Age‐related changes in the neural correlates of motor performance

• Published in: Brain (London, England : 1878) Vol. 126; no. 4; pp. 873 - 888
• Main Authors: Ward, N. S., Frackowiak, R. S. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 01-04-2003; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; ageing; Aging - physiology; AIP = anterior intraparietal area; BA = Brodmann area; Biological and medical sciences; BOLD = blood oxygen level dependent; Development. Senescence. Regeneration. Transplantation; EPI = echoplanar image; Female; fMRI = functional MRI; Functional Laterality; functional MRI; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; hand grip; Hand Strength; Humans; M1 = primary motor cortex; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; MNI = Montreal Neurological Institute; Motor control and motor pathways. Reflexes. Control centers of vegetative functions. Vestibular system and equilibration; Motor Cortex - physiology; motor system; MVC = maximum voluntary contraction; PMd = dorsal lateral premotor cortex; PMv = ventral lateral premotor cortex; Psychomotor Performance - physiology; Random Allocation; rCBF = regional cerebral blood flow; SMA = supplementary motor area; SPM = statistical parametric mapping; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Human; Performance evaluation; Gripping; Senescence; ageing; Central nervous system; hand grip; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Hand; motor system; functional MRI; Medical imagery; Adult; Evolution; Motricity; Age; Functional imaging; Brain (vertebrata)
• ISSN: 0006-8950; 1460-2156; 1460-2156
• DOI: 10.1093/brain/awg071

Age‐related neurodegenerative and neurochemical changes are thought to underlie decline in motor and cognitive functions, but compensatory processes in cortical and subcortical function may allow maintenance of performance level in some people. Our objective was to investigate age‐related changes in the motor system of the human brain using functional MRI. Twenty six right handed volunteers were scanned whilst performing an isometric, dynamic, visually paced hand grip task, using dominant (right) and non‐dominant (left) hands in separate sessions. Hand grip with visual feedback activated a network of cortical and subcortical regions known to be involved in the generation of simple motor acts. In addition, activation was seen in a putative human ‘grasping circuit’, involving rostral ventral premotor cortex (Brodmann area 44) and intraparietal sulcus. Within this network, a number of regions were more likely to be activated the older the subject. In particular, age‐related changes in task‐ specific activations were demonstrated in left deep anterior central sulcus when using the dominant or non‐dominant hand. Additional age‐related increases were seen in caudal dorsal premotor cortex, caudal cingulate sulcus, intraparietal sulcus, insula, frontal operculum and cerebellar vermis. We have demonstrated a clear age‐related effect in the neural correlates of motor performance, and furthermore suggest that these changes are non‐linear. These results support the notion that an adaptable and plastic motor network is able to respond to age‐related degenerative changes in order to maintain performance levels.