Theta-gamma transcranial alternating current stimulation enhances ballistic motor performance in healthy young and older adults

Date

2025

Authors

Gamage, N.N.
Liao, W.-Y.
Hand, B.J.
Atherton, P.J.
Piasecki, M.
Opie, G.M.
Semmler, J.G.

Editors

Advisors

Journal Title

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Volume Title

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Journal article

Citation

Neurobiology of Aging, 2025; 152:1-12

Statement of Responsibility

Nishadi N. Gamage, Wei-Yeh Liao, Brodie J. Hand, Philip J. Atherton, Mathew Piasecki, George M. Opie, John G. Semmler

Conference Name

DOI

10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2025.04.010

Abstract

Theta-gamma transcranial alternating current stimulation (TG tACS) over primary motor cortex (M1) can improve ballistic motor performance in young adults, but the effect on older adults is unknown. This study investigated the effects of TG tACS on motor performance and M1 excitability in 18 young and 18 older adults. High-definition TG tACS (6 Hz theta, 75 Hz gamma) or sham tACS was applied over right M1 for 20 min during a ballistic left-thumb abduction motor training task performed in two experimental sessions. Motor performance was quantified as changes in movement acceleration during and up to 60 min after training. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to assess changes in M1 excitability with motor-evoked potentials (MEP) and short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) before and after training. We found that TG tACS increased motor performance compared with sham tACS in young and older adults (P < 0.001), with greater effects for young adults (P = 0.01). The improved motor performance with TG tACS lasted at least 60 min after training in both age groups. Motor training was accompanied by greater MEP amplitudes with TG tACS compared to sham tACS in young and older adults (P < 0.001), but SICI did not vary between tACS sessions (P = 0.40). These findings indicate that TG tACS over M1 improves motor performance and alters training-induced changes in M1 excitability in healthy young and older adults. TG tACS may therefore be beneficial to alleviate motor deficits in the ageing population.

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Rights

© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Grant ID

http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP200101009
 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE230100022

Published Version

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2025.04.010

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Persistent link to this record

https://hdl.handle.net/2440/147688