Aging amplifies sex differences in low alpha and low beta EEG oscillations

Han, Chuanliang; Cheung, Vincent C.K.; Chan, Rosa H.M. · 2024 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.31.603949

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Summary

This study addresses the unresolved question of how biological sex and age jointly influence neural oscillations, a gap that has led to inconsistent findings in previous electroencephalography (EEG) research. Prior studies often suffered from limited sample sizes and failed to adequately control for age, obscuring the true nature of sex-based variability in brain function. The authors aimed to characterize these differences across the lifespan and explore their potential functional implications by leveraging large-scale, publicly available datasets. The researchers analyzed resting-state data from five public datasets, comprising 445 scalp EEG recordings and 103 intracranial EEG (iEEG) recordings. The primary analysis utilized the Max Planck Institute (MPI) dataset, dividing participants into young adults (20–30 years) and older adults (30–80 years). Findings were validated using three additional EEG datasets (Southwest University, Healthy Brain Network, and SRM) and corroborated with deep brain recordings from the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) iEEG dataset. Power spectral density was computed using the multi-taper method, focusing on low alpha (8–9 Hz) and low beta (16–20 Hz) frequency bands. Statistical analyses included two-way ANOVAs and t-tests to examine interactions between sex and age, alongside correlation analyses with anthropometric and lifestyle measures. The results revealed striking age-dependent sex differences. In young adults, no significant sex differences in relative power were observed in either low alpha or low beta bands. However, in older adults, robust sex-specific patterns emerged: males exhibited heightened low alpha activity in temporal-parietal regions, while females showed attenuated low beta oscillations in parietal-occipital areas. These scalp-level findings were supported by iEEG data, which identified consistent sex-related activity in the precentral gyrus, suggesting a neural substrate for the observed differences. Furthermore, in older adults, low beta power in females correlated positively with hip circumference and body mass index, while alcohol consumption scores showed significant associations with both low alpha and low beta power across groups. The study concludes that aging amplifies sex differences in specific neural oscillatory bands, highlighting the critical importance of considering demographic variables in EEG research design. By bridging scalp and intracranial observations, the authors provide a more comprehensive understanding of sex-related neural dynamics. These findings suggest that sex and age are key sources of inter-individual variability in brain function, with implications for improving the fairness and accuracy of cognitive neuroscience studies and EEG-based diagnostics. The associations with lifestyle factors further indicate that neural oscillations may serve as indicators of health-related behaviors in aging populations.

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