Gamma Deficits as a Neural Signature of Cognitive Impairment in Children Treated for Brain Tumors

Cognitive impairment is consistently reported in children treated for brain tumors, particularly in the categories of processing speed, memory, and attention. Although tumor site, hydrocephalus, chemotherapy, and cranial radiation therapy (CRT) are all associated with poorer function, CRT predicts the greatest deficits. There is a particularly high correlation between CRT and slowed information-processing speed. Cortical gamma-band oscillations have been associated with processing behaviorally relevant information; however, their role in the maintenance of cognition in individuals with processing deficits is unclear. We examined gamma oscillations using magnetoencephalography (MEG) in children undergoing CRT to test whether gamma characteristics can be a signature of cognitive impairment in this population. We collected resting-state data as well as data from baseline and active periods during two visual-motor reaction time tasks of varying cognitive loads from 18 healthy children and 20 patients. We found that only high-gamma oscillations (60-100 Hz), and not low-gamma oscillations (30-59 Hz), showed significant group differences in absolute power levels. Overall, compared with healthy children, patients showed the following: (1) lower total high-gamma (60-100 Hz) power during the resting state, as well as during task-related baseline and performance measures; (2) no change in gamma reactivity to increases in cognitive load; and (3) slower processing speeds both inside and outside MEG. Our findings show that high-gamma oscillations are disrupted in children after treatment for a brain tumor. The temporal dynamic of the high-gamma response during information processing may index cognitive impairment in humans with neurological injury.