Resting-state slow wave power, healthy aging and cognitive performance

Eleni L Vlahou, Franka Thurm, Iris-Tatjana Kolassa, Winfried Schlee, Eleni L Vlahou, Franka Thurm, Iris-Tatjana Kolassa, Winfried Schlee

Abstract

Cognitive functions and spontaneous neural activity show significant changes over the life-span, but the interrelations between age, cognition and resting-state brain oscillations are not well understood. Here, we assessed performance on the Trail Making Test and resting-state magnetoencephalographic (MEG) recordings from 53 healthy adults (18-89 years old) to investigate associations between age-dependent changes in spontaneous oscillatory activity and cognitive performance. Results show that healthy aging is accompanied by a marked and linear decrease of resting-state activity in the slow frequency range (0.5-6.5 Hz). The effects of slow wave power on cognitive performance were expressed as interactions with age: For older (>54 years), but not younger participants, enhanced delta and theta power in temporal and central regions was positively associated with perceptual speed and executive functioning. Consistent with previous work, these findings substantiate further the important role of slow wave oscillations in neurocognitive function during healthy aging.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Topographic representation of the scalp distribution of Pearson product moment correlations between age and MEG power for slow-waves (0.5–6.5 Hz). Blue regions indicate negative correlations, red regions indicate positive correlations. The cluster of sensors showing significant linear decrease in MEG power with age (p = .009) is marked with white dots. (b) Scatterplot depicting linear correlations between cluster-averaged spectral power and chronological age (r = −.58, p < .001).
Figure 2. Scaled spectral power averaged over…
Figure 2. Scaled spectral power averaged over all sensors from the slow wave cluster.
Significant frequencies are shaded in gray. Participants were divided into a “younger” (n = 26, blue line) and an “older” (n = 27, red line) group by median split. Older participants exhibit reduced spectral power compared to younger for slow wave frequencies. The small peak at 16.6 Hz represents technical noise resulting from a railway system that operates in a distance of approximately 1 km to the lab.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) Illustration of the position of the selected sensor clusters for the five defined regions (Frontal, Central, Left Temporal, Right Temporal and Occipital). (b–d) Scatterplots depicting linear correlations between slow wave activity in temporal and central regions and performance (completion time) on the Trail Making Test, separately for “younger” (n = 26) and “older” (n = 27) participants (based on a median split). (b) Associations between performance on TMT-A and delta power (0.5–4 Hz) in the right temporal region. (c) Associations between performance on TMT-B and delta power in the central region. (d) Associations between performance on TMT-B and theta activity in the left temporal region.

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