Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42862054›Full record

ArticleeLife2026

Robust and replicable effects of ageing on resting-state brain electrophysiology measured with MEG.

Andrew J Quinn, Jemma Pitt, Oliver Kohl, Chetan Gohil, Mats W J van Es, Anna C Nobre, Mark W Woolrich

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in eLife, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Andrew J QuinnCentre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2267-9897
Jemma PittOxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6256-6091
Oliver KohlInstitute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3166-8145
Chetan GohilOxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0888-1207
Mats W J van EsOxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7133-509X
Anna C NobreOxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5762-2802
Mark W WoolrichOxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8460-8854

Funding

Marie Curie 860563Medical Research Council RG89702Medical Research Council RG94383NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre NIHR203316Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust 104571/Z/14/ZWellcome Trust 106183/Z/14/ZWellcome Trust 203139/Z/16/ZWellcome Trust 215573/Z/19/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Non-invasive recordings of brain electrophysiology provide credible insights into decline in neuronal functioning with age. New approaches are required to translate these results into compelling clinical metrics and meet the global challenge of preserving brain health in ageing. Changes in neuronal dynamics with ageing are observable in the power spectra of EEG and MEG recordings. Highly promising candidates for electrophysiological markers have been identified, but progress is hindered by substantial methodological variability across studies. This makes it challenging to establish a clear consensus on the frequency, location, and direction of any single reported effect within the larger body of research. We estimate a full-frequency whole-head profile of the ageing effect on eyes-closed resting-state MEG using the GLM-Spectrum. This data representation is easily sharable, facilitates meta-analyses, and provides a framework for estimating statistical power of age effects for future study planning. We use this to show that the effect of age replicates across open-access MEG datasets and is robust to modelling of common covariates. Distinct components within the full-frequency profile have different effect sizes, indicating that sample-size planning for ageing effects must consider the specific features of interest. The frequency profile of ageing is strongly robust to a range of common covariates and partially robust to modelling of grey matter volume. We establish that what seems a well-powered study may become underpowered when analyses target an age effect that is linearly separable from an age-relevant covariate such as grey matter volume. These results provide a pathway towards formal comparison and assessment of candidate markers for brain health in ageing.

Indexed as

AgingBrainElectrophysiological PhenomenaMagnetoencephalographyRestAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedYoung Adultageingeffect sizeelectrophysiologyhumanneurosciencepower spectrumreplicationstatistics

Identifiers

PMID42862054
PMCPMC13657627

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.