ArticleDevelopmental cognitive neuroscience2021
The development of theta and alpha neural oscillations from ages 3 to 24 years.
Article in Developmental cognitive neuroscience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 106 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
106 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pediatric resting EEG collection, preprocessing, and analysis: A systematic review.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Aperiodic and Hurst EEG exponents across early human brain development: A systematic review.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- Oscillatory activity underlying cognitive performance in children and adolescents with autism: a systematic review.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- Rhythmic visual stimulation as a window into early brain development: A systematic review.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2023Pooled it
- ROC Analysis of Biomarker Combinations in Fragile X Syndrome-Specific Clinical Trials: Evaluating Treatment Efficacy via Exploratory Biomarkers.Translational psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Pro-inflammatory markers interact with spontaneous theta oscillations to predict depression among adolescents.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2026Article
- Shielding the First 24 Postnatal Months of Life: A Proposal for a Prospective Cohort Study of Early-Life Electromagnetic Exposure and Autism Risk.Alpha psychiatry · 2026Article
- Characterization of aperiodic and theta activity in preterm infants using EEG: Insights into cerebral maturation and inter-individual variability.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2026Article
- Reliable but Wrong? Automated Detection of Heart Rate Artifacts as a Source of Bias in Pediatric EEG Data.Research square · 2026Article
- Aperiodic Brain Activity Modulates Corticospinal Excitability.Neuroscience bulletin · 2026Article
- Temporal Interference Stimulation Enhances Neural Regeneration.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- The alpha rhythm: from physiology to behavior.Physiological reviews · 2026Review
- Neural correlates of child temperament: The role of brain network connectivity in psychopathology risk.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026Article
- Aperiodic Dynamics of Cell Assemblies Recruited for L1 and L2 Processing of FrenchBrain sciences · 2026Article
- Relating ADHD to the aperiodic component of the EEG signal in both males and females across development.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2026Article
- Resting-state periodic and aperiodic brain oscillations from birth to preschool years: Aperiodic maturity predicts developmental course.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2026Article
- Structural and Functional Imaging of Motor Outcomes in Twins With Perinatal Stroke: A Case Report.Annals of the Child Neurology Society · 2026Article
- Passive OPM-MEG paradigm reveals altered brain network organization in children with DLD.iScience · 2026Article
- Article
- Revolutionizing Pediatric Neurophysiology With Magnetoencephalography.Psychophysiology · 2026Review
46 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
Intrinsic, unconstrained neural activity exhibits rich spatial, temporal, and spectral organization that undergoes continuous refinement from childhood through adolescence. The goal of this study was to investigate the development of theta (4-8 Hertz) and alpha (8-12 Hertz) oscillations from early childhood to adulthood (years 3-24), as these oscillations play a fundamental role in cognitive function. We analyzed eyes-open, resting-state EEG data from 96 participants to estimate genuine oscillations separately from the aperiodic (1/f) signal. We examined age-related differences in the aperiodic signal (slope and offset), as well as the peak frequency and power of the dominant posterior oscillation. For the aperiodic signal, we found that both the aperiodic slope and offset decreased with age. For the dominant oscillation, we found that peak frequency, but not power, increased with age. Critically, early childhood (ages 3-7) was characterized by a dominance of theta oscillations in posterior electrodes, whereas peak frequency of the dominant oscillation in the alpha range increased between ages 7 and 24. Furthermore, theta oscillations displayed a topographical transition from dominance in posterior electrodes in early childhood to anterior electrodes in adulthood. Our results provide a quantitative description of the development of theta and alpha oscillations.
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