Characterizing the middle-age neurophysiology using EEG/MEG

Middle adulthood – the period of life between 40 and 60 years of age – is accompanied by important
physical and emotional changes, as well as cognitive and neuronal ones. Nevertheless, middle age is
often overlooked in neuroscience under the assumption that this is a time of relative stability, although
cognitive decline, as well as changes in brain structure and function are well-established by the age of
60.
Here we characterized the middle-aged brain in the context of healthy younger and older adults by
assessing resting-state electrophysiological and neuromagnetic activity in two different samples (N =
179, 631). Alpha and beta oscillations – two key ageing signatures – were analyzed in terms of
spectral power and burst events. While posterior alpha power and burst rate features changed linearly
with age, similarly to behavioral measures, sensorimotor beta power and burst rate properties varied
non-linearly, with inflection points during middle age. The findings suggest that ageing is
characterized by distinct spatial and temporal brain dynamics, some critically arising in middle age.