Sansare Ashwini, Magalhaes Thamires N C, Bernard Jessica A
Department of Kinesiology and Sports Management, Texas A&M University, USA.
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, USA.
Neurobiol Aging. 2025 Mar;147:1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.11.009. Epub 2024 Nov 29.
Connectivity of somatosensory cortex (S1) and cerebellum with the motor cortex (M1) is critical for balance control. While both S1-M1 and cerebellar-M1 connections are affected with aging, the implications of altered connectivity for balance control are not known. We investigated the relationship between S1-M1 and cerebellar-M1 connectivity and standing balance in middle-aged and older adults. Our secondary objective was to investigate how cognition affected the relationship between connectivity and balance. Our results show that greater S1-M1 and cerebellar-M1 connectivity was related to greater postural sway during standing. This may be indicative of an increase in functional recruitment of additional brain networks to maintain upright balance despite differences in network connectivity. Also, cognition moderated the relationship between S1-M1 connectivity and balance, such that those with lower cognition had a stronger relationship between connectivity and balance performance. It may be that individuals with poor cognition need increased recruitment of brain regions (compensation for cognitive declines) and in turn, higher wiring costs, which would be associated with increased functional connectivity.
体感皮层（S1）和小脑与运动皮层（M1）之间的连接对于平衡控制至关重要。虽然S1-M1和小脑-M1连接都会随着衰老而受到影响，但连接性改变对平衡控制的影响尚不清楚。我们研究了中年和老年人中S1-M1和小脑-M1连接性与站立平衡之间的关系。我们的次要目标是研究认知如何影响连接性与平衡之间的关系。我们的结果表明，更强的S1-M1和小脑-M1连接性与站立时更大的姿势摆动有关。这可能表明，尽管网络连接性存在差异，但为了维持直立平衡，额外的脑网络功能募集增加。此外，认知调节了S1-M1连接性与平衡之间的关系，即认知能力较低的个体，其连接性与平衡表现之间的关系更强。可能是认知能力差的个体需要增加脑区的募集（以补偿认知衰退），进而导致更高的布线成本，这将与功能连接性增加相关。
