QBI Seminar: Is brain plasticity altered in motor regions of healthy older adults?
Event Details
- Date:
- Wednesday, 20 May 2015 - Wednesday, 20 May 2015
- Time:
- 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
- Room:
- QBI Level 7 Auditorium
- UQ Location:
- Queensland Brain Institute (St Lucia)
- URL:
- http://www.qbi.uq.edu.au/neuroscience-seminars
- Event category(s):
Event Contact
- Name:
- Ms Deirdre Wilson
- Phone:
- 66300
- Email:
- d.wilson5@uq.edu.au
- Org. Unit:
- Queensland Brain Institute
Event Description
- Full Description:
- Daina Dickins,
Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland
Title: Is brain plasticity altered in motor regions of healthy older adults?
Abstract:
Neuroplasticity is fundamental for brain function, but the degree to which plasticity is maintained across the lifespan is unclear. Substantial evidence from studies in animal models suggests that plasticity is reduced at the synaptic level in the aged brain. Evidence from studies in humans, investigating plasticity in more large-scale networks, similarly suggests that plasticity is reduced. However, neuroimaging studies also suggest that neural activity during the performance of cognitive and motor tasks becomes less lateralised with advancing age, suggesting that plasticity may not simply be reduced but instead manifest over a more bilateral network in older relative to younger adults. My thesis investigated whether plasticity in bilateral motor cortices is altered in the aged brain (>65 years). In three different experiments plasticity was induced in the primary motor cortex (M1) using either skilled motor training or one of two noninvasive brain stimulation protocols. The induction of plasticity was quantified using single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and motor evoked potentials (MEPs), which provide an indirect measure of cortical excitability. The findings from these studies suggest that within the motor system, plasticity induced by various paradigms, which are believed to target slightly different mechanisms, is maintained in the aged brain. Moreover, plasticity does not appear to manifest across a more bilateral motor network in older adults. The findings indicate that advancing age is not necessarily associated with reduced plasticity.
Directions to UQ
- Google Map:
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- Directions:
- St Lucia Campus | Gatton campus.
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