Bibliometric analysis of electroencephalogram research in Parkinson's disease from 2004 to 2023.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder affecting millions globally. It encompasses both motor and non-motor symptoms, with a notable impact on patients' quality of life. Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a non-invasive tool that is increasingly utilized to investigate neural mechanisms in PD, identify early diagnostic markers, and assess therapeutic responses. Methods: The data were sourced from the Science Citation Index Expanded within the Web of Science Core Collection database, focusing on publications related to EEG research in PD from 2004 to 2023. A comprehensive bibliometric analysis was conducted using CiteSpace and VOSviewer software. The analysis began with an evaluation of the selected publications, identifying leading countries, institutions, authors, and journals, as well as co-cited references, to summarize the current state of EEG research in PD. Keywords are employed to identify research topics that are currently of interest in this field through the analysis of high-frequency keyword co-occurrence and cluster analysis. Finally, burst keywords were identified to uncover emerging trends and research frontiers in the field, highlighting shifts in interest and identifying future research directions. Results: A total of 1,559 publications on EEG research in PD were identified. The United States, Germany, and England have made notable contributions to the field. The University of London is the leading institution in terms of publication output, with the University of California closely following. The most prolific authors are Brown P, Fuhr P, and Stam C In terms of total citations and per-article citations, Stam C has the highest number of citations, while Brown P has the highest H-index. In terms of the total number of publications, Clinical Neurophysiology is the leading journal, while Brain is the most highly cited. The most frequently cited articles pertain to software toolboxes for EEG analysis, neural oscillations, and PD pathophysiology. Through analyzing the keywords, four research hotspots were identified: research on the neural oscillations and connectivity, research on the innovations in EEG Analysis, impact of therapies on EEG, and research on cognitive and emotional assessments. Conclusion: This bibliometric analysis demonstrates a growing global interest in EEG research in PD. The investigation of neural oscillations and connectivity remains a primary focus of research. The application of machine learning, deep learning, and task analysis techniques offers promising avenues for future research in EEG and PD, suggesting the potential for advancements in this field. This study offers valuable insights into the major research trends, influential contributors, and evolving themes in this field, providing a roadmap for future exploration.

Cue-based modulation of pain stimulus expectation: do ongoing oscillations reflect changes in pain perception? A registered report.

A promising stream of investigations is targeting ongoing neural oscillations and whether their modulation could be related to the perception of pain. Using an electroencephalography (EEG) frequency-tagging approach, sustained periodic thermonociceptive stimuli perceived as painful have been shown to modulate ongoing oscillations in the theta, alpha and beta bands at the frequency of stimulation. Nonetheless, it remains uncertain whether these modulations are indeed linked to pain perception. To test this relationship, we modulated pain perception using a cue-based expectation modulation paradigm and investigated whether ongoing oscillations in different frequency bands mirror the changes in stimulus perception. Forty healthy participants were instructed that a visual cue can precede either a high- or low-intensity stimulation. These cues were paired with three different levels of sustained periodic thermonociceptive stimuli (low, medium and high). Despite a strong effect of expectation on perceived stimulus intensity, this effect was not reflected in the modulation of the ongoing oscillations, suggesting a potential dissociation of pain perception and these oscillatory activities. Rather, it seems that the intensity of stimulation is the primary generator of the frequency-tagged EEG responses. Importantly, these results need to be confirmed by further investigations that could allow the detection of smaller effects than originally estimated.

