Age-related strengthening of cerebello-cortical motor circuits

Ronan A Mooney; Zhen Ni; Yuichiro Shirota; Robert Chen; Yoshikazu Ugawa; Pablo A Celnik

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2022.04.016

Age-related strengthening of cerebello-cortical motor circuits

Neurobiol Aging. 2022 Oct:118:9-12. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2022.04.016. Epub 2022 Jun 17.

Authors

Ronan A Mooney¹, Zhen Ni², Yuichiro Shirota³, Robert Chen⁴, Yoshikazu Ugawa⁵, Pablo A Celnik⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
² Human Motor Control Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
³ Department of Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴ Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Division of Brain, Imaging and Behaviour - Systems Neuroscience, Krembil Brain Institute, University Healthy Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ Department of Human Neurophysiology, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
⁶ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: pcelnik@jhmi.edu.

PMID: 35810524
DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2022.04.016

Abstract

Effective connectivity between the cerebellum and primary motor cortex (M1) is critical for motor learning and motor control. Despite evidence of cerebellar atrophy and declines in motor learning and motor control with advanced age, recent behavioral studies indicate that cerebellar-dependent motor learning processes are preserved or even enhanced in older adults. However, physiological evidence of heightened cerebellar excitability leading to strengthened cerebellar-M1 connectivity with advanced age is lacking. Here, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation to assess age-related effects on cerebellar inhibition, a measure of cerebellar-M1 connectivity, in 20 young and 19 older adults. We observed stronger cerebellar inhibition in older compared with young adults. The behavioral implications of strengthened cerebellar inhibition with advanced age found in this study remain to be determined.

Keywords: Aging, Cerebellum; Cerebellar inhibition; Primary motor cortex; Transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Aged
Cerebellum / physiology
Evoked Potentials, Motor / physiology
Humans
Learning / physiology
Motor Cortex* / physiology
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Grants and funding

R01 HD053793/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States