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Frequency-Dependent Posterior-Anterior Reorganization of Brain Dynamics Across the Adult Lifespan

Poster Session D - Monday, March 9, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Shihan Xu¹ (), Wen Wen¹, Yu Fang¹, Robert Reinhart¹; ¹Boston University

Healthy aging includes not only neural decline but also large-scale functional reorganization across the brain’s cortical architecture. A consistent pattern observed across neuroimaging studies is the posterior-to-anterior shift (PASA) in activation and connectivity: activity in posterior regions decreases, while activity in frontal regions increases as we age. This gradient has been interpreted as reflecting a dynamic interplay between deficit and compensation, whereby degradation of posterior processing efficiency prompts greater reliance on anterior control mechanisms to sustain cognition. However, the lack of spectral resolution limits insight into how different neural oscillatory systems contribute to reorganization. Here, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to examine frequency-resolved patterns of network segregation and integration across life span. Power-envelope correlations were computed for resting-state MEG data from Cam-CAN (Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience) across 619 subjects. We then quantified how patterns of functional segregation and integration vary with age along the anterior-posterior axis. Results revealed a gradient of reorganization: with increasing age, frontal regions became more segregated, exhibiting stronger within-region coupling and reduced cross-regional integration, whereas posterior regions showed the opposite trend, becoming more integrated and less internally cohesive. These opposing shifts were most pronounced in the beta frequency range (12-24 Hz), which is a rhythm often linked to long-range coordination and top-down control. These findings suggest that the opposing shifts in frontal and posterior organization imply a redistribution of network dynamics, whereby greater local specialization in frontal hubs helps balance reduced coherence in posterior regions in a frequency-dependent manner.

Topic Area: PERCEPTION & ACTION: Development & aging