Heterogeneity of mental aging is largely determined by the interaction of environmental and genetic factors. Previously, during analysis of age-related changes in the global power of the background EEG, only in elderly subjects we identified differences that were moderated by the STin2VNTR polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene and training due to the intellectual load of the professional environment (comparison of scientists, SA, and people not associated with professional scientific activity, NSA). For slow rhythms, the greatest differences were observed between homozygous genotypes, with the lowest power values in elderly NSA in the 10/10 group, and in SA - 12/12. The aim of this study was to determine the spatial pattern of current source density (CSD) underlying the identified power decreases in the 10/10 NSA and 12/12 SA genotypes. The study involved elderly subjects (55-80 years; 66 SA and 76 NSA). Voxel-by-voxel analysis using eLORETA showed no local features of the CSD decrease for the 10/10 NSA genotype compared to 12/12 NSA. Thus, the previously noted decrease in the power of slow rhythms in the 10/10 NSA group may be due to a unidirectional diffuse decrease in different areas of the cerebral cortex. In contrast, in 12/12 SA group compared to 10/10 SA, spatial patterns of CSD decrease were revealed in the delta rhythm frequencies mainly in the precuneus, inferior and superior parietal lobule of the left hemisphere, in the alpha2 and alpha3 rhythm frequencies - in the precuneus and superior parietal lobule of the right hemisphere. The data obtained may indicate an adaptive reorganization of neural networks associated with cognitive training in elderly scientists carrying the 12/12 genotype.
E. Yu. Privodnova (Wed,) studied this question.