RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Characterizing the middle-age neurophysiology using EEG/MEG
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.06.04.447084
DO 10.1101/2021.06.04.447084
A1 Justyna Gula
A1 Victoria Moiseeva
A1 Maria Herrojo Ruiz
A1 Marinella Cappelletti
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/06/06/2021.06.04.447084.abstract
AB Middle adulthood – the period of life between 40 and 60 years of age – is accompanied by important physical and emotional changes, as well as cognitive and neuronal ones. Nevertheless, middle age is often overlooked in neuroscience under the assumption that this is a time of relative stability, although cognitive decline, as well as changes in brain structure and function are well-established by the age of 60.Here we characterized the middle-aged brain in the context of healthy younger and older adults by assessing resting-state electrophysiological and neuromagnetic activity in two different samples (N = 179, 631). Alpha and beta oscillations – two key ageing signatures – were analyzed in terms of spectral power and burst events. While posterior alpha power and burst rate features changed linearly with age, similarly to behavioral measures, sensorimotor beta power and burst rate properties varied non-linearly, with inflection points during middle age. The findings suggest that ageing is characterized by distinct spatial and temporal brain dynamics, some critically arising in middle age.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.