Rome, 29 December 2025 – Despite harboring biological risk factors and altered biomarkers, a surprising number of individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) don’t develop dementia, showcasing a remarkable ability to resist disease progression.
New research from Italy confirms this phenomenon, employing a especially innovative approach to understanding cognitive resilience. The findings are detailed in the article “Electroencephalography-based signatures of cognitive resilience in individuals with stable mild cognitive impairment despite carrying a high-risk for dementia,” published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
What the Study Reveals
Table of Contents
The study, led by biomedical engineer and researcher Chiara Pappalettera at the IRCCS San Raffaele in Rome, is part of the INTERCEPTOR project, a large research program initiated in 2018 and funded by the Ministry of Health and the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA).The project focuses on identifying the early mechanisms that lead to dementia advancement.
“The research – explains Prof. paolo Maria Rossini, director of the Department of Neuroscience at the Roman Institute and head of Interceptor – involved 351 subjects with mild cognitive impairment followed for three years.” Participants underwent complete evaluations, including CSF and plasma biomarkers (amyloid and tau), genetic analysis (APOE), neuroimaging (magnetic resonance imaging and PET scans), electroencephalograms with brain connectivity studies, neuropsychological tests, and thorough clinical assessments.
Results After Three Years
After three years of follow-up, approximately a third of the patients developed dementia, with 22% receiving a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.However, over 52% of those with two altered risk biomarkers – hippocampal volume measured by MRI and PET – showed no progression to dementia.
“It was at this point that we asked ourselves the crucial question,” continues Rossini, “why do subjects with mild cognitive disorder, already at risk and with altered biomarkers, not develop the disease?”
To address this, researchers compared the electroencephalograms of patients who developed dementia with those who remained clinically stable, termed “stable resilient.” Analysis of brain connectivity revealed distinctive EEG patterns in the resilient subjects.
“We observed increased capacity for synchronization and connection of the frontal lobes to specific brain rhythms, as if these areas where strongly interconnected,” explains rossini. “Moreover, we found significant differences in the relationship between alpha and delta rhythms, particularly in the right temporal lobe. The alpha rhythm is characteristic of an alert and relaxed brain, while delta is more representative of deep sleep phases.”
