Monitoring the Cortical Activity of Children and Adults during Cognitive Task Completion

In this paper, we used an EEG system to monitor and analyze the cortical activity of children and adults at a sensor level during cognitive tasks in the form of a Schulte table. This complex cognitive task simultaneously involves several cognitive processes and systems: visual search, working memory, and mental arithmetic. We revealed that adults found numbers on average two times faster than children in the beginning. However, this difference diminished at the end of table completion to 1.8 times. In children, the EEG analysis revealed high parietal alpha-band power at the end of the task. This indicates the shift from procedural strategy to less demanding fact-retrieval. In adults, the frontal beta-band power increased at the end of the task. It reflects enhanced reliance on the top–down mechanisms, cognitive control, or attentional modulation rather than a change in arithmetic strategy. Finally, the alpha-band power of adults exceeded one of the children in the left hemisphere, providing potential evidence for the fact-retrieval strategy. Since the completion of the Schulte table involves a whole set of elementary cognitive functions, the obtained results were essential for developing passive brain–computer interfaces for monitoring and adjusting a human state in the process of learning and solving cognitive tasks of various types.

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Corticomuscular coherence with and without additional task in the elderly

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/japplphysiol.01079.2011 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 112 (6) ◽

pp. 970-981 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Ashley N. Johnson ◽

Minoru Shinohara

Keyword(s):

Motor Performance ◽

Cognitive Task ◽

Cognitive Tasks ◽

Fine Motor ◽

Alpha Band ◽

Elderly Adults ◽

Beta Band ◽

Dual Tasks ◽

Corticomuscular Coherence ◽

Fine Motor Performance

Aging and dual-task paradigms often degrade fine motor performance, but the effects of aging on correlated neural activity between motor cortex and contracting muscle are unknown during dual tasks requiring fine motor performance. The purpose of this study was to compare corticomuscular coherence between young and elderly adults during the performance of a unilateral fine motor task and concurrent motor and cognitive tasks. Twenty-nine healthy young (18–38 yr) and elderly (61–75 yr) adults performed unilateral motor, bilateral motor, concurrent motor-cognitive, and cognitive tasks. Peak corticomuscular coherence between the electroencephalogram from the primary motor cortex and surface electromyogram from the first dorsal interosseous muscle was compared during steady abduction of the index finger with visual feedback. In the alpha-band (8–14 Hz), corticomuscular coherence was greater in elderly than young adults especially during the motor-cognitive task. The beta-band (15–32 Hz) corticomuscular coherence was higher in elderly than young adults across unilateral motor and dual tasks. In addition, beta-band corticomuscular coherence in the motor-cognitive task was negatively correlated with motor output error across young but not elderly adults. The results suggest that 1) corticomuscular coherence was increased in senior age with a greater influence of an additional cognitive task in the alpha-band and 2) individuals with greater beta-band corticomuscular coherence may exhibit more accurate motor output in young, but not elderly adults, during steady contraction with visual feedback.

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Sex-related features of walking with cognitive tasks

Reports of Morphology ◽

10.31393/morphology-journal-2019-25(2)-01 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 5-15

Author(s):

