Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2440/131372
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Type: Journal article
Title: Age-related changes in motor cortex plasticity assessed with non-invasive brain stimulation: an update and new perspectives
Author: Semmler, J.G.
Hand, B.J.
Sasaki, R.
Merkin, A.
Opie, G.M.
Citation: Experimental Brain Research, 2021; 239(9):2661-2678
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Issue Date: 2021
ISSN: 0014-4819
1432-1106
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Responsibility: 
John G. Semmler, Brodie J. Hand, Ryoki Sasaki, Ashley Merkin and George M. Opie
Abstract: It is commonly accepted that the brains capacity to change, known as plasticity, declines into old age. Recent studies have used a variety of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques to examine this age-related decline in plasticity in the primary motor cortex (M1), but the effects seem inconsistent and difficult to unravel. The purpose of this review is to provide an update on studies that have used different NIBS techniques to assess M1 plasticity with advancing age and offer some new perspective on NIBS strategies to boost plasticity in the ageing brain. We find that early studies show clear differences in M1 plasticity between young and older adults, but many recent studies with motor training show no decline in use-dependent M1 plasticity with age. For NIBS-induced plasticity in M1, some protocols show more convincing differences with advancing age than others. Therefore, our view from the NIBS literature is that it should not be automatically assumed that M1 plasticity declines with age. Instead, the effects of age are likely to depend on how M1 plasticity is measured, and the characteristics of the elderly population tested. We also suggest that NIBS performed concurrently with motor training is likely to be most effective at producing improvements in M1 plasticity and motor skill learning in older adults. Proposed NIBS techniques for future studies include combining multiple NIBS protocols in a co-stimulation approach, or NIBS strategies to modulate intracortical inhibitory mechanisms, in an effort to more effectively boost M1 plasticity and improve motor skill learning in older adults.
Keywords: Ageing
Motor cortex
Motor skill learning
Neuroplasticity
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
Description: Published online: 16 July 2021
Rights: © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021
DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06163-z
Grant ID: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP200101009
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1139723
Published version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00221-021-06163-z
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