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A Fine Motor Task to Study Joint Kinematics in a Preclinical Model of Neurodegenerative Disease

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Reduced basal ganglia function when elderly switch between coordinated movement patterns.

James P Coxon¹, Daniel J Goble, Annouchka Van Impe

¹Department of Biomedical Kinesiology, Centre for Movement Control and Neuroplasticity, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium. James.Coxon@faber.kuleuven.be

Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)

|January 19, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Aging impairs motor switching ability, linked to reduced basal ganglia (BG) function. Elderly individuals show less efficient BG recruitment for motor control, impacting agility and potentially using alternative brain strategies.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Motor Control

Background:

Frontostriatal circuit changes are implicated in age-related cognitive deficits.
Motor switching deficits in aging may stem from reduced basal ganglia (BG) function.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between age-related motor switching deficits and basal ganglia (BG) function.
To test the hypothesis that reduced BG function underlies age-related motor control impairments.

Main Methods:

Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to study 15 older and 15 younger adults performing bimanual circular motions.
Participants responded to visual cues to either switch or continue hand-circling direction.
Region of interest analysis focused on basal ganglia structures and task-set implementation networks.

Main Results:

Switching motor behavior (SW»ASYMM) was slower and more disruptive in older adults, indicating reduced agility.
Older adults exhibited significantly reduced activation in the subthalamic nucleus and globus pallidus during SW»ASYMM.
Both age groups activated the basal ganglia and task-set implementation networks, but older adults showed increased prefrontal cortex activation.

Conclusions:

Age-related motor switching deficits are associated with reduced basal ganglia (BG) function and inefficient cortico-BG loop recruitment.
The elderly may employ alternative prefrontal cortex-based strategies to compensate for age-related declines in motor control.
Findings highlight the role of basal ganglia in maintaining motor agility and flexibility across the lifespan.