V.M. Moroz ◽

M.V. Yoltukhivskyy ◽

O.V. Vlasenko ◽

G.S. Moskovko ◽

O.V. Bogomaz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cycle Time ◽

Cognitive Task ◽

Parametric Estimation ◽

Estimation Methods ◽

Cognitive Tasks ◽

Double Support ◽

Temporal Parameters ◽

Complex Cognitive Task ◽

Swing Time ◽

Support Time

The organization of walking and its disorders remain one of the most difficult sections of the physiology of the nervous system and neurology. The purpose of the work is to analyze the sexual features of the spatio-temporal parameters of the person walking and the directions of their changes in the conditions of performing additional cognitive tasks. Sex-related features of human walking with cognitive tasks are investigated. 608 individuals of both sexes aged 12-43 years were examined by GAITRite®. Consistent naming of animals and consistent subtraction of 7 starting at 100 were used as cognitive tasks. Statistical processing of the obtained results was performed in the license package “STATISTICA 5.5” using parametric estimation methods. At performing the first (simpler) cognitive task in all age groups of men step length, stride length, step extremity ratio, support base, toe-in-out were increased. Temporal parameters in adolescents of both genders did not differ. Girls have longer step time, cycle time, single support, swing time and a slower velocity. The integral index of walking quality (FAP) tended to decrease in all examined groups: in adolescent males by 13.3±3.9 %; in young men by 14.6±2.2 %; in adolescent women by 15.3±1.8 %; in young women by 14.4±1.1 %; in middle-aged women 7.3±4.8 %. Boys and girls performed more complex cognitive tasks with reduced spatial and temporal parameters (primarily by increasing the double support and swing time), the support base and toe-in-out were stable. The step cycle was rebuilt. The support base and toe-in-out remained unchanged both in boys and girls. The boys were moving at a faster velocity, taking more steps per minute. The step time right, cycle time for each leg, single support time and double support time in girls lasted much longer. FAP declined sharply by 30.4 % in boys and by 33.4 % in girls, indicating a major reorganization of basic mechanisms for regulating walking stability. Such a decrease in FAP leads to a decrease in the level of the balance maintaining and a decrease in body stability during movement, which means that it increases the risk of falls. A complex cognitive task led to a decrease in walking performance and a more critical decrease in the quality of walking in favor of moving forward and maintaining the balance. Thus, walking is not an automated process, but requires the use of a variety of additional CNS resources, primarily attention and cognitive resources.

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Brain activity during complex cognitive task completion: comparative study of children and adults

10.1109/dcna53427.2021.9587324 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Marina V. Khramova ◽

Alexander K. Kuc ◽

Vladimir A. Maksimenko ◽

Nikita S. Frolov ◽

Vadim V. Grubov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Comparative Study ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Cognitive Task ◽

Task Completion ◽

Complex Cognitive Task

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Contribution of alpha band harmonics to beta band power in the fourier analysis of the EEG in normal subjects: Quantification through regression analysis

Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology ◽

10.1016/0013-4694(90)92046-y ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 75 ◽

pp. S90-S91

Author(s):

M.G. Marciani ◽

N. Stefani ◽

F. Stefanini ◽

C. Baggio ◽

E. Palin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Regression Analysis ◽

Fourier Analysis ◽

Normal Subjects ◽

Alpha Band ◽

Beta Band ◽

Band Power

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Effects of Concurrent Motor, Linguistic, or Cognitive Tasks on Speech Motor Performance

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/1092-4388(2003/096) ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 46 (5) ◽

pp. 1234-1246 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Christopher Dromey ◽

April Benson

Keyword(s):

Motor Performance ◽

Mental Arithmetic ◽

Cognitive Task ◽

Motor Task ◽

Spatiotemporal Variability ◽

Cognitive Tasks ◽

Human Communication ◽

Experimental Conditions ◽

Lower Lip ◽

Speech Motor

This study examined the influence of 3 different types of concurrent tasks on speech motor performance. The goal was to uncover potential differences in speech movements relating to the nature of the secondary task. Twenty young adults repeated sentences either with or without simultaneous distractor activities. These distractions included a motor task (putting together washers, nuts, and bolts), a linguistic task (generating verbs from nouns), and a cognitive task (performing mental arithmetic). Lip movement data collected during the experimental conditions revealed decreases in displacement and velocity during the motor task. The linguistic and cognitive tasks were associated with increased spatiotemporal variability and increases in the strength of the negative correlations between upper and lower lip displacements. These findings show that distractor tasks during speech can have a significant influence on several labial kinematic measures. This suggests that the balance of neural resources allocated to different aspects of human communication may shift according to situational demands.

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The Cortical Dynamics of Dual-Task Standing in Older Adults

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.276 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 72-73

Author(s):

