Frontal-posterior coherence and cognitive function in older adults.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Reliable measurement of brain health is crucial for early diagnosis of cognitive decline.
• Cognitive domains like memory and executive function are significantly impacted by aging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between electroencephalography (EEG) coherence and neuropsychological measures of memory and executive function.
• To explore EEG coherence in delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands.

Main Methods:

• Recorded resting-state EEG data from 66 participants (mean age 67.15 years).
• Calculated EEG coherence for frontal-frontal, frontal-posterior electrode pairs across five frequency bands.
• Administered a neuropsychological battery assessing memory and executive function.

Main Results:

• Positive correlation between frontal EEG coherence and memory/executive function in delta and beta bands.
• Inverse correlation between frontal-posterior EEG coherence and working memory performance (Digit Span Sequencing) in the theta band.
• EEG coherence shows a stronger link to cognitive function than spectral power.

Conclusions:

• EEG coherence is a promising biomarker for assessing cognitive function and changes associated with aging.
• Further research could establish EEG coherence as a broad diagnostic tool for cognitive ability.
• This study highlights the utility of EEG coherence over spectral power for cognitive assessment.