F Tecchio1, F Zappasodi2, P Pasqualetti3, L De Gennaro4, M C Pellicciari5, M Ercolani6, R Squitti6, P M Rossini7. 1. ISTC-CNR, Franca Tecchio, Unità MEG, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Isola Tiberina, 00186 Roma, Italy; Casa di Cura San Raffaele Cassino e IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, Italy. Electronic address: franca.tecchio@istc.cnr.it. 2. ISTC-CNR, Franca Tecchio, Unità MEG, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Isola Tiberina, 00186 Roma, Italy; AFaR, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Isola Tiberina, Roma, Italy. 3. AFaR, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Isola Tiberina, Roma, Italy; Casa di Cura San Raffaele Cassino e IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, Italy. 4. Department of Psychology, University 'Sapienza', Roma, Italy. 5. Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, IRCCS "Centro San Giovanni di Dio - FBF", Brescia, Italy. 6. AFaR, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Isola Tiberina, Roma, Italy. 7. Department of Neurology, 'Campus Bio-Medico' University, Roma, Italy; AFaR, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Isola Tiberina, Roma, Italy; Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, IRCCS "Centro San Giovanni di Dio - FBF", Brescia, Italy.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The increase of elderly population prompted growing research for the understanding of cerebral phenomena sustaining learning abilities, with inclusion of long-term potentiation (LTP)-like plasticity phenomena. Aim of the present study was to characterize LTP-like plasticity dependence on age and gender. METHODS: A LTP-like primary motor cortex plasticity inducing a potentiation of the motor evoked potential (MEP) to focal transcranial magnetic stimulation as a consequence of a paired associative stimulation (PAS) was induced in a 50 healthy subject cohort, equally distributed for gender and age groups (25 young subjects, mean age+/-SD=29.8+/-4.5 years; elderly 61.1+/-4.1 years). RESULTS: Resting motor thresholds' excitability level increased in the elderly group, the basal MEP did not depend on gender or age. The PAS-induced primary motor cortex (M1) plastic excitability modulation was similar in young females and males, while it decreased with age in females only. CONCLUSIONS: A reduction of the PAS-induced M1 plasticity in females after menopause was documented, possibly due to an impairment of intracortical excitatory network activity. SIGNIFICANCE: A LTP-like plasticity dependence on age was found in female only, suggesting caution in interpreting behavioural studies on learning abilities in dependence on age.
OBJECTIVE: The increase of elderly population prompted growing research for the understanding of cerebral phenomena sustaining learning abilities, with inclusion of long-term potentiation (LTP)-like plasticity phenomena. Aim of the present study was to characterize LTP-like plasticity dependence on age and gender. METHODS: A LTP-like primary motor cortex plasticity inducing a potentiation of the motor evoked potential (MEP) to focal transcranial magnetic stimulation as a consequence of a paired associative stimulation (PAS) was induced in a 50 healthy subject cohort, equally distributed for gender and age groups (25 young subjects, mean age+/-SD=29.8+/-4.5 years; elderly 61.1+/-4.1 years). RESULTS: Resting motor thresholds' excitability level increased in the elderly group, the basal MEP did not depend on gender or age. The PAS-induced primary motor cortex (M1) plastic excitability modulation was similar in young females and males, while it decreased with age in females only. CONCLUSIONS: A reduction of the PAS-induced M1 plasticity in females after menopause was documented, possibly due to an impairment of intracortical excitatory network activity. SIGNIFICANCE: A LTP-like plasticity dependence on age was found in female only, suggesting caution in interpreting behavioural studies on learning abilities in dependence on age.
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