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Age-related changes in EEG coherence
Affiliations- Department of Neurology, Charles University in Prague, Faculty Hospital Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
- Department of Computing and Control Engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology, Prague, Czech Republic
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Prague, Czech Republic
- Neurocenter Caregroup, Rychnov nad Kneznou, Czech Republic
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Abstract
Coherence changes can reflect the pathophysiological processes involved in human ageing. We conducted a retrospective population study that sought to analyze the age-related changes in EEG coherence in a group of 17,722 healthy professional drivers.
Materials and methodsThe EEGs were obtained using a standard 10–20 electrode configuration on the scalp. The recordings from 19 scalp electrodes were taken while the participants’ eyes were closed. The linear correlations between the age and coherence were estimated by linear regression analysis.
ResultsOur results showed a significant decrease in coherence with age in the theta and alpha bands, and there was an increasing coherence with the beta bands. The most prominent changes occurred in the alpha bands. The delta bands contained movement artefacts, which most likely do not change with age.
ConclusionsThe age-related EEG desynchrony can be partly explained by the age-related reduction of cortical connectivity. Higher frequencies of oscillations require less cortical area of high coherence. These findings explain why the lowest average coherence values were observed in the beta and sigma bands, as well as why the beta bands show borderline statistical significance and the sigma bands show non-significance. The age-dependent decrease in coherence may influence the estimation of age-related changes in EEG energy due to phase cancellation.
Abstract
Coherence changes can reflect the pathophysiological processes involved in human ageing. We conducted a retrospective population study that sought to analyze the age-related changes in EEG coherence in a group of 17,722 healthy professional drivers.
Materials and methodsThe EEGs were obtained using a standard 10–20 electrode configuration on the scalp. The recordings from 19 scalp electrodes were taken while the participants’ eyes were closed. The linear correlations between the age and coherence were estimated by linear regression analysis.
ResultsOur results showed a significant decrease in coherence with age in the theta and alpha bands, and there was an increasing coherence with the beta bands. The most prominent changes occurred in the alpha bands. The delta bands contained movement artefacts, which most likely do not change with age.
ConclusionsThe age-related EEG desynchrony can be partly explained by the age-related reduction of cortical connectivity. Higher frequencies of oscillations require less cortical area of high coherence. These findings explain why the lowest average coherence values were observed in the beta and sigma bands, as well as why the beta bands show borderline statistical significance and the sigma bands show non-significance. The age-dependent decrease in coherence may influence the estimation of age-related changes in EEG energy due to phase cancellation.
Keywords
Coherence, Ageing, Normal values, Electroencephalogram
About this articleTitle
Age-related changes in EEG coherence
Journal
Neurologia i Neurochirurgia Polska
Issue
Pages
35-38
Page views
845
Article views/downloads
1063
DOI
10.1016/j.pjnns.2013.09.001
Bibliographic record
Neurol Neurochir Pol 2014;48(1):35-38.
Keywords
Coherence
Ageing
Normal values
Electroencephalogram
Authors
Oldrich Vysata
Jaromir Kukal
Ales Prochazka
Ladislav Pazdera
Julius Simko
Martin Valis
