Alterations in rhythmic and non‐rhythmic resting‐state EEG activity and their link to cognition in older age
Elena Cesnaite,
Paul Steinfath,
Mina Jamshidi Idaji,
Tilman Stephani,
Deniz Kumral,
Stefan Haufe,
Christian Sander,
Tilman Hensch,
Ulrich Hegerl,
Steffi Riedel-Heller,
Susanne Röhr,
Matthias L. Schroeter,
A．Veronica Witte,
Arno Villringer,
Vadim V. Nikulin
Affiliations
Elena Cesnaite
Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Corresponding author.
Paul Steinfath
Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; International Max Planck Research School NeuroCom, Leipzig, Germany
Mina Jamshidi Idaji
Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; International Max Planck Research School NeuroCom, Leipzig, Germany; Machine Learning Group, Technical University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Tilman Stephani
Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; International Max Planck Research School NeuroCom, Leipzig, Germany
Deniz Kumral
Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Psychology, Neuropsychology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany; Institute of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Unit, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Stefan Haufe
Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Christian Sander
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany; LIFE – Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Tilman Hensch
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany; LIFE – Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; IUBH International University, Erfurt, Germany
Ulrich Hegerl
LIFE – Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
Steffi Riedel-Heller
LIFE – Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Susanne Röhr
LIFE – Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Matthias L. Schroeter
Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Clinic of Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
A．Veronica Witte
Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Clinic of Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Arno Villringer
Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Clinic of Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Vadim V. Nikulin
Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
While many structural and biochemical changes in the brain have previously been associated with older age, findings concerning functional properties of neuronal networks, as reflected in their electrophysiological signatures, remain rather controversial. These discrepancies might arise due to several reasons, including diverse factors determining general spectral slowing in the alpha frequency range as well as amplitude mixing between the rhythmic and non-rhythmic parameters. We used a large dataset (N = 1703, mean age 70) to comprehensively investigate age-related alterations in multiple EEG biomarkers taking into account rhythmic and non-rhythmic activity and their individual contributions to cognitive performance. While we found strong evidence for an individual alpha peak frequency (IAF) decline in older age, we did not observe a significant relationship between theta power and age while controlling for IAF. Not only did IAF decline with age, but it was also positively associated with interference resolution in a working memory task primarily in the right and left temporal lobes suggesting its functional role in information sampling. Critically, we did not detect a significant relationship between alpha power and age when controlling for the 1/f spectral slope, while the latter one showed age-related alterations. These findings thus suggest that the entanglement of IAF slowing and power in the theta frequency range, as well as 1/f slope and alpha power measures, might explain inconsistencies reported previously in the literature. Finally, despite the absence of age-related alterations, alpha power was negatively associated with the speed of processing in the right frontal lobe while 1/f slope showed no consistent relationship to cognitive performance. Our results thus demonstrate that multiple electrophysiological features, as well as their interplay, should be considered for the comprehensive assessment of association between age, neuronal activity, and cognitive performance.
