Post, A. (Aylin) (2016) Modulating motor cortical neuroplasticity with priming paired associative stimulation in young and old adults. thesis, Sport Sciences.
Full text available on request.Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal priming (potentiating or depressing) paradigm for the modulation of motor cortical (M1) neuroplasticity in old adults using paired associative stimulation (PAS). Method: Twenty-nine healthy right-handed subjects, consisting of 15 young (20-27 years old) and 14 old (61-79) adults were included in the study. Each subject participated in three separate experimental sessions. In each experimental session, subjects underwent two consecutive sessions of PAS. The priming protocol involved PASLTP, PASLTD, or PASControl, whereas the test protocol was always a PASLTP protocol. Changes in motor-evoked potential (MEP) amplitude in the right first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle were used as a marker of motor cortical neuroplasticity. Results: Age affected the efficacy of PAS. First, we found different paradigms to be effective in young and old subjects. Out of the three paradigms, priming with PASLTP induced the greatest MEP amplitude facilitation in young subjects (facilitation of 72% normalized to baseline), whereas priming with PASLTD resulted to be most effective in old subjects (facilitation of 31% normalized to baseline). Moreover, in a PASLTP-LTP paradigm, the increase in MEP was significantly larger in young subjects (facilitation of 72% normalized to baseline) compared to old subjects (facilitation of 1% normalized to baseline). Conclusions: Out of the three PAS paradigms, priming with PASLTD is the most effective strategy to boost M1 neuroplasticity in the elderly. However, the effects of this paradigm are still limited. Significance: In order to use PAS priming paradigms to purposefully shape improvements in hand function in old adults, future research should investigate how to strengthen the PASLTD-LTP paradigm by modifying the PAS protocols.
| Item Type: | Thesis (UNSPECIFIED) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Opie, G. and Hortobágyi, prof. dr. T. and Semmler, J. |
| Faculty: | Medical Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 02 May 2022 08:17 |
| Last Modified: | 02 May 2022 08:17 |
| URI: | https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3179 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |