Age-related differences in corticospinal excitability during a choice reaction time task

Age-related declines in central processing may affect corticospinal (CS) excitability that underlies the emergence of voluntary responses to external stimuli. We used single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the primary motor cortex to explore the evolution of CS excitability in 14...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AGE 2013-10, Vol.35 (5), p.1705-1719
Main Authors: Cuypers, Koen, Thijs, Herbert, Duque, Julie, Swinnen, Stephan P., Levin, Oron, Meesen, Raf L. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age groups
Aged
Aging
Aging - physiology
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedical research
Cell Biology
Electromyography
Evoked Potentials, Motor - physiology
Female
Geriatrics/Gerontology
Gerontology
Healthy Volunteers
Humans
Life expectancy
Life Sciences
Light emitting diodes
Male
Medical research
Middle Aged
Molecular Medicine
Motor Cortex - physiology
Muscle, Skeletal - physiology
Older people
Reaction Time - physiology
Response time
Statistical analysis
Studies
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Young Adult
Young adults
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Summary:Age-related declines in central processing may affect corticospinal (CS) excitability that underlies the emergence of voluntary responses to external stimuli. We used single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the primary motor cortex to explore the evolution of CS excitability in 14 young and ten elderly healthy right-handed participants. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were elicited in the right or left first dorsal interosseus (FDI) during the preparatory and premotor periods of a choice reaction time (CRT) task, which required selection of left or right index finger responses. Both age groups showed significant suppression of CS excitability in the preparatory period. However, suppression was generally less pronounced in older than in young adults. Moreover, our data indicated that a reduced suppression in the right FDI during the preparatory period was associated with longer reaction times (RTs) in older adults only. In the premotor period, both age groups demonstrated comparable facilitation levels towards movement onset. Our findings indicate that increased RTs among older individuals could be directly associated with declines in preparatory processes.
ISSN:0161-9152
2509-2715
1574-4647
2509-2723
DOI:10.1007/s11357-012-9471-1