EEG coherence reflects regional corpus callosum area in Alzheimer's disease

Objective: Correlations between corpus callosum size and interhemispheric EEG coherence were investigated as measures of interhemispheric connectivity in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Methods: 11 patients underwent both magnetic resonance imaging and quantitative electroencephalography to assess corpus callosum size and interhemispheric coherence. For comparison, corpus callosum size was measured in 24 healthy elderly control subjects. Results: Corpus callosum cross sectional area was significantly reduced in Alzheimer patients relative to controls. Posterior interhemispheric coherence (α and β frequencies) correlated significantly with the size of posterior corpus callosum area, and anterior coherence (δ, θ and α frequencies) with the size of anterior corpus callosum area in the Alzheimer patients. Conclusion: Region specific correlations between corpus callosum size and EEG coherence suggest that the decline in interhemispheric connectivity in Alzheimer's disease results from a specific loss of cortical association neurones projecting through the corpus callosum.