Longitudinal associations between resting-state, interregional theta-beta phase-amplitude coupling and cognition in 12–15-year-old adolescents

Phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) between the phase of slower oscillatory activity and the amplitude of faster oscillatory activity in the brain is believed to be a fundamental mechanism involved in information processing. We investigated longitudinal associations between interregional (posterior-anterior cortex), resting-state theta-beta PAC (Modulation Index) and cognition in N = 79 adolescents (aged 12-15 years) with repeated measures. Greater theta-beta PAC MI was associated with faster psychomotor speed, and greater attention and working memory scores, longitudinally. Greater right theta-beta PAC MI was associated with greater attention and executive functioning, longitudinally. There was no association between PAC MI and working memory or verbal learning and memory. However, in the left hemisphere there were significant associations between PAC and these cognitive variables, whereby greater working memory and greater verbal learning and memory were both associated with a lower amplitude-providing frequency. In the left hemisphere, greater attention and working memory was also associated with greater phase-providing frequency. Overall, the results support the notion that resting-state theta-beta PAC could serve as a biomarker of cognition in adolescents. Future studies investigating theta-beta PAC may help explicate the close interrelation between mental health and cognition and support the identification of cognitive impairments in mental disorders.