VPA-induced autism impairs memory ability through disturbing neural oscillatory patterns in offspring rats.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a general neurodevelopmental disease characterized by unusual social communication and rigid, repetitive behavior patterns. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of ASD on the alteration of neural oscillatory patterns and synaptic plasticity, which commonly supported a wide range of basic and higher memory activities. Accordingly, a prenatal valproic acid (VPA) exposure rat model was established for studying autism. The behavioral experiments showed that the social orientation declined and the memory ability was significantly impaired in VPA rats, which was closely associated with the synaptic plasticity deficits. Neural oscillation is the rhythmic neuron-activity, and the pathological characteristics and neurological changes in autism may be peeped at the neural oscillatory analysis. Interestingly, neural oscillatory analysis showed that prenatal VPA exposure reduced the low-frequency power but increased high-frequency gamma (HG) power in the hippocampus CA1 area. Meanwhile, the coherence and synchronization between CA3 and CA1 were abnormally increased in the VPA group, especially in theta and HG rhythms. Furthermore, the cross-frequency coupling strength of theta-LG in the CA1 and CA3 → CA1 pathway was significantly attenuated, but the theta-HG coupling strength was increased. Additionally, prenatal VPA exposure inhibited the expression of SYP and NR2B but enhanced the expression of PSD-95 along with decreased synaptic plasticity. The neural oscillatory patterns in VPA-induced offspring were disturbed with the intensity and direction of neural information flow disordered, which are consistent with the changes in synaptic plasticity, suggesting that the decline in synaptic plasticity is the underlying mechanism.

Alpha and beta/low-gamma frequency bands may have distinct neural origin and function during post-stroke walking.

Plantarflexors provide propulsion during walking and receive input from both corticospinal and corticoreticulospinal tracts, which exhibit some frequency-specificity that allows potential differentiation of each tract's descending drive. Given that stroke may differentially affect each tract and impair the function of plantarflexors during walking; here, we examined this frequency-specificity and its relation to walking-specific measures during post-stroke walking. Fourteen individuals with chronic stroke walked on an instrumented treadmill at self-selected and fast walking speed (SSWS and FWS, respectively) while surface electromyography (sEMG) from soleus (SOL), lateral gastrocnemius (LG), and medial gastrocnemius (MG) and ground reaction forces (GRF) were collected. We calculated the intermuscular coherences (IMC; alpha, beta, and low-gamma bands between SOL-LG, SOL-MG, LG-MG) and propulsive impulse using sEMG and GRF, respectively. We examined the interlimb and intralimb IMC comparisons and their relationships with propulsive impulse and walking speed. Interlimb IMC comparisons revealed that beta LG-MG (SSWS) and low-gamma SOL-LG (FWS) IMCs were degraded on the paretic side. Intralimb IMC comparisons revealed that only alpha IMCs (both speeds) exhibited a statistically significant difference to random coherence. Further, alpha LG-MG IMC was positively correlated with propulsive impulse in the paretic limb (SSWS). Alpha and beta/low-gamma bands may have a differential functional role, which may be related to the frequency-specificity of the underlying descending drives. The persistence of alpha band in plantarflexors and its strong positive relationship with propulsive impulse suggests relative alteration of corticoreticulospinal tract after stroke. These findings imply the presence of frequency-specific descending drives to walking-specific muscles in chronic stroke.

Alpha and theta oscillations on a visual strategic processing task in age-related hearing loss.

Introduction: Emerging evidence suggests changes in several cognitive control processes in individuals with age-related hearing loss (ARHL). However, value-directed strategic processing, which involves selectively processing salient information based on high value, has been relatively unexplored in ARHL. Our previous work has shown behavioral changes in strategic processing in individuals with ARHL. The current study examined event-related alpha and theta oscillations linked to a visual, value-directed strategic processing task in 19 individuals with mild untreated ARHL and 17 normal hearing controls of comparable age and education. Methods: Five unique word lists were presented where words were assigned high- or low-value based on the letter case, and electroencephalography (EEG) data was recorded during task performance. Results: The main effect of the group was observed in early time periods. Specifically, greater theta synchronization was seen in the ARHL group relative to the control group. Interaction between group and value was observed at later time points, with greater theta synchronization for high- versus low-value information in those with ARHL. Discussion: Our findings provide evidence for oscillatory changes tied to a visual task of value-directed strategic processing in individuals with mild untreated ARHL. This points towards modality-independent neurophysiological changes in cognitive control in individuals with mild degrees of ARHL and adds to the rapidly growing literature on the cognitive consequences of ARHL.

