From swing to cane: Sex differences of EEG resting-state temporal patterns during maturation and aging

Abstract

While many insights on brain development and aging have been gained by studying resting-state networks with fMRI, relating these changes to cognitive functions is limited by the temporal resolution of fMRI. In order to better grasp short-lasting and dynamically changing mental activities, an increasing number of studies utilize EEG to define resting-state networks, thereby often using the concept of EEG microstates. These are brief (around 100 ms) periods of stable scalp potential fields that are influenced by cognitive states and are sensitive to neuropsychiatric diseases. Despite the rising popularity of the EEG microstate approach, information about age changes is sparse and nothing is known about sex differences. Here we investigated age and sex related changes of the temporal dynamics of EEG microstates in 179 healthy individuals (6-87 years old, 90 females, 204-channel EEG). We show strong sex-specific changes in microstate dynamics during adolescence as well as at older age. In addition, males and females differ in the duration and occurrence of specific microstates. These results are of relevance for the comparison of studies in populations of different age and sex and for the understanding of the changes in neuropsychiatric diseases.

Keywords: Aging; Brain development; EEG microstates; Lifespan; Sex.

Fig. 1

(1) Results of the sex x microstate class ANOVAs for mean duration (a) and occurrence (b). Significant post hoc t-tests are indicated by asterisks above horizontal black bars. Vertical bars represent standard deviations (SD). (2) The two graphs depict the age- and sex differences of microstate C duration (a) and D occurrence (b). The results for microstates A and B can be found in the Supplementary Fig. S1. Significant post-hoc t-test results between age groups are marked above the horizontal bars (red: females, blue: males, black: both sex). Asterisks above the SD bars depict the significant sex differences for each age group (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article).

Fig. 2

(1) Age by microstate transition results are shown on left part of the graph. Asterisks above colored bars depict significant post-hoc t-tests. (2) The same transition pairs are shown in the right panel, this time indicating significant sex differences. Sex by microstate transitions and significant post-hoc t-tests results are depicted by asterisks above standard deviation bars.