M/EEG Hallmarks of Healthy and Pathological Aging

As living organisms, our systems experience constant changes. Over time, the accumulation of small alterations leads to a loss of function across all body subsystems and eventually disease and death. This phenomenon, known as the aging process, occurs in both healthy and pathological conditions and is characterized by significant alterations in the brain oscillatory activity. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and Electroencephalography (EEG) are noninvasive functional neuroimaging techniques able to measure, respectively, the weak magnetic fields and electric potentials generated by electric currents flowing inside the brain. The notable temporal and spatial resolution of such techniques makes them suitable both for resting state and task-based studies, depending on the experiment goals. This chapter delves into the nature of the neurophysiological signals that can be recorded through M/EEG and how they can aid in the characterization of the hallmarks of healthy and pathological aging, as in the case of Alzheimer’s disease. It also provides an overview of the influence of lifestyle in the promotion of a healthy neurophysiological profile.