Prestimulus alpha and beta contributions to equiprobable Go/NoGo processing in healthy ageing

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Gerontology

Background:

• Prestimulus electroencephalographic (EEG) states dynamically affect event-related potential (ERP) and behavioral outcomes.
• Age-related changes occur in both EEG and ERPs, but their dynamic interrelations during aging are under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how prestimulus alpha and beta brain states influence auditory event-related processing in young versus older adults.
• To map the dynamic interplay between prestimulus brain activity and cognitive performance across different age groups.

Main Methods:

• Assessed 20 young and 20 older adults using an auditory Go/NoGo task.
• Analyzed prestimulus alpha and beta band amplitudes to derive event-related potentials (ERPs) at varying prestimulus activity levels.
• Utilized Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to derive ERP components.

Main Results:

• Prestimulus alpha directly modulated Go/NoGo P3a amplitudes in both age groups.
• Prestimulus beta inversely modulated the NoGo N1-1 component in young adults compared to older adults.
• An inverse relationship was observed between prestimulus alpha and reaction time, a novel finding.

Conclusions:

• Prestimulus alpha and beta brain states significantly determine cognitive processing outcomes in a Go/NoGo task.
• The findings provide a normative map of age-related changes in dynamic brain-behavior interrelations.