Surface electromyography as a novel screening tool for early cognitive impairment: Exploring motor-cognitive interactions

BackgroundMotor changes precede the emergence of cognitive impairment (CI), and Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of CI.ObjectiveThe study aimed to investigate the characteristics of surface electromyography (sEMG) in patients with CI and explore the ability of sEMG for CI detection.Methods639 participants were enrolled, including 284 patients with CI, and 355 controls. A series of motor and cognitive assessment were conducted. The sEMG examination under single and dual-task patterns were performed.ResultsThe CI group exhibited significantly decreased motor function, including muscle bulk, swallowing, balance, and gait. Significant alterations of 20 sEMG features were detected in CI group compared to controls (p < 0.05), among them, the integrated electromyography feature of right gastrocnemius lateralis in dual-task was positively associated with plasma p-tau181 (r = 0.21, p = 0.017). Besides, the distinctive sEMG features were significantly correlated with cognitive scores (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the combination of single and dual-task sEMG model can effectively distinguish CI from controls with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.849, and the AUC reached 0.948 after combining with p-tau181.ConclusionsMotor dysfunction is common in patients with CI, and sEMG can serve as an effective tool for CI screening.