title: Resting-state slow wave power, healthy aging and cognitive performance.
abstract: Cognitive functions and spontaneous neural activity show significant changes over the life-span, but the interrelations between age, cognition and resting-state brain oscillations are not well understood. Here, we assessed performance on the Trail Making Test and resting-state magnetoencephalographic (MEG) recordings from 53 healthy adults (18-89 years old) to investigate associations between age-dependent changes in spontaneous oscillatory activity and cognitive performance. Results show that healthy aging is accompanied by a marked and linear decrease of resting-state activity in the slow frequency range (0.5-6.5 Hz). The effects of slow wave power on cognitive performance were expressed as interactions with age: For older (>54 years), but not younger participants, enhanced delta and theta power in temporal and central regions was positively associated with perceptual speed and executive functioning. Consistent with previous work, these findings substantiate further the important role of slow wave oscillations in neurocognitive function during healthy aging.
authors.affiliation: Clinical & Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology & Education, University of Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Eleni L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Vlahou
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, TU Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Franka
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Thurm
authors.affiliation: 1] Clinical & Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology & Education, University of Ulm, Germany [2] Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Germany.
authors.forename: Iris-Tatjana
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Kolassa
authors.affiliation: 1] Clinical & Biological Psychology, Institute of Psychology & Education, University of Ulm, Germany [2] Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Germany.
authors.forename: Winfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schlee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged