Differences in motor cortex synaptic plasticity associated with two forms of exercise in older adults: Evidence from TMS studies

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.01653

Abstract

Abstract:

Although studies have found that exercise can lead to changes in the plasticity of the motor cortex, little is known about the changes in primary motor cortex synaptic plasticity associated with different forms of exercise among older adults. The purpose of this study was to compare the differences in motor cortex synaptic plasticity associated with a small hand muscle among older adults who regularly participated in table tennis or tai chi or who were sedentary.

Based on inclusion/exclusion criteria and their answers to a self-reported questionnaire, 54 older adults (60~70 years) were selected who often participated in table tennis (n = 18) or tai chi (n = 18) exercise or who were sedentary (n= 18). The target muscle was the abductor pollicis brevis of the right hand. Motor cortex synaptic plasticity associated with the abductor pollicis brevis muscle was induced by a paired combination of peripheral nerve electrical stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation with an interval of 25 ms (PAS25). Single-pulse and double-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied to the left primary motor cortex to measure changes in motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and short-interval intracortical inhibition recorded in the abductor pollicis brevis muscle before and after PAS25, to compare the differences in primary motor cortex synaptic plasticity among the three groups.

The results showed that mean MEP amplitudes immediately and 30 and 60 min after PAS25 in the table tennis group were significantly higher than those in sedentary group; mean MEP amplitudes immediately and 30 min after PAS25 in the tai chi group were significantly higher than those in the sedentary group; and mean MEP amplitudes immediately and 30 and 60 min after PAS25 in the table tennis group were significantly higher than those in the tai chi group. There were no differences in the short-interval intracortical inhibition at any time point after PAS25 among the three groups.

These results indicated that regular participation in table tennis or tai chi can induce a sustained increase in primary motor cortex excitability in older adults and that there are differences in primary motor cortex synaptic plasticity in older adults associated with different forms of exercise. These results suggest that increased synaptic plasticity in the motor cortex may play an important role in the acquisition and promotion of motor skills during exercise in older adults.

Key words: physical exercise, older adults, transcranial magnetic stimulation, motor evoked potential, motor cortex

MENG Haijiang, CHEN Lei, WANG Gang, ZHANG Jian. (2023). Differences in motor cortex synaptic plasticity associated with two forms of exercise in older adults: Evidence from TMS studies. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 55(10), 1653-1661.

Figures/Tables 7

References 37

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Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria
1. Aged 60~70 years	1. Have Alzheimer's or other neurodegenerative disorder
2. Volunteered to take part in the entire study	2. Have Mini-Mental State Examination test score ≤ 26
3. Able to provide written informed consent	3. Unable to exercise due to neuromuscular or musculoskeletal limitations
4. Participated often in table tennis or tai chi exercise or were often sedentary	4. Have schizophrenia, emotional disorder or depression, or other psychological disorder
	5. Have a history of sleep disorder
	6. Have a history of alcohol use disorder within 2 years
	7. Have a history of cancer or other serious systemic disease in the last 5 years
	8. Have hypertension, coronary heart disease, or other organic heart disease
	9. Have endocrine metabolism disorder or history of diabetes
	10. Participate often in other sports in addition to table tennis or tai chi

Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria
1. Aged 60~70 years	1. Have Alzheimer's or other neurodegenerative disorder
2. Volunteered to take part in the entire study	2. Have Mini-Mental State Examination test score ≤ 26
3. Able to provide written informed consent	3. Unable to exercise due to neuromuscular or musculoskeletal limitations
4. Participated often in table tennis or tai chi exercise or were often sedentary	4. Have schizophrenia, emotional disorder or depression, or other psychological disorder
	5. Have a history of sleep disorder
	6. Have a history of alcohol use disorder within 2 years
	7. Have a history of cancer or other serious systemic disease in the last 5 years
	8. Have hypertension, coronary heart disease, or other organic heart disease
	9. Have endocrine metabolism disorder or history of diabetes
	10. Participate often in other sports in addition to table tennis or tai chi

Characteristic	Table tennis group (18)	Tai chi group (18)	Sedentary group (18)
Average age (years)	66.11 ± 3.36	65.61 ± 3.40	64.89 ± 3.03
Female sex (n)	7	10	9
Educational level (years)	11.83 ± 2.36	11.33 ± 3.34	12.39 ± 2.35
MMSE score	27.83 ± 0.86	27.78 ± 1.06	27.61 ± 0.70

Characteristic	Table tennis group (18)	Tai chi group (18)	Sedentary group (18)
Average age (years)	66.11 ± 3.36	65.61 ± 3.40	64.89 ± 3.03
Female sex (n)	7	10	9
Educational level (years)	11.83 ± 2.36	11.33 ± 3.34	12.39 ± 2.35
MMSE score	27.83 ± 0.86	27.78 ± 1.06	27.61 ± 0.70

Variable	Table tennis group (n = 18)	Tai chi group (n = 18)	Sedentary group (n = 18)
Exercise Time (min/session)	128.33 ± 9.01	116.67 ± 7.23	N/A
Exercise intensity	Medium and greater	Medium and greater	N/A
Exercise frequency (sessions/wk)	5.78 ± 0.29	6.28 ± 0.24	N/A
Sedentary time (min/day)	281.67 ± 30.40	271.67 ± 22.29	596.67 ± 29.29**
RMT (%)	38.17 ± 1.28	39.67 ± 1.65	40.67 ± 1.38
1 mV stimulation intensity (%)	52.17 ± 1.55	54.44 ± 2.19	54.56 ± 1.47
Sensory threshold (mA)	2.18 ± 0.06	2.18 ± 0.09	2.29 ± 0.07