OBJECTIVE: To test whether the normal aging itself may change the cortical plasticity in human. METHODS: Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were measured from 48 right-handed healthy volunteers (age 21-79) before and after the paired associative stimulation (PAS), comprising a single electric stimulus to the right median nerve at wrist and subsequent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the left primary motor cortex. RESULTS: The magnitude of MEP increased by PAS in the young and middle but not in the elderly and its change was negatively correlated with the age. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the human M1 shows age-dependent reduction of cortical plasticity. SIGNIFICANCE: The reduction of the M1 plasticity may be caused by the attenuated responsiveness of intracortical circuits in the M1 and/or disrupted sensorimotor integration within basal ganglia-thalamocortical loop. Copyright 2009 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
OBJECTIVE: To test whether the normal aging itself may change the cortical plasticity in human. METHODS: Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were measured from 48 right-handed healthy volunteers (age 21-79) before and after the paired associative stimulation (PAS), comprising a single electric stimulus to the right median nerve at wrist and subsequent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the left primary motor cortex. RESULTS: The magnitude of MEP increased by PAS in the young and middle but not in the elderly and its change was negatively correlated with the age. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the human M1 shows age-dependent reduction of cortical plasticity. SIGNIFICANCE: The reduction of the M1 plasticity may be caused by the attenuated responsiveness of intracortical circuits in the M1 and/or disrupted sensorimotor integration within basal ganglia-thalamocortical loop. Copyright 2009 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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