Absolute and relative variability changes of the resting state brain rhythms from childhood and adolescence to young adulthood

• Published in: Neuroscience letters 2021-04, Vol.749, p.135747-135747, Article 135747
• Main Authors: Angulo-Ruiz, Brenda Y., Muñoz, Vanesa, Rodríguez-Martínez, Elena I., Gómez, Carlos M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Coefficient of variation; EEG signal variability; Open eyes and closed eyes; Power spectrum; Resting state; Standard deviation
• ISSN: 0304-3940; 1872-7972
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2021.135747

•The variability of the spontaneous EEG activity in open and closed eyes was analyzed.•The absolute variability of the PSD data shows a negative relationship with age.•The relative variability calculated with CV scores shows a positive relationship with age.•High-frequency bands CV scores are stable throughout the developmental course. The present report aimed to analyze the possible relationship of spontaneous EEG power variability across epochs in individual subjects (absolute and relative) with age. For this purpose, the resting state EEG of a sample of 258 healthy subjects (6–29 years old) in open and closed eyes experimental conditions were recorded. The power spectral density (PSD) was calculated from 0.5–45 Hz. Three electrodes with the highest PSD in each band were selected, and linear and inverse regression of the mean, standard deviation (SD), and coefficient of variation CV of the PSD vs age were computed. The results showed that the EEG absolute variability (SD) decreases with age, and in contrast, the relative variability (CV) increased, except for high frequencies in which it remains stable during maturation. We conclude that the variability in the EEG PSD when is not influenced by the mean PSD tends to increase from childhood and adolescence to young adulthood. Present results complement the extensive literature on changes of EEG power in different brain rhythms with the changes in EEG power variability during maturation.