{
  "abstract": "ObjectiveInterictal background EEG in childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) may appear normal. We asked whether drug-naive children with CAE differ from controls in alpha frequency and the regional distribution of phase-lagged synchronization, and how these differences depend on participant-specific surrogate baselines and analysis frequency.MethodsWe analyzed eyes-closed resting EEG (19 channels, 26 s) from 49 drug-naive children with CAE and 83 controls. Individual alpha frequency (IAF) was estimated by spectral parameterization of posterior channels. Weighted phase-lag index (wPLI) at 12 Hz was summarized globally and as the frontal–posterior log-ratio λFP = ln(wPLIF/wPLIP), where F and P denote frontal and posterior within-region means. Participant-specific baselines were obtained from 100 circular-shift surrogates, preserving each channel's wavelet-coefficient sequence up to circular translation while altering inter-channel alignment. Group comparisons used studentized permutation tests. The regional contrast was also evaluated at each participant's IAF.ResultsIAF was lower in patients (8.80 versus 9.42 Hz; p = 0.002). At 12 Hz, controls showed posterior predominance of synchronization (λFP = −0.352), which was largely removed by circular shifting (−0.036), whereas patients' mean regional balance was near zero. After baseline subtraction, the patient-minus-control difference in λFP was 0.332 (95 % CI [0.181, 0.483]; p < 0.001; Hedges' g = 0.79). In the 131 participants with identifiable IAF, the contrast was 0.316 at 12 Hz and 0.124 at IAF (p = 0.139). A direct comparison using within-participant changes supported a larger contrast at 12 Hz (difference 0.192, 95 % CI [0.017, 0.367]; exploratory, unadjusted p = 0.032). The global wPLI difference after baseline subtraction remained uncertain (−0.021, 95 % CI [−0.044, 0.001]; p = 0.069).ConclusionsDrug-naive CAE was associated with slower alpha activity and reduced posterior predominance of phase-lagged synchronization at 12 Hz. Circular shifting largely removed the controls' posterior predominance, supporting a difference in regional organization sensitive to inter-channel alignment. The smaller contrast at IAF indicates that analysis frequency materially affects this finding, without establishing that alpha slowing alone explains it.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wrocław, Poland",
    "Department of Pediatric Neurology, T. Marciniak Hospital, Wrocław, Poland",
    "Department of Child Neurology, \"Promyk Słońca\" Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Center, Wroclaw, Poland",
    "Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital in Opole, Opole, Poland",
    "Department of Child Neurology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland",
    "Department of Neurology, Upper Silesian Child Health Center, Silesian Medical University, Katowice, Poland"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Miroslaw Latka"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Pawel Glaba"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Marta Kuryło"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Beata Jędrzejczyk-Góral"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Wojciech Walas"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Sławomir Kroczka"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Justyna Paprocka"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9tzreq0tajacb.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fninf.2026.1875377",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fninf.2026.1875377/full",
  "id": "9tzreq0tajacb",
  "issns": [
    "1662-5196"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fninf.2026.1875377",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "RC321-571"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2738|Epilepsy research and treatment"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223269888",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroinformatics/articles/10.3389/fninf.2026.1875377/pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-23",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media S.A.",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9tzreq0tajacb.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:43:48Z",
      "native_id": "78857c2f0a5f48c2a2dd31592fd04344",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fninf.2026.1875377"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2738|Epilepsy research and treatment",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Altered interictal alpha-band organization in childhood absence epilepsy",
  "title_text": "Altered interictal alpha-band organization in childhood absence epilepsy",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:43:48Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9tzreq0tajacb",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Neuroinformatics",
  "versions": []
}