Resting state EEG as a biomarker of Parkinson's disease: Influence of measurement conditions

Abstract

Resting state electroencephalographic (EEG) recording could provide cost-effective means to aid in the detection of neurological disorders such as Parkinsons disease (PD). We examined how many electrodes are needed for classification of PD based on EEG, which electrode locations provide most value for classification, and whether data recorded eyes open or closed yield comparable results. We used a nested cross-validated classifier which included a budget-based search algorithm for selecting the optimal electrodes for classification. By iterating over variable budgets, we show that with eyes open recording, only 10 electrodes, localized over motor and occipital areas enable relatively accurate classification (AUC = .82) between PD patients (N=20) and age-matched healthy control participants (N=20). Classification accuracy only slightly increased when all 64 electrodes were included (AUC = .85). With the data recorded eyes closed, classification was not statistically significantly above chance even with full set of 64 electrodes (AUC = .55). These results show that classification based on small number of EEG electrodes is a promising tool for classifying PD, but measurement conditions and electrode locations can have a significant effect on classifier performance.