Frequency variation of alpha-band oscillations on the electroencephalogram of healthy subjects
ORIGINAL PAPERS
Abstract
Introduction. Alpha activity is the dominant rhythm of the brain, formed by 14–16 years of age with an individual stable frequency for each person, on average about 10 Hz. Fluctuations of the alpha range, on the one hand, reflect the activity of inhibition processes in the brain, on the other hand, are associated with the potential ability of the brain to cognitive activity. The aim of the study was to investigate the peculiarities of the frequency characteristics of the alpha rhythm and its representation in occipital electroencephalogram (EEG) recording points in a population of practically healthy adults in the north-west of Russia. Materials and methods. EEG was registered in practically healthy adult population of St. Petersburg (n=106), 62 women and 44 men. The mean age of the subjects was 44.5 (SD=17.7). EEG was recorded according to the International system “10-20”. The software and hardware complex “Mizar-EEG-202” (Russia) was used in the work. Statistical processing was carried out in SPSS program, version 27. Results. Reduction of the average frequency of alpha rhythm in occipital leads of both hemispheres up to 9 Hz, reduction of its representation in occipital leads up to 13–15% was established. Decrease of alpha rhythm frequency is more characteristic for young age (less than 40 years) — 8.83±0.21 Hz. Conclusion. New peculiarities of functional activity of the brain in the form of alpha rhythm frequency reduction and loss of its dominance in occipital leads have been revealed, which is considered as a change in inhibitory activity of the brain and related disturbance of sensory processing of signals.
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