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Authors & Affiliations
Marleen J. Schoenfeld, Rebecca Burke, Andreas K. Engel
Abstract
Temporal prediction is the ability to anticipate the occurrence of events, and has been shown to optimize behavior, e.g., reducing reaction times. Recently, optimized behavior has been associated with a phase adjustment of ongoing neural oscillations aligning with the expected onset of upcoming stimuli. In ageing, there is some evidence that these mechanisms might be altered; however, findings are inconsistent. Thus, we aimed to investigate how anticipatory oscillatory markers of temporal prediction change with ageing, adapting a previously used temporal prediction task while measuring electroencephalography (EEG).We performed a two-session study with 20 young (14females, age=25.4±4.1years) and 20 older (13females, age=60.3±3.9years) right-handed healthy adults. In each session, participants performed 480 trials of the temporal prediction task judging whether a visual stimulus reappeared ’too early’ or ‘too late’ (Figure1A), while 64-channel EEG was recorded. Performance was measured as a psychometric function.Results indicated comparable behavioral performance in the task across groups (slope of the psychometric curve: t1,19=0.407, p=.689, Cohen’s d=0.093; Figure1B). Cluster-based permutation statistics for time-frequency analysis and inter-trial phase consistency (ITPC) indicated that anticipatory oscillatory markers of temporal prediction appeared sensitive to ageing. Specifically, we observed significantly stronger delta band ITPC in older compared to younger adults (Figure1C enclosed lines), but no delta power increase. Instead, we showed power modulations in the alpha and beta band which were significantly stronger in older compared to younger adults (Figure1D enclosed lines). Together, these observations replicate previous findings and suggest that the neural dynamics supporting temporal prediction change with age.