Melike Kahya ◽

On-Yee Lo ◽

Junhong Zhou ◽

Alvaro Pascual-Leone ◽

Lewis Lipsitz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Dual Task ◽

Postural Sway ◽

Cognitive Task ◽

Quiet Standing ◽

Power Ratio ◽

Alpha Band ◽

Dual Tasking ◽

Band Power ◽

Beta Power

Abstract In older adults, the extent to which performing a cognitive task when standing diminishes postural control is predictive of future falls and cognitive decline. The cortical control of such “dual-tasking,” however, remains poorly understood. Electroencephalogram (EEG) studies have demonstrated that the level of attention and cognitive inhibitory activity during cognitive task performance can be quantified by changes in brain activity in specific frequency bands; namely, an increase in theta/beta ratio and a decrease in alpha-band power, respectively. We hypothesized that in older adults, dual-tasking would increase theta/beta ratio and decrease alpha-band power, and, that greater alpha-band power during quiet standing would predict worse dual-task performance. To test this hypothesis, we recorded postural sway and EEG (32-channels) in 30 older adults without overt disease as they completed trials of standing, with and without verbalized serial subtractions, on four separate visits. Postural sway speed, as well as absolute theta/beta power ratio and alpha-band power, were calculated. The theta/beta power ratio and alpha-band power demonstrated high test-retest reliability during quiet and dual-task standing across visits (intra-class correlation coefficients >0.70). Compared with quiet standing, dual-tasking increased theta/beta power ratio (p<0.0001) and decreased alpha-band power (p=0.002). Participants who exhibited greater alpha-band power during quiet standing demonstrated a greater dual-task cost (i.e., percent increase, indicative of worse performance) to postural sway speed (r=0.3, p=0.01). These results suggest that in older adults, dual-tasking while standing increases EEG-derived metrics related to attention, and, that greater cognitive inhibitory activity during quiet standing is associated with worse dual-task standing performance.

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Pre‐stimulus alpha‐band power and phase fluctuations originate from different neural sources and exert distinct impact on stimulus‐evoked responses

European Journal of Neuroscience ◽

10.1111/ejn.15138 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Agnese Zazio ◽

Philipp Ruhnau ◽

Nathan Weisz ◽

Andreas Wutz

Keyword(s):

Evoked Responses ◽

Alpha Band ◽

Phase Fluctuations ◽

Band Power

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Sensor-Level Wavelet Analysis Reveals EEG Biomarkers of Perceptual Decision-Making

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21072461 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (7) ◽

pp. 2461

Author(s):

Alexander Kuc ◽

Vadim V. Grubov ◽

Vladimir A. Maksimenko ◽

Natalia Shusharina ◽

Alexander N. Pisarchik ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Sensory Information ◽

Stimulus Onset ◽

Perceptual Process ◽

Perceptual Decision Making ◽

Beta Band ◽

Perceptual Decision ◽

Time Frequency ◽

Band Power ◽

Sensory Features

Perceptual decision-making requires transforming sensory information into decisions. An ambiguity of sensory input affects perceptual decisions inducing specific time-frequency patterns on EEG (electroencephalogram) signals. This paper uses a wavelet-based method to analyze how ambiguity affects EEG features during a perceptual decision-making task. We observe that parietal and temporal beta-band wavelet power monotonically increases throughout the perceptual process. Ambiguity induces high frontal beta-band power at 0.3–0.6 s post-stimulus onset. It may reflect the increasing reliance on the top-down mechanisms to facilitate accumulating decision-relevant sensory features. Finally, this study analyzes the perceptual process using mixed within-trial and within-subject design. First, we found significant percept-related changes in each subject and then test their significance at the group level. Thus, observed beta-band biomarkers are pronounced in single EEG trials and may serve as control commands for brain-computer interface (BCI).

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EEG Activity during Relaxation and Food Imagery

Imagination Cognition and Personality ◽

10.2190/v87x-bpb3-hm1g-fe4r ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 201-208 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Tyler S. Lorig ◽

Gary E. Schwartz

Keyword(s):

Relaxation Training ◽

Mental Arithmetic ◽

Ecological Validity ◽

Cognitive Tasks ◽

Factor Activity ◽

Period Analysis ◽

Eeg Activity

EEG activity was recorded in nine volunteer subjects while they engaged in eight cognitive tasks. The tasks involved mental arithmetic, relaxation imagery, food imagery and imagery related to “neutral” stimuli (bicycle and automobile). Period analysis of the EEG indicated significant differences in EEG factor activity related to tension and anxiety for the subtraction, relaxation and food imagery trials. Imagery of heaviness and the subject's favorite dessert produced EEG factor activity most characteristic of relaxation. Results of this study are discussed in terms of the relation of odor to food imagery and the ecological validity of the use of food imagery in relaxation training.

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