Premium
Peak individual alpha frequency qualifies as a stable neurophysiological trait marker in healthy younger and older adults
Author(s) -
Grandy Thomas H.,
WerkleBergner Markus,
Chicherio Christian,
Schmiedek Florian,
Lövdén Martin,
Lindenberger Ulman
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/psyp.12043
Subject(s) - psychology , cognition , trait , electroencephalography , alpha (finance) , audiology , neurophysiology , psychological intervention , developmental psychology , cognitive test , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , clinical psychology , psychometrics , neuroscience , psychiatry , medicine , cronbach's alpha , computer science , programming language
The individual alpha frequency ( IAF ) of the human EEG reflects systemic properties of the brain, is highly heritable, and relates to cognitive functioning. Not much is known about the modifiability of IAF by cognitive interventions. We report analyses of resting EEG from a large‐scale training study in which healthy younger (20–31 years, N = 30) and older (65–80 years, N = 28) adults practiced 12 cognitive tasks for ∼100 1‐h sessions. EEG was recorded before and after the cognitive training intervention. In both age groups, IAF (and, in a control analysis, alpha amplitude) did not change, despite large gains in cognitive performance. As within‐session reliability and test‐retest stability were high for both age groups, imprecise measurements cannot account for the findings. In sum, IAF is highly stable in healthy adults up to 80 years, not easily modifiable by cognitive interventions alone, and thus qualifies as a stable neurophysiological trait marker.