brain wave activity — especially in gamma band frequencies during deep sleep — amongst individuals who later developed cognitive impairment, even before symptoms surfaced.
The AI tool accurately flagged 85% of people who eventually experienced cognitive decline, with an overall accuracy of 77%.
“Using novel sophisticated analyses, advanced information theory tools and AI, we are able to detect subtle changes in brain wave patterns during sleep that signal future cognitive impairment, offering a window of opportunity for intervention years before symptoms appear,” Haghayegh said.
The promise of early intervention
A bit cognitive decline is par for the course as we age, with most individuals experiencing slower processing speed, memory lapses and trouble multitasking over time. But when it begins to interfere with each day life, it could be a red flag that something more serious is perhaps at play.
Research suggests that one in 10 US adults aged 65 and older have dementia, while one other 22% have mild cognitive impairment. Experts predict these numbers will rise significantly in the approaching years, largely driven by longer life expectancies and an aging population.
Because of the AI tool, early detection could give people beneficial time to make lifestyle changes — resembling exercising, staying mentally lively and eating a balanced weight-reduction plan — that will help preserve cognitive health before the results of impairment set in.
Early identification could also open the door for therapies and medications that slow disease progression or alleviate symptoms.
“The brand new, FDA-approved treatments for Alzheimer’s disease are effective at the sooner stages of dementia, but not the more advanced stages,” said Dr. Kun Hu, senior creator and physiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
“Interventions which might be performed even earlier — before someone shows signs of cognitive decline — are prone to be even simpler,” Hu added.
The research also paves the way in which for an exciting latest possibility: manipulating brain electrical activity to scale back the danger of cognitive decline.
Haghayegh and Hu are currently designing a clinical study to check whether electrical stimulation can alter EEG patterns during sleep.
