THE NEURODYNAMICS OF α EEG BAND UPON MENTAL ARITHMETIC TASK PERFORMANCE BEFORE AND DURING THE FULLSCALE RUSSIAN INVASION
DOI: 10.17721/1728.2748.2024.98.32-37
Keywords:
neurodynamics, electroencephalography, magnitude-squared coherence, stress, cognitive loadAbstract
Background. Living in war-affected zones has been found to significantly impact cognitive functions, mental health, and overall well-being in children, adolescents, and adults. Stress perception plays a role in this impact, with the psychological burden of war impairing cognitive development and functioning in youth and adults. Neurodynamics associated with managing the cognitive workload and stress is well-reflected in the EEG data, as chronic stress exposure significantly affects cognitive performance. The α EEG band has been widely investigated as a biomarker for assessing cognitive performance, mental fatigue, and the effects of interventions to enhance cognitive function. However, there is not enough data regarding the α band dynamics under the impact of long-term stressors, such as living in a war-torn country, especially during cognitive load. The study aimed to compare the α EEG band neurodynamics associated with the mental arithmetic tasks before and during the outbreak of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Methods. Fifty-seven volunteer subjects participated in the study; twenty-eight (nfem=15) were enrolled before the full-scale invasion, and twenty-nine (nfem=18) after the invasion outbreak. The EEG data were recorded during the sequential subtraction performance, with further subband selection, viz α1 [7.5, 9.5] Hz, α2 [9.6, 11] Hz, α3 [11.1, 12.9] Hz.
Results. In the α1 subband, the female group exhibited an increased number of coherent neural connections during the full-scale invasion. In the α2 subband, a topographical redistribution of connections was noted for the male group, namely the decrease of connection number and shift towards the frontal areas of the cortex. In the α3 subband, the female group showed a wide network of connections, compared to the male group, where a distinct parietal-predominated hub of connections was observed during the full-scale invasion.
Conclusions. It was discovered that female subjects showed higher degrees of behavioral inhibition during full-scale invasion, which could be interpreted as a covert indicator of elevated background anxiety. The male group demonstrated difficulties focusing their attention on the internal task. Lastly, volunteers in both groups showed an overall decline in the efficacy of top-down control over the task execution.
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