Early adolescent psychological distress and cognition, correlates of resting-state EEG, interregional phase-amplitude coupling

Delineating neurobiological markers of youth mental health is crucial for early identification and treatment. One promising marker is phase-amplitude coupling (PAC), cross-frequency coupling between the phase of slower oscillatory activity and the amplitude of faster oscillatory activity in the brain. Prior research has demonstrated that PAC is associated with both cognition and mental health and can be modulated using neurostimulation. However, to date research investigating PAC has focused primarily on adults, and only within-region theta-gamma coupling in the context of mental health. We investigated associations between interregional resting-state PAC (posterior-anterior cortex), and cognition and psychological distress in N = 77 (Mage = 12.58 years, SD = 0.31; 51 % female) 12-year-olds. Firstly, while left theta-beta PAC showed a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.529, p < .01), right theta-gamma PAC showed a weak positive correlation, with psychological distress (r = 0.283, p < .05). In terms of cognition, moderate correlations were observed between: (i) increased left theta-beta PAC and increased psychomotor speed (r = -0.367, p < .05); (ii) increased left alpha-beta PAC and decreased attention (r = 0.355, p ≤0.01); and (iii) increased left alpha-beta PAC and decreased verbal learning and memory (r = -0.352, p < .01). Whereas weak associations were observed for: (i) increased left alpha-beta PAC and decreased executive functioning scores (r = 0.284, p < .05); and (ii) increased left alpha-gamma PAC and increased attention (r = -0.272, p < .05). The overall findings of this exploratory study are encouraging, although all the correlations were in the weak-to-moderate range and require replication. Further research may confirm interregional resting-state PAC as a biomarker that can help us better understand the link between mental health and cognition in adolescents and improve treatment of cognitive related deficits in mental illness.