Corticomuscular coherence with and without additional task in the elderly

Abstract

Aging and dual-task paradigms often degrade fine motor performance, but the effects of aging on correlated neural activity between motor cortex and contracting muscle are unknown during dual tasks requiring fine motor performance. The purpose of this study was to compare corticomuscular coherence between young and elderly adults during the performance of a unilateral fine motor task and concurrent motor and cognitive tasks. Twenty-nine healthy young (18-38 yr) and elderly (61-75 yr) adults performed unilateral motor, bilateral motor, concurrent motor-cognitive, and cognitive tasks. Peak corticomuscular coherence between the electroencephalogram from the primary motor cortex and surface electromyogram from the first dorsal interosseous muscle was compared during steady abduction of the index finger with visual feedback. In the alpha-band (8-14 Hz), corticomuscular coherence was greater in elderly than young adults especially during the motor-cognitive task. The beta-band (15-32 Hz) corticomuscular coherence was higher in elderly than young adults across unilateral motor and dual tasks. In addition, beta-band corticomuscular coherence in the motor-cognitive task was negatively correlated with motor output error across young but not elderly adults. The results suggest that 1) corticomuscular coherence was increased in senior age with a greater influence of an additional cognitive task in the alpha-band and 2) individuals with greater beta-band corticomuscular coherence may exhibit more accurate motor output in young, but not elderly adults, during steady contraction with visual feedback.

Sensitivity of EMG-EMG coherence to detect the common oscillatory drive to hand muscles in young and older adults

“…Although few studies have examined the role of an altered oscillatory drive in healthy older adults (Ͼ65 yr), this finding is consistent with the finding of increased interhemispheric EEG-EEG coherence (Maurits et al 2006;ten Caat et al 2008) and increased EEGand MEG-EMG coherence (Johnson and Shinohara 2012;Kamp et al 2011) in older adults during the performance of neurocognitive and motor tests. Increased oscillatory drive measured with motor unit recordings has also been linked with impaired performance during hand tasks in younger adults Kakuda et al 1999), and older adults frequently perform worse on motor tasks .…”

Dynamic cortical participation during bilateral, cyclical ankle movements: effects of aging

“…However, during sustained contractions of upper limb muscles, some studies reported age-related increase in the magnitude of coherence2728. Kamp et al 28.…”

“…To our knowledge, no study has examined how aging affects corticomuscular coherence during cyclical, anti-phasic movements. Several studies have examined the effects of aging on corticomuscular coherence25262728, but these studies are limited to sustained contractions.…”

Motor Variability during Sustained Contractions Increases with Cognitive Demand in Older Adults

“…Consequently, some studies show older adults have less ability to simultaneously perform a cognitive task and motor task as well as they can be performed individually (Voelcker-Rehage and Alberts, 2007; Fraser et al, 2010; Johnson and Shinohara, 2012). Changes in performance for older adults in dual-tasks appear to be especially sensitive to cognitive tasks that require executive function (Yogev-Seligmann et al, 2008).…”