Comparative Study on Cerebral Processing among Elderly People with Either Intellectual or Mechanical Work Activities, by Means of Electroencephalographic Techniques

Background: The cognitive capacity is one of the determinants of quality of life in old age. In EEG, gamma rhythm represented electrical correlates of execution of cognitive activities. Objective: To compare the cortical areas activated during executive activities through the gamma rhythm (25 - 45 Hz) and the performance in the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) among older people who exercised intellectual and mechanical work during their lifetime. Methods: We compared the electroencephalographic record of the gamma rhythm potential (25 - 45 Hz) in the cortical quadrants during the execution of the FAB among 13 elderly people who exercised intellectual activity and 12 elderly people who performed mechanical work. Results: In the FAB, the intellectual group obtained a better performance with a mean score of 16.2/18, while the mechanical group obtained an average score of 14.9/18. Only a significant difference between groups was observed in the similarity test, with intellectual group leadership. There was no significant difference between groups in the overall analysis of gamma rhythm potential in the brain quadrants during the tests. Conclusion: Elderly people who performed intellectual activity performed better than the elderly who exercised mechanical work in the execution of the Frontal Evaluation Battery (FAB). There was a greater quantification of gamma rhythm in the group of elderly individuals who exercised intellectual activity, compared to those who exercised mechanical activity.