AUTHOR=Giattino Charles M. , Gardner Jacob E. , Sbahi Faris M. , Roberts Kenneth C. , Cooter Mary , Moretti Eugene , Browndyke Jeffrey N. , Mathew Joseph P. , Woldorff Marty G. , Berger Miles , the MADCO-PC Investigators , Berger Miles , Brigman Brian E. , Browndyke Jeffrey N. , Bullock W. Michael , Carter Jessica , Chapman Joseph , Colin Brian , Cooter Mary , D’Amico Thomas A. , DeOrio James K. , Esclamado Ramon M. , Ferrandino Michael N. , Gadsden Jeffrey , Garrigues Grant E. , Grant Stuart , Guercio Jason , Gupta Dhanesh , Habib Ashraf , Harpole David H. , Hartwig Mathew G. , Iboaya Ehimemen , Inman Brant A. , Khan Anver , Lagoo-Deenadayalan Sandhya , Lee Paula S. , Lee Walter T. , Lemm John , Levinson Howard , Mantyh Christopher , Mathew Joseph , McDonagh David L. , Migaly John , Mithani Suhail K. , Moul Judd W. , Newman Mark F. , Ohlendorf Brian , Perez Alexander , Peterson Andrew C. , Preminger Glenn M. , Quinones Quintin , Robertson Cary N. , Roman Sanziana A. , Runyon Scott , Sandler Aaron , Sbahi Faris M. , Scheri Randall P. , Smith S. Kendall , Talbot Leonard , Thacker Julie K. M. , Thomas Jake , Tong Betty C. , Vaslef Steven N. , Waldron Nathan , Wang Xueyuan , Young Christopher TITLE=Intraoperative Frontal Alpha-Band Power Correlates with Preoperative Neurocognitive Function in Older Adults JOURNAL=Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience VOLUME=11 YEAR=2017 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2017.00024 DOI=10.3389/fnsys.2017.00024 ISSN=1662-5137 ABSTRACT=

Each year over 16 million older Americans undergo general anesthesia for surgery, and up to 40% develop postoperative delirium and/or cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Delirium and POCD are each associated with decreased quality of life, early retirement, increased 1-year mortality, and long-term cognitive decline. Multiple investigators have thus suggested that anesthesia and surgery place severe stress on the aging brain, and that patients with less ability to withstand this stress will be at increased risk for developing postoperative delirium and POCD. Delirium and POCD risk are increased in patients with lower preoperative cognitive function, yet preoperative cognitive function is not routinely assessed, and no intraoperative physiological predictors have been found that correlate with lower preoperative cognitive function. Since general anesthesia causes alpha-band (8–12 Hz) electroencephalogram (EEG) power to decrease occipitally and increase frontally (known as “anteriorization”), and anesthetic-induced frontal alpha power is reduced in older adults, we hypothesized that lower intraoperative frontal alpha power might correlate with lower preoperative cognitive function. Here, we provide evidence that such a correlation exists, suggesting that lower intraoperative frontal alpha power could be used as a physiological marker to identify older adults with lower preoperative cognitive function. Lower intraoperative frontal alpha power could thus be used to target these at-risk patients for possible therapeutic interventions to help prevent postoperative delirium and POCD, or for increased postoperative monitoring and follow-up. More generally, these results suggest that understanding interindividual differences in how the brain responds to anesthetic drugs can be used as a probe of neurocognitive function (and dysfunction), and might be a useful measure of neurocognitive function in older adults.