Effects of age on brain activation during auditory-cued thumb-to-index opposition - A positron emission tomography study
Effects of age on brain activation during auditory-cued thumb-to-index opposition - A positron emