EEG spectral attractors identify a geometric core of brain dynamics.

Multidimensional reconstruction of brain attractors from electroencephalography (EEG) data enables the analysis of geometric complexity and interactions between signals in state space. Utilizing resting-state data from young and older adults, we characterize periodic (traditional frequency bands) and aperiodic (broadband exponent) attractors according to their geometric complexity and shared dynamical signatures, which we refer to as a geometric cross-parameter coupling. Alpha and aperiodic attractors are the least complex, and their global shapes are shared among all other frequency bands, affording alpha and aperiodic greater predictive power.