MEGaNorm: Normative Modeling of MEG Brain Oscillations Across the Human Lifespan

MEGaNorm: Normative Modeling of MEG Brain Oscillations Across the Human Lifespan | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article MEGaNorm: Normative Modeling of MEG Brain Oscillations Across the Human Lifespan Mohammad Zamanzadeh, Ymke Verduyn, Augustijn de Boer, Tomas Ros, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6725132/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 17 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Communications Biology → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Normative modeling provides a principled framework for quantifying individual deviations from typical brain development and is increasingly used to study heterogeneity in neuropsychiatric conditions. While widely applied to structural phenotypes, functional normative models remain underdeveloped. Here, we introduce MEGaNorm, the first normative modeling framework for charting lifespan trajectories of resting-state magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain oscillations. Using a large, multi-site dataset comprising 1,846 individuals aged 6–88 and spanning three MEG systems, we model relative oscillatory power in canonical frequency bands using hierarchical Bayesian regression, accounting for age, sex, and site effects. To support interpretation at multiple scales, we introduce Neuro-Oscillo Charts, visual tools that summarize normative trajectories at the population level and quantify individual-level deviations, enabling personalized assessment of functional brain dynamics. Applying this framework to a Parkinson’s disease cohort (n = 160), we show that normative deviation scores reveal disease-related abnormalities and uncover a continuum of patients in theta–beta deviation space. This work provides the first lifespan-encompassing normative reference for MEG oscillations, enabling population-level characterization and individualized benchmarking. All models and tools are openly available and designed for federated, continual adaptation as new data become available, offering a scalable resource for precision neuropsychiatry. Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Neural ageing Health sciences/Diseases/Neurological disorders/Parkinson's disease Biological sciences/Physiology/Ageing Biological sciences/Biological techniques/Imaging/Magnetoencephalography Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Supplementary.pdf Supplementary Materials Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 17 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Communications Biology → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6725132","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":474210108,"identity":"9e1f4822-dc73-4819-8eb2-31adb1667d15","order_by":0,"name":"Mohammad Zamanzadeh","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5080-068X","institution":"Department of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mohammad","middleName":"","lastName":"Zamanzadeh","suffix":""},{"id":474210109,"identity":"1d7f20b2-ea3c-4de8-809e-d098579b58e2","order_by":1,"name":"Ymke Verduyn","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ymke","middleName":"","lastName":"Verduyn","suffix":""},{"id":474210110,"identity":"4685ac4c-f6d5-4142-9373-b833cad46997","order_by":2,"name":"Augustijn de Boer","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Donders Institute for Cognition, Brain and Behavior, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Augustijn","middleName":"","lastName":"de Boer","suffix":""},{"id":474210111,"identity":"8abc11b5-e008-422c-a36e-0fe1a38a3161","order_by":3,"name":"Tomas Ros","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tomas","middleName":"","lastName":"Ros","suffix":""},{"id":474210112,"identity":"4522361e-c0e0-46ae-a652-f89aaab2f304","order_by":4,"name":"Thomas Wolfers","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; German Center for Mental Health, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Thomas","middleName":"","lastName":"Wolfers","suffix":""},{"id":474210113,"identity":"23c5276d-cbeb-49cb-8e2d-25c6ceeff144","order_by":5,"name":"Richard Dinga","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Richard","middleName":"","lastName":"Dinga","suffix":""},{"id":474210114,"identity":"2fd5ed81-7a13-4cf6-bfb1-d2f53b95cb6e","order_by":6,"name":"Marie Šafář Postma","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marie","middleName":"Šafář","lastName":"Postma","suffix":""},{"id":474210115,"identity":"74579bb1-a7b0-4043-97a4-4befec2d429e","order_by":7,"name":"Andre F. 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