Professor Robert Chen
Editor-in-Chief, Clinical Neurophysiology
Anne B. Arnett, Matthew Zimon, Sambridhi Subedi, Virginia Peisch, Erica Ferrara, Gaelle Gourdet, Carissa Mastrangelo
Electrical signals from the brain, including EEG, electrocorticography and local field potentials, contain both oscillatory (periodic) and non-oscillatory (aperiodic) components. Traditionally, the oscillatory components, such as the alpha, beta or mu rhythms, have been the focus of most studies. In part due to advances in signal analysis, analyses of the non-oscillatory components have gained attention in recent years. The power of the aperiodic component decreases with frequency. The slope of the power distribution versus frequency is termed the aperiodic exponent, which is related to the balance of excitatory and inhibitory (E:I balance) activities. In this volume of Clinical Neurophysiology, Arnett et al. examined resting EEG in 285 children. The results showed changes in aperiodic exponent with age and overall decreased aperiodic component in ADHD. The findings furthered our understanding of how aperiodic activities change with age and suggest that they could potentially play a role in the diagnosis and management of brain disorders.