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Development of Spatiotemporal EEG Organization in Males and Females Aged 8–30 Years during Comprehension of Oral and Written Texts

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Abstract

The maturation of brain structures and their connections and the improvement of verbal skills are the two key processes forming the central mechanisms of verbal activity; it is almost impossible to evaluate their separate contributions. Apart from age, gender has a significant effect on the structural and functional characteristics of the brain and cognitive activity. Despite the fact that the influence of gender is less pronounced than that of age, it cannot be ignored. We studied the effect of age and gender characteristics of the neurophysiological mechanisms of perception of oral and written texts on the spatial organization of brain bioelectric potentials. Spatial synchronization of brain bioelectric potentials (SSBP) was evaluated in 143 subjects (children aged 8–11 years, adolescents aged 12–14 years and 15–17 years, and adults) based on the changes in the integral indicator “volume” of 20 EEG vectors and the degree of connections of EEG signals. It was found that there was a gradual increase in the spatial synchronization of brain bioelectric potentials with age, both during quiet wakefulness and verbal activity, while the level of SSBP in all age groups during verbal task performance was lower than in the background state. In adolescents, gender-related differences included the changes in the levels of SSBP during verbal activity (for oral perception, at the age of 12 years; for reading, at the age of 15 years). Males and females had different trajectories of the formation of distant EEG connections, which had zonal specificity for the studied types of verbal activity.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to V.P. Rozhkov (Cand. Sci. (Biology)) for providing methodological assistance.

Funding

The studies in the group of adolescents (12–17 years old) were partially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 18-313-00169); the studies in the groups of children (4–11 years old) and adults were supported by State Contract no. 075-00776-19-02.

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  1. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia

    O. V. Kruchinina, E. P. Stankova & E. I. Galperina

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  1. O. V. Kruchinina
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Kruchinina, O.V., Stankova, E.P. & Galperina, E.I. Development of Spatiotemporal EEG Organization in Males and Females Aged 8–30 Years during Comprehension of Oral and Written Texts. Hum Physiol 46, 244–256 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S036211972003010X

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