Cortical tracking of language structures: Modality-dependent and independent responses.

OBJECTIVES: The mental parsing of linguistic hierarchy is crucial for language comprehension, and while there is growing interest in the cortical tracking of auditory speech, the neurophysiological substrates for tracking written language are still unclear. METHODS: We recorded electroencephalographic (EEG) responses from participants exposed to auditory and visual streams of either random syllables or tri-syllabic real words. Using a frequency-tagging approach, we analyzed the neural representations of physically presented (i.e., syllables) and mentally constructed (i.e., words) linguistic units and compared them between the two sensory modalities. RESULTS: We found that tracking syllables is partially modality dependent, with anterior and posterior scalp regions more involved in the tracking of spoken and written syllables, respectively. The cortical tracking of spoken and written words instead was found to involve a shared anterior region to a similar degree, suggesting a modality-independent process for word tracking. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that basic linguistic features are represented in a sensory modality-specific manner, while more abstract ones are modality-unspecific during the online processing of continuous language input. SIGNIFICANCE: The current methodology may be utilized in future research to examine the development of reading skills, especially the deficiencies in fluent reading among those with dyslexia.

Entrainment echoes in the cerebellum.

Evidence accumulates that the cerebellum's role in the brain is not restricted to motor functions. Rather, cerebellar activity seems to be crucial for a variety of tasks that rely on precise event timing and prediction. Due to its complex structure and importance in communication, human speech requires a particularly precise and predictive coordination of neural processes to be successfully comprehended. Recent studies proposed that the cerebellum is indeed a major contributor to speech processing, but how this contribution is achieved mechanistically remains poorly understood. The current study aimed to reveal a mechanism underlying cortico-cerebellar coordination and demonstrate its speech-specificity. In a reanalysis of magnetoencephalography data, we found that activity in the cerebellum aligned to rhythmic sequences of noise-vocoded speech, irrespective of its intelligibility. We then tested whether these "entrained" responses persist, and how they interact with other brain regions, when a rhythmic stimulus stopped and temporal predictions had to be updated. We found that only intelligible speech produced sustained rhythmic responses in the cerebellum. During this "entrainment echo," but not during rhythmic speech itself, cerebellar activity was coupled with that in the left inferior frontal gyrus, and specifically at rates corresponding to the preceding stimulus rhythm. This finding represents evidence for specific cerebellum-driven temporal predictions in speech processing and their relay to cortical regions.

Neurochemical organization of cortical proteinopathy and neurophysiology along the Alzheimer's disease continuum.

INTRODUCTION: Despite parallel research indicating amyloid-ß accumulation, alterations in cortical neurophysiological signaling, and multi-system neurotransmitter disruptions in Alzheimer's disease (AD), the relationships between these phenomena remains unclear. METHODS: Using magnetoencephalography, positron emission tomography, and an atlas of 19 neurotransmitters, we studied the alignment between neurophysiological alterations, amyloid-ß deposition, and the neurochemical gradients of the cortex. RESULTS: In patients with mild cognitive impairment and AD, changes in cortical rhythms were topographically aligned with cholinergic, serotonergic, and dopaminergic systems. These alignments correlated with the severity of clinical impairments. Additionally, cortical amyloid-ß plaques were preferentially deposited along neurochemical boundaries, influencing how neurophysiological alterations align with muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Most of the amyloid-ß-neurochemical and alpha-band neuro-physio-chemical alignments replicated in an independent dataset of individuals with asymptomatic amyloid-ß accumulation. DISCUSSION: Our findings demonstrate that AD pathology aligns topographically with the cortical distribution of chemical neuromodulator systems and scales with clinical severity, with implications for potential pharmacotherapeutic pathways. HIGHLIGHTS: Changes in cortical rhythms in Alzheimer's are organized along neurochemical boundaries. The strength of these alignments is related to clinical symptom severity. Deposition of amyloid-ß (Aß) is aligned with similar neurotransmitter systems. Aß deposition mediates the alignment of beta rhythms with cholinergic systems. Most alignments replicate in participants with pre-clinical Alzheimer's pathology.

