Bootsma Josje M, Caljouw Simone R, Veldman Menno P, Maurits Natasha M, Rothwell John C, Hortobágyi Tibor
Department of Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Science, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2021 Mar 22;13:643132. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.643132. eCollection 2021.
Although a general age-related decline in neural plasticity is evident, the effects of age on neural plasticity after motor practice are inconclusive. Inconsistencies in the literature may be related to between-study differences in task difficulty. Therefore, we aimed to determine the effects of age and task difficulty on motor learning and associated brain activity. We used task-related electroencephalography (EEG) power in the alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (13-30 Hz) frequency bands to assess neural plasticity before, immediately after, and 24-h after practice of a mirror star tracing task at one of three difficulty levels in healthy younger (19-24 yr) and older (65-86 yr) adults. Results showed an age-related deterioration in motor performance that was more pronounced with increasing task difficulty and was accompanied by a more bilateral activity pattern for older vs. younger adults. Task difficulty affected motor skill retention and neural plasticity specifically in older adults. Older adults that practiced at the low or medium, but not the high, difficulty levels were able to maintain improvements in accuracy at retention and showed modulation of alpha TR-Power after practice. Together, these data indicate that both age and task difficulty affect motor learning, as well as the associated neural plasticity.
虽然与年龄相关的神经可塑性普遍下降是明显的，但年龄对运动练习后神经可塑性的影响尚无定论。文献中的不一致可能与研究之间任务难度的差异有关。因此，我们旨在确定年龄和任务难度对运动学习及相关脑活动的影响。我们使用与任务相关的脑电图（EEG）在α（8 - 12赫兹）和β（13 - 30赫兹）频段的功率，来评估健康的年轻（19 - 24岁）和年长（65 - 86岁）成年人在三种难度水平之一的镜像星形追踪任务练习前、练习后即刻以及练习后24小时的神经可塑性。结果显示，运动表现存在与年龄相关的恶化，且随着任务难度增加更为明显，并且年长成年人相较于年轻成年人呈现出更双侧化的活动模式。任务难度尤其影响年长成年人的运动技能保持和神经可塑性。在低难度或中等难度而非高难度水平练习的年长成年人，能够在保持阶段维持准确性的提高，并在练习后显示出α频段任务相关功率的调制。总之，这些数据表明年龄和任务难度都会影响运动学习以及相关的神经可塑性。
