With increasing age, peak alpha frequency (PAF) is slowed, and alpha power is reduced during resting-states with eyes closed. These age-related changes are evident across the whole scalp but remained unclear at the source level. The purpose of this study was to determine whether age impacts the power and frequency of the dominant alpha rhythm equally across source generators or whether the impact of age varies across sources. A total of 28 young adults and 26 elderly adults were recruited. High-density EEG was recorded for 10 mins with eyes closed. Single dipoles for each independent component were localized and clustered based on their anatomical label, resulting in 36 clusters. Meta-analyses were then conducted to assess effect sizes for PAF and power at PAF for all 36 clusters. Subgroup analyses were then implemented for frontal, sensorimotor, parietal, temporal, and occipital regions. The results of the meta-analyses showed that the elderly group exhibited slower PAF and less power at PAF compared to the young group. Subgroup analyses revealed age effects on PAF in parietal (g = 0.38), temporal (g = 0.65), and occipital regions (g = 1.04), with the largest effects observed in occipital regions. For power at PAF, age effects were observed in sensorimotor (g = 0.84) and parietal regions (g = 0.80), with the sensorimotor region showing the largest effect. Our findings show that age-related slowing and attenuation of the alpha rhythm manifests differentially across cortical regions, with sensorimotor and occipital regions most susceptible to age effects.

Skilled movements in motor learning result from efficiently controlling the many degrees of freedom in human movement. To acquire motor skills, harmonious coordination of body segments in time and space is crucial for accurate and consistent performance. The purpose of this study was to compare dribbling accuracy, consistency, and coordination patterns of body segments according to motor expertise and tempo. To achieve this, we had eight basketball experts and eight beginners perform static dribbling at three different speeds for 20 s. Force plates measured radial error while motion capture equipment measured the angular data of the right arm’s fingers, wrist, and elbow. The measurements obtained from the force plate were used to analyze the participants’ dribbling performance, including accuracy, consistency, and coordination patterns. The research results showed that there was no significant difference in dribbling accuracy according to skill level, but skilled players showed higher consistency in the anterior–posterior (AP) direction (p < 0.001). In the comparative analysis of coordination patterns, skilled players showed an in-phase structure, whereas beginners showed an anti-phase structure (elbow–wrist: p < 0.05; wrist–finger: p < 0.001; elbow–finger: p < 0.001). This study suggests that achieving proficiency in basketball dribbling requires a strategy that involves coordination of movements with an in-phase pattern for stability in performance.

This study examined the electroencephalograpy (EEG) coherence and working memory performance effects of a 9-week exercise program on a small group of adolescents at high suicide risk. We randomly assigned 26 adolescents at high suicide risk (based on their scores on the Adolescents Mental Health Inventory- AMHI) into equal sized exercise and no-exercise groups. Before and after the 9-week exercise program, all participants performed the Sternberg working memory task, during which we recorded their EEGs, with electrodes placed at F3, F4, C3, C4, P3, P4, T3, T4, O1, and O2 regions (using the International 10-20 system of EEG electrode placement). We measured working memory performance and inter-hemispheric (F3-F4, C3-C4, T3-T4, P3-P4, O1-O2) and intra-hemispheric (F3-C3, F3-T3, F3-P3, F3-O1, F4-C4, F4-T4, F4-P4, F4-O2) EEG coherence as an index of the participants’ underlying neural efficiency. While we found no significant group differences in working memory performances, the exercise group, relative to the no-exercise group, exhibited lower inter- and intra-hemispheric EEG coherence while performing the working memory task. These EEG differences may reflect a mediating effect of aerobic exercise on these participants’ neural efficiency.

Introduction: Pain intensity variability refers to the fluctuations in pain intensity levels experienced by an individual over time. Technological advances have simplified the use of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) paradigms for researchers and participants allowing for easier measurement of pain intensity variability by measuring pain intensity multiple times a day over several days. In this study, we used EMA to investigate the relationship between variability in pain intensity, mood, and fatigue and accuracy of recall in older adults. Methods: Twenty-six cognitively normal participants aged 60 and above completed EMA 3 times daily over 14 days, rating their pain intensity, mood, and fatigue using a smartphone application. On the 15th day, participants were asked to recall their average levels of these variables. Results: We found that greater variability in pain intensity was significantly associated with poorer recall accuracy, even when controlling for peak pain, end pain, and the number of painful areas. However, no significant associations were found between variability and recall accuracy for mood or fatigue. Conclusion: These results suggest that the difficulties with recall accuracy are specific to pain intensity and do not extend to mood or fatigue, highlighting the importance of considering pain intensity variability in understanding and managing pain in older adults.