Changes in Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Default Network Oscillations between 19 and 29 Years of Age.

The exploration of functional resting-state brain developmental parameters and measures can help to improve scientific, psychological, and medical applications. The present work focussed on both traditional approaches, such as topographical power analyses at the signal space level, and advanced approaches, such as the exploration of age-related dynamics of source space data. The results confirmed the expectation that the third life decade would show a kind of stability in oscillatory signal and source-space-related parameters. However, from a source dynamics perspective, different frequency ranges appear to develop quite differently, as reflected in age-related sequential network communication profiles. Among other discoveries, the left anterior cingulate source location could be shown to reduce bi-directional network communication in the lower alpha band, whereas it differentiated its uni- and bidirectional communication dynamics to sub-cortical and posterior brain locations. Higher alpha oscillations enhanced communication dynamics between the thalamus and particularly frontal areas. In conclusion, resting-state data appear to be, at least in part, functionally reorganized in the default mode network, while quantitative measures, such as topographical power and regional source activity, did not correlate with age in the third life decade. In line with other authors, we suggest the further development of a multi-perspective approach in biosignal analyses.

Top-down and bottom-up oscillatory dynamics regulate implicit visuomotor sequence learning.

Implicit visuomotor sequence learning is crucial for acquiring skills that result in automated behaviors. The oscillatory dynamics underpinning this learning process are not well understood. To address this gap, the current study employed electroencephalography with a medium-density array (64 electrodes) to investigate oscillatory activity associated with implicit visuomotor sequence learning in the Serial Reaction Time task. In the task, participants unknowingly learn a series of finger movements. Eighty-five healthy adults participated in the study. Analyses revealed that theta activity at the vertex and alpha/beta activity over the motor areas decreased over the course of learning. No associations between alpha/beta and theta power were observed. These findings are interpreted within a dual-process framework: midline theta activity is posited to regulate top-down attentional processes, whereas beta activity from motor areas underlies the bottom-up encoding of sensory information from movement. From this model, we suggest that during implicit visuomotor sequence learning, top-down processes become disengaged (indicated by a reduction in theta activity), and modality specific bottom-up processes encode the motor sequence (indicated by a reduction in alpha/beta activity).

Effects of endogenous testosterone on oscillatory activity during verbal working memory in youth.

Testosterone levels sharply rise during the transition from childhood to adolescence and these changes are known to be associated with changes in human brain structure. During this same developmental window, there are also robust changes in the neural oscillatory dynamics serving verbal working memory processing. Surprisingly, whereas many studies have investigated the effects of chronological age on the neural oscillations supporting verbal working memory, none have probed the impact of endogenous testosterone levels during this developmental period. Using a sample of 89 youth aged 6-14 years-old, we collected salivary testosterone samples and recorded magnetoencephalography during a modified Sternberg verbal working memory task. Significant oscillatory responses were identified and imaged using a beamforming approach and the resulting maps were subjected to whole-brain ANCOVAs examining the effects of testosterone and sex, controlling for age, during verbal working memory encoding and maintenance. Our primary results indicated robust testosterone-related effects in theta (4-7 Hz) and alpha (8-14 Hz) oscillatory activity, controlling for age. During encoding, females exhibited weaker theta oscillations than males in right cerebellar cortices and stronger alpha oscillations in left temporal cortices. During maintenance, youth with greater testosterone exhibited weaker alpha oscillations in right parahippocampal and cerebellar cortices, as well as regions across the left-lateralized language network. These results extend the existing literature on the development of verbal working memory processing by showing region and sex-specific effects of testosterone, and are the first results to link endogenous testosterone levels to the neural oscillatory activity serving verbal working memory, above and beyond the effects of chronological age.

Oscillatory Neural Correlates of Police Firearms Decision-Making in Virtual Reality.

We investigated the neural signatures of expert decision-making in the context of police training in a virtual reality-based shoot/don't shoot scenario. Police officers can use stopping force against a perpetrator, which may require using a firearm and each decision made by an officer to discharge their firearm or not has substantial implications. Therefore, it is important to understand the cognitive and underlying neurophysiological processes that lead to such a decision. We used virtual reality-based simulations to elicit ecologically valid behavior from authorized firearms officers (AFOs) in the UK and matched novices in a shoot/don't shoot task and recorded electroencephalography concurrently. We found that AFOs had consistently faster response times than novices, suggesting our task was sensitive to their expertise. To investigate differences in decision-making processes under varying levels of threat and expertise, we analyzed electrophysiological signals originating from the anterior cingulate cortex. In line with similar response inhibition tasks, we found greater increases in preresponse theta power when participants inhibited the response to shoot when under no threat as compared with shooting. Most importantly, we showed that when preparing against threat, theta power increase was greater for experts than novices, suggesting that differences in performance between experts and novices are due to their greater orientation toward threat. Additionally, shorter beta rebounds suggest that experts were "ready for action" sooner. More generally, we demonstrate that the investigation of expert decision-making should incorporate naturalistic stimuli and an appropriate control group to enhance validity.

Network resonance and the auditory steady state response.

The auditory steady state response (ASSR) arises when periodic sounds evoke stable responses in auditory networks that reflect the acoustic characteristics of the stimuli, such as the amplitude of the sound envelope. Larger for some stimulus rates than others, the ASSR in the human electroencephalogram (EEG) is notably maximal for sounds modulated in amplitude at 40 Hz. To investigate the local circuit underpinnings of the large ASSR to 40 Hz amplitude-modulated (AM) sounds, we acquired skull EEG and local field potential (LFP) recordings from primary auditory cortex (A1) in the rat during the presentation of 20, 30, 40, 50, and 80 Hz AM tones. 40 Hz AM tones elicited the largest ASSR from the EEG acquired above auditory cortex and the LFP acquired from each cortical layer in A1. The large ASSR in the EEG to 40 Hz AM tones was not due to larger instantaneous amplitude of the signals or to greater phase alignment of the LFP across the cortical layers. Instead, it resulted from decreased latency variability (or enhanced temporal consistency) of the 40 Hz response. Statistical models indicate the EEG signal was best predicted by LFPs in either the most superficial or deep cortical layers, suggesting deep layer coordinators of the ASSR. Overall, our results indicate that the recruitment of non-uniform but more temporally consistent responses across A1 layers underlie the larger ASSR to amplitude-modulated tones at 40 Hz.

Impairment of entorhinal cortex network activity in Alzheimer's disease.

The entorhinal cortex (EC) stands out as a critical brain region affected in the early phases of Alzheimer's disease (AD), with some of the disease's pathological processes originating from this area, making it one of the most crucial brain regions in AD. Recent research highlights disruptions in the brain's network activity, characterized by heightened excitability and irregular oscillations, may contribute to cognitive impairment. These disruptions are proposed not only as potential therapeutic targets but also as early biomarkers for AD. In this paper, we will begin with a review of the anatomy and function of EC, highlighting its selective vulnerability in AD. Subsequently, we will discuss the disruption of EC network activity, exploring changes in excitability and neuronal oscillations in this region during AD and hypothesize that, considering the advancements in neuromodulation techniques, addressing the disturbances in the network activity of the EC could offer fresh insights for both the diagnosis and treatment of AD.

Multivariate sharp-wave ripples in schizophrenia during awake state.

AIMS: Schizophrenia (SZ) is a brain disorder characterized by psychotic symptoms and cognitive dysfunction. Recently, irregularities in sharp-wave ripples (SPW-Rs) have been reported in SZ. As SPW-Rs play a critical role in memory, their irregularities can cause psychotic symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in patients with SZ. In this study, we investigated the SPW-Rs in human SZ. METHODS: We measured whole-brain activity using magnetoencephalography (MEG) in patients with SZ (n = 20) and sex- and age-matched healthy participants (n = 20) during open-eye rest. We identified SPW-Rs and analyzed their occurrence and time-frequency traits. Furthermore, we developed a novel multivariate analysis method, termed "ripple-gedMEG" to extract the global features of SPW-Rs. We also examined the association between SPW-Rs and brain state transitions. The outcomes of these analyses were modeled to predict the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) scores of SZ. RESULTS: We found that SPW-Rs in the SZ (1) occurred more frequently, (2) the delay of the coupling phase (3) appeared in different brain areas, (4) consisted of a less organized spatiotemporal pattern, and (5) were less involved in brain state transitions. Finally, some of the neural features associated with the SPW-Rs were found to be PANSS-positive, a pathological indicator of SZ. These results suggest that widespread but disorganized SPW-Rs underlies the symptoms of SZ. CONCLUSION: We identified irregularities in SPW-Rs in SZ and confirmed that their alternations were strongly associated with SZ neuropathology. These results suggest a new direction for human SZ research.

Tracking the neurodevelopmental trajectory of beta band oscillations with optically pumped magnetometer-based magnetoencephalography.

Neural oscillations mediate the coordination of activity within and between brain networks, supporting cognition and behaviour. How these processes develop throughout childhood is not only an important neuroscientific question but could also shed light on the mechanisms underlying neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, measuring the neurodevelopmental trajectory of oscillations has been hampered by confounds from instrumentation. In this paper, we investigate the suitability of a disruptive new imaging platform - optically pumped magnetometer-based magnetoencephalography (OPM-MEG) - to study oscillations during brain development. We show how a unique 192-channel OPM-MEG device, which is adaptable to head size and robust to participant movement, can be used to collect high-fidelity electrophysiological data in individuals aged between 2 and 34 years. Data were collected during a somatosensory task, and we measured both stimulus-induced modulation of beta oscillations in sensory cortex, and whole-brain connectivity, showing that both modulate significantly with age. Moreover, we show that pan-spectral bursts of electrophysiological activity drive task-induced beta modulation, and that their probability of occurrence and spectral content change with age. Our results offer new insights into the developmental trajectory of beta oscillations and provide clear evidence that OPM-MEG is an ideal platform for studying electrophysiology in neurodevelopment.

Theta activity and cognitive functioning: Integrating evidence from resting-state and task-related developmental electroencephalography (EEG) research.

The theta band is one of the most prominent frequency bands in the electroencephalography (EEG) power spectrum and presents an interesting paradox: while elevated theta power during resting state is linked to lower cognitive abilities in children and adolescents, increased theta power during cognitive tasks is associated with higher cognitive performance. Why does theta power, measured during resting state versus cognitive tasks, show differential correlations with cognitive functioning? This review provides an integrated account of the functional correlates of theta across different contexts. We first present evidence that higher theta power during resting state is correlated with lower executive functioning, attentional abilities, language skills, and IQ. Next, we review research showing that theta power increases during memory, attention, and cognitive control, and that higher theta power during these processes is correlated with better performance. Finally, we discuss potential explanations for the differential correlations between resting/task-related theta and cognitive functioning, and offer suggestions for future research in this area.

Exploring the Interplay Between Language Comprehension and Cortical Tracking: The Bilingual Test Case.

Cortical tracking, the synchronization of brain activity to linguistic rhythms is a well-established phenomenon. However, its nature has been heavily contested: Is it purely epiphenomenal or does it play a fundamental role in speech comprehension? Previous research has used intelligibility manipulations to examine this topic. Here, we instead varied listeners' language comprehension skills while keeping the auditory stimulus constant. To do so, we tested 22 native English speakers and 22 Spanish/Catalan bilinguals learning English as a second language (SL) in an EEG cortical entrainment experiment and correlated the responses with the magnitude of the N400 component of a semantic comprehension task. As expected, native listeners effectively tracked sentential, phrasal, and syllabic linguistic structures. In contrast, SL listeners exhibited limitations in tracking sentential structures but successfully tracked phrasal and syllabic rhythms. Importantly, the amplitude of the neural entrainment correlated with the amplitude of the detection of semantic incongruities in SLs, showing a direct connection between tracking and the ability to understand speech. Together, these findings shed light on the interplay between language comprehension and cortical tracking, to identify neural entrainment as a fundamental principle for speech comprehension.

Theta and alpha oscillations may underlie improved attention and working memory in musically trained children.

INTRODUCTION: Attention and working memory are key cognitive functions that allow us to select and maintain information in our mind for a short time, being essential for our daily life and, in particular, for learning and academic performance. It has been shown that musical training can improve working memory performance, but it is still unclear if and how the neural mechanisms of working memory and particularly attention are implicated in this process. In this work, we aimed to identify the oscillatory signature of bimodal attention and working memory that contributes to improved working memory in musically trained children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We recruited children with and without musical training and asked them to complete a bimodal (auditory/visual) attention and working memory task, whereas their brain activity was measured using electroencephalography. Behavioral, time-frequency, and source reconstruction analyses were made. RESULTS: Results showed that, overall, musically trained children performed better on the task than children without musical training. When comparing musically trained children with children without musical training, we found modulations in the alpha band pre-stimuli onset and the beginning of stimuli onset in the frontal and parietal regions. These correlated with correct responses to the attended modality. Moreover, during the end phase of stimuli presentation, we found modulations correlating with correct responses independent of attention condition in the theta and alpha bands, in the left frontal and right parietal regions. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that musically trained children have improved neuronal mechanisms for both attention allocation and memory encoding. Our results can be important for developing interventions for people with attention and working memory difficulties.

Post-task responses following working memory and movement are driven by transient spectral bursts with similar characteristics.

The post-movement beta rebound has been studied extensively using magnetoencephalography (MEG) and is reliably modulated by various task parameters as well as illness. Our recent study showed that rebounds, which we generalise as "post-task responses" (PTRs), are a ubiquitous phenomenon in the brain, occurring across the cortex in theta, alpha, and beta bands. Currently, it is unknown whether PTRs following working memory are driven by transient bursts, which are moments of short-lived high amplitude activity, similar to those that drive the post-movement beta rebound. Here, we use three-state univariate hidden Markov models (HMMs), which can identify bursts without a priori knowledge of frequency content or response timings, to compare bursts that drive PTRs in working memory and visuomotor MEG datasets. Our results show that PTRs across working memory and visuomotor tasks are driven by pan-spectral transient bursts. These bursts have very similar spectral content variation over the cortex, correlating strongly between the two tasks in the alpha (R2 = .89) and beta (R2 = .53) bands. Bursts also have similar variation in duration over the cortex (e.g., long duration bursts occur in the motor cortex for both tasks), strongly correlating over cortical regions between tasks (R2 = .56), with a mean over all regions of around 300 ms in both datasets. Finally, we demonstrate the ability of HMMs to isolate signals of interest in MEG data, such that the HMM probability timecourse correlates more strongly with reaction times than frequency filtered power envelopes from the same brain regions. Overall, we show that induced PTRs across different tasks are driven by bursts with similar characteristics, which can be identified using HMMs. Given the similarity between bursts across tasks, we suggest that PTRs across the cortex may be driven by a common underlying neural phenomenon.