Age-specific pediatric templates improve EEG source-reconstructed biomarkers in children

Age-specific pediatric EEG source-reconstruction templates match individual MRI-based biomarker values more closely than adult fsaverage in children and adolescents, especially up to about 12 years.

• Why it matters: Developmental anatomical change makes adult head models potentially bias EEG biomarkers, but the magnitude of that bias without individual MRI is unclear.
• What they did: Using eyes-closed resting-state EEG from 384 Healthy Brain Network participants aged 5.5–17.5 years, the study compared individual MRI, age-specific pediatric templates (ages 6–17 at one-year intervals), and fsaverage, assessing absolute/relative power, DFA, and fE/I ratio.
• The result: Pediatric templates produced fewer parcels with significantly different biomarker values than fsaverage in both developmental groups, with an exception for absolute power in older adolescents, implying pediatric templates are preferable when MRI is unavailable at least through ~12 years.

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