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Assessing Corticospinal Excitability During Goal-Directed Reaching Behavior
Published on: December 2, 2022
Age-related differences in corticospinal excitability during a Go/NoGo task
Hakuei Fujiyama1, Christophe Tandonnet, Jeffery J Summers
1Human Motor Control Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Hakuei.Fujiyama@utas.edu.au
Psychophysiology
|April 8, 2011
Summary
Older adults exhibit slower reaction times (RTs) due to age-related differences in corticospinal excitability during the response generation stage of sensorimotor processing, as shown by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Motor Control
- Aging Research
Background:
- Age-related slowing of reaction times (RTs) is a known phenomenon.
- The underlying neural mechanisms, specifically in movement preparation versus response generation, remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related differences in motor cortex (M1) excitability and intracortical inhibition during a Go/NoGo RT task.
- To differentiate the impact of aging on movement preparation versus response generation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), including single- and paired-pulse protocols, over the left M1.
- Assessed motor cortex excitability and short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) during preparation and response generation phases.
- Compared younger and older adults performing a right-hand Go/NoGo RT task.
Main Results:
- Older adults demonstrated longer RTs compared to younger adults.
- Younger adults showed a greater increase in corticospinal excitability during the response generation period.
- Both age groups exhibited a significant reduction in SICI just before electromyography (EMG) onset.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest age-related alterations in corticospinal excitability specifically during the response generation phase of sensorimotor processing.
- The study highlights differences in neural processing efficiency between younger and older adults during motor tasks.
