EEG markers of attention sustainability detected in neuropsychological testing in different age groups

This article presents the results of studies of physical processes in brain activity in patients of different age groups under strictly controlled experimental conditions. The patients selected for the study showed signs of normal age-related aging processes, being physically and socially active. We excluded from the study patients with anxiety disorder and depression, as capable of significantly altering brain activity and cognitive control. All 60 patients were divided into three age groups—middle-aged to elderly, according to WHO classification. The mathematical study was designed to look for changes in brain activity during neuropsychological testing with increasing age of the patients. Assuming that in functionally successful normal aging, such changes will keep some electrophysiological structure in brain activity unchanged, and independent of the patient’s age, we evaluated the quantitative characteristics of oscillatory patterns in a set of standard bands for each of the patients and performed statistical analysis of the obtained patterns. As a result of the study, we identified a narrow zone of the left hemisphere characterized by stability and low variability of brain activity in all three age groups. In addition, brain activity in the right hemisphere changes significantly from age to age, characterized by maximum variability when reaching old age (over 60 years). The presented results provide a promising basis for further studies, in particular, repeated performance of these assessments in age-matched patients with similar independent control of their cognitive and emotional status. Thus, the method of estimating the number of oscillatory patterns in different frequency ranges of electroencephalographic recordings represents an opportunity for additional research in neurogeriatrics.