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Resting-state EEG correlates of sustained attention in healthy ageing : Cross-sectional findings from the LEISURE study

Campbell, Alicia J. LU orcid ; Anijärv, Toomas Erik LU orcid ; Pace, Thomas ; Treacy, Ciara ; Lagopoulos, Jim ; Hermens, Daniel F. ; Levenstein, Jacob M. and Andrews, Sophie C. (2024) In Neurobiology of Aging 144. p.68-77
Abstract

While structural and biochemical brain changes are well-documented in ageing, functional neuronal network differences, as indicated by electrophysiological markers, are less clear. Moreover, age-related changes in sustained attention and their associated electrophysiological correlates are still poorly understood. To address this, we analysed cross-sectional baseline electroencephalography (EEG) and cognitive data from the Lifestyle Intervention Study for Dementia Risk Reduction (LEISURE). Participants were 96 healthy older adults, aged 50–84. We examined resting-state EEG periodic (individual alpha frequency [IAF], aperiodic-adjusted individual alpha power [aIAP]) and aperiodic (exponent and offset) activity, and their associations... (More)

While structural and biochemical brain changes are well-documented in ageing, functional neuronal network differences, as indicated by electrophysiological markers, are less clear. Moreover, age-related changes in sustained attention and their associated electrophysiological correlates are still poorly understood. To address this, we analysed cross-sectional baseline electroencephalography (EEG) and cognitive data from the Lifestyle Intervention Study for Dementia Risk Reduction (LEISURE). Participants were 96 healthy older adults, aged 50–84. We examined resting-state EEG periodic (individual alpha frequency [IAF], aperiodic-adjusted individual alpha power [aIAP]) and aperiodic (exponent and offset) activity, and their associations with age and sustained attention. Results showed associations between older age and slower IAF, but not aIAP or global aperiodic exponent and offset. Additionally, hierarchical linear regression revealed that after controlling for demographic variables, faster IAF was associated with better Sustained Attention to Response Task performance, and mediation analysis confirmed IAF as a mediator between age and sustained attention performance. These findings indicate that IAF may be an important marker of ageing, and a slower IAF may signal diminished cognitive processing capacity for sustained attention in older adults.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Age, Aperiodic, Cognition, Electroencephalography, Periodic
in
Neurobiology of Aging
volume
144
pages
10 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85204000143
  • pmid:39288668
ISSN
0197-4580
DOI
10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.09.005
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
bc9ee4a9-3fac-483c-b7b1-caedfae9c8e3
date added to LUP
2024-11-12 12:03:10
date last changed
2025-07-09 20:55:38
@article{bc9ee4a9-3fac-483c-b7b1-caedfae9c8e3,
  abstract     = {{<p>While structural and biochemical brain changes are well-documented in ageing, functional neuronal network differences, as indicated by electrophysiological markers, are less clear. Moreover, age-related changes in sustained attention and their associated electrophysiological correlates are still poorly understood. To address this, we analysed cross-sectional baseline electroencephalography (EEG) and cognitive data from the Lifestyle Intervention Study for Dementia Risk Reduction (LEISURE). Participants were 96 healthy older adults, aged 50–84. We examined resting-state EEG periodic (individual alpha frequency [IAF], aperiodic-adjusted individual alpha power [aIAP]) and aperiodic (exponent and offset) activity, and their associations with age and sustained attention. Results showed associations between older age and slower IAF, but not aIAP or global aperiodic exponent and offset. Additionally, hierarchical linear regression revealed that after controlling for demographic variables, faster IAF was associated with better Sustained Attention to Response Task performance, and mediation analysis confirmed IAF as a mediator between age and sustained attention performance. These findings indicate that IAF may be an important marker of ageing, and a slower IAF may signal diminished cognitive processing capacity for sustained attention in older adults.</p>}},
  author       = {{Campbell, Alicia J. and Anijärv, Toomas Erik and Pace, Thomas and Treacy, Ciara and Lagopoulos, Jim and Hermens, Daniel F. and Levenstein, Jacob M. and Andrews, Sophie C.}},
  issn         = {{0197-4580}},
  keywords     = {{Age; Aperiodic; Cognition; Electroencephalography; Periodic}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{68--77}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Neurobiology of Aging}},
  title        = {{Resting-state EEG correlates of sustained attention in healthy ageing : Cross-sectional findings from the LEISURE study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.09.005}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.09.005}},
  volume       = {{144}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}