FREQ‐NESS Reveals Age‐Related Differences in Frequency‐Resolved Brain Networks During Auditory Recognition and Resting State
7 affiliations
- 1University of Bologna;
- 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- 3Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
- 4IPEM Institute for Systematic Musicology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- 5Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- 6University of Oxford;
- 7Aarhus University
Abstract
Understanding how brain networks operate across different frequencies during cognitive tasks, and how these dynamics change with age, remains a central challenge in cognitive neuroscience. While previous studies have focused on resting-state activity and passive listening, less is known about frequency-specific brain dynamics during event-related tasks that require active memory engagement. In this study, we extend the recently developed FREQ-NESS analytical pipeline by adapting it to event-related task and resting-state source-reconstructed magnetoencephalography (MEG) data from 140 healthy participants. This method quantified the variance explained by frequency-specific brain networks, their spatial organization, and associated time-resolved power estimates. We found significant effects of age, condition, and their interaction in the variance explained by leading components at 8.6, 10.0, and 20.0 Hz. Older adults exhibited peaks at 8.6 and 10.0 Hz across both rest and task, while younger adults displayed a task-related reduction, suggesting a different organization of brain networks during memory processing with age. Time-frequency analysis revealed age- and condition-dependent desynchronization in the alpha and beta bands (7.1-22.9 Hz). These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the adapted FREQ-NESS pipeline for event-related tasks and highlight the importance of frequency-resolved network analysis for characterizing age-related changes in active auditory memory processing.
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BibTeX
@article{malvaso2026freqness,
title = {{FREQ‐NESS Reveals Age‐Related Differences in Frequency‐Resolved Brain Networks During Auditory Recognition and Resting State}},
author = {Chiara Malvaso and Gemma Fernández‐Rubio and Mattia Rosso and Elisa Serra and Vera Rudi and Peter Vuust and Morten L. Kringelbach and Claudia M. Testa and Leonardo Bonetti},
journal = {Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1111/nyas.70349},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.70349},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - FREQ‐NESS Reveals Age‐Related Differences in Frequency‐Resolved Brain Networks During Auditory Recognition and Resting State
AU - Chiara Malvaso
AU - Gemma Fernández‐Rubio
AU - Mattia Rosso
AU - Elisa Serra
AU - Vera Rudi
AU - Peter Vuust
AU - Morten L. Kringelbach
AU - Claudia M. Testa
AU - Leonardo Bonetti
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/30
JO - Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
DO - 10.1111/nyas.70349
UR - https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.70349
AB - Understanding how brain networks operate across different frequencies during cognitive tasks, and how these dynamics change with age, remains a central challenge in cognitive neuroscience. While previous studies have focused on resting-state activity and passive listening, less is known about frequency-specific brain dynamics during event-related tasks that require active memory engagement. In this study, we extend the recently developed FREQ-NESS analytical pipeline by adapting it to event-related task and resting-state source-reconstructed magnetoencephalography (MEG) data from 140 healthy participants. This method quantified the variance explained by frequency-specific brain networks, their spatial organization, and associated time-resolved power estimates. We found significant effects of age, condition, and their interaction in the variance explained by leading components at 8.6, 10.0, and 20.0 Hz. Older adults exhibited peaks at 8.6 and 10.0 Hz across both rest and task, while younger adults displayed a task-related reduction, suggesting a different organization of brain networks during memory processing with age. Time-frequency analysis revealed age- and condition-dependent desynchronization in the alpha and beta bands (7.1-22.9 Hz). These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the adapted FREQ-NESS pipeline for event-related tasks and highlight the importance of frequency-resolved network analysis for characterizing age-related changes in active auditory memory processing.
SN - 0077-8923
SN - 1749-6632
ER -