Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Meaningful social participation is central to occupational therapy and healthy aging, yet few studies have examined neurophysiological engagement during naturalistic older adult-caregiver activities. This exploratory study examined alpha-band EEG modulation during museum-based storytelling. Thirty-two dyads completed cognitive and psychological screening and EEG during eyes-closed resting, eyes-open resting, storytelling, and listening. Relative alpha power was analyzed across a predefined 10-electrode set; Cz alpha associations with MoCA scores and dyad-level spatial alpha-pattern similarity were examined cautiously. Alpha power increased during eyes-closed resting and decreased during storytelling and listening relative to eyes-open resting in both roles. MoCA-Cz alpha associations were weak and did not survive false discovery rate correction. Storytelling-related dyadic alpha-pattern similarity was modest and not robust after correction. Findings support museum storytelling as a feasible occupation-based social-cognitive task for EEG assessment, with implications for studying engagement and participation in aging.</p>