The neurophysiology of healthy and pathological aging: A comprehensive systematic review

Abstract

As the population of older adults grows, so does the prevalence of neurocognitive disorders such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. While biochemical, genetic, and neuroimaging biomarkers have accelerated early detection and diagnosis, neurophysiological measures are absent from daily medical use. Electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) are two non-invasive techniques that measure neurophysiological signals in the brain and convey information about signal strength at different frequency bands, event-related activity, signal complexity, and temporal correlation between spatially remote brain regions. Here we conducted a pre-registered, comprehensive systematic review of 942 studies using EEG, MEG, and combined MEG and EEG to characterise the neurophysiology of healthy aging, MCI, and dementia under resting-state and task conditions. To complement our search, we also reviewed 51 past reviews in the field. Relevant features of these papers were extracted to present a detailed overview of the current state of evidence. Overall, neurophysiological measures show great promise as diagnostic tools and could prove invaluable in predicting healthy and pathological aging trajectories. However, to reach this potential in clinical practice, it is crucial to adopt longitudinal designs, standardise methodologies, and identify biomarkers at the individual rather than group level.