Augmenting mirror visual feedback-induced performance improvements in older adults.
Maike Hoff, Elisabeth Kaminski, Viola Rjosk, Bernhard Sehm, Christopher J Steele, Arno Villringer, Patrick Ragert
Author Information
Maike Hoff: Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany.
Elisabeth Kaminski: Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany.
Viola Rjosk: Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany.
Bernhard Sehm: Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany.
Christopher J Steele: Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany.
Arno Villringer: Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany.
Patrick Ragert: Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany.
Previous studies have indicated that age-related behavioral alterations are not irreversible but are subject to amelioration through specific training interventions. Both training paradigms and non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) can be used to modulate age-related brain alterations and thereby influence behavior. It has been shown that mirror visual feedback (MVF) during motor skill training improves performance of the trained and untrained hands in young adults. The question remains of whether MVF also improves motor performance in older adults and how performance improvements can be optimised via NIBS. Here, we sought to determine whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) can be used to augment MVF-induced performance improvements in manual dexterity. We found that older adults receiving a-tDCS over the right primary motor cortex (M1) during MVF showed superior performance improvements of the (left) untrained hand relative to sham stimulation. An additional control experiment in participants receiving a-tDCS over the right M1 only (without MVF/motor training of the right hand) revealed no significant behavioral gains in the left (untrained) hand. On the basis of these findings, we propose that combining a-tDCS with MVF might be relevant for future clinical studies that aim to optimise the outcome of neurorehabilitation.
