Investigating the effects of age and conditioning stimulation intensity on SMA-M1 connectivity in younger,...

This study aimed to investigate bilateral motor control and connectivity between supplementary motor area (SMA) and primary motor cortex (M1) in younger, middle-aged, and older healthy adults.

32 younger (mean age 22.8 ± 5.3 years), 18 middle-aged (47.6 ± 6.5 years), and 23 older (75.8 ± 6.7 years) adults were tested. Bilateral motor control was assessed using the Purdue pegboard. Dual-site transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to measure SMA-M1 connectivity at different conditioning stimulation intensities.

Older adults had significantly poorer motor performance than younger and middle-aged in all pegboard subtests. Notably, there were no conclusive differences in motor performance between younger and middle-aged adults. There was no conclusive evidence supporting age-related and intensity-related differences in SMA-M1 connectivity between younger, middle-aged, and older adults. There was also no conclusive evidence to support clear associations between SMA-M1 connectivity and bilateral motor control.

Age-related declines in bilateral motor functioning was found in older, but not middle-aged adults. The bilateral motor functioning of middle-aged adults is more young-like than old-like. The lack of conclusive age- and intensity-related differences in SMA-M1 connectivity, and lack of conclusive association with bilateral motor performance, might be due to high inter-individual variability in SMA-M1 connectivity. Potential factors contributing to this variability include SMA and M1 morphometry, the structural connectivity between these regions, and the localisation of SMA.