AI Summary
The key points of the content are: - Alpha rhythm is the strongest electrophysiological rhythm in awake humans at rest. - Variations in alpha rhythm can be observed during development, with an increase in alpha frequency over childhood and adulthood. - The hypothesis tested in this research is that changes in alpha rhythm are related to the maturation of visual white matter pathways. - The researchers used a large dataset of diffusion MRI (dMRI) and EEG scans of children and adolescents (age range, 5–21 years old). - The results showed that the maturation of the optic radiation specifically accounts for developmental changes in alpha frequency. - Behavioral analyses also confirmed that variations in alpha frequency are related to maturational changes in visual perception. - The findings demonstrate the close link between developmental variations in white matter tissue properties, electrophysiological responses, and behavior.
Alpha is the strongest electrophysiological rhythm in awake humans at rest. Despite its predominance in the EEG signal, large variations can be observed in alpha properties during development, with an increase in alpha frequency over childhood and adulthood. Here, we tested the hypothesis that these changes in alpha rhythm are related to the maturation of visual white matter pathways. We capitalized on a large diffusion MRI (dMRI)-EEG dataset (dMRI n = 2,747, EEG n = 2,561) of children and adolescents of either sex (age range, 5–21 years old) and showed that maturation of the optic radiation specifically accounts for developmental changes of alpha frequency. Behavioral analyses also confirmed that variations of alpha frequency are related to maturational changes in visual perception. The present findings demonstrate the close link between developmental variations in white matter tissue properties, electrophysiological responses, and behavior.