Age-related Changes in Cortical Excitability Linked to Decreased Attentional and Inhibitory Control
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Date
2022Author
Cespon, Jesus
Pellicciari, Maria Concetta
Casula, Elias Paolo
Miniussi, Carlo
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Jesús Cespón, Maria Concetta Pellicciari, Elias Paolo Casula, Carlo Miniussi, Age-related Changes in Cortical Excitability Linked to Decreased Attentional and Inhibitory Control, Neuroscience, Volume 495, 2022, Pages 1-14, ISSN 0306-4522, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.05.021.
Neuroscience
Neuroscience
Abstract
Understanding age-related changes in cortical excitability and their relation to cognitive functions will
help to improve interventions based on non-invasive brain stimulation that aim to support cognitive function in
older adults. Here, we investigate the relationship between cortical excitability, executive function, and underlying
neural activity in samples of healthy young and older adults. These participants performed a Simon task during
electroencephalogram (EEG) recording. During the task, participants had to respond to the colour of a lateralized
stimulus while ignoring its spatial location. We studied event-related brain potential correlates of attentional and
inhibitory control [i.e., the posterior contralateral negativity (N2pc) and central contralateral negativity (N2cc),
respectively] related to the Simon task performance. We also used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
EEG coregistration. In detail, we applied single-pulse TMS during EEG recording in order to analyse global mean
field power (GMFP) and TMS-evoked potentials (TEPs) as correlates of cortical excitability. We found lower GMFP
amplitude within 101–200 ms in older compared to young adults. Moreover, older adults showed smaller N45
amplitude and slower P180 latency. These findings suggest cortical excitability alterations related to ageing.
Older adults also exhibited longer reaction times and N2pc and N2cc latencies, indicating that it took them longer
to allocate attention to the target stimulus and inhibit the tendency to respond to the attended location. Finally, in
older adults, cortical excitability alterations correlated with longer reaction times and N2pc latencies. These
results suggest that age-related alterations in cortical excitability represent a dysfunctional change associated
with physiological ageing. 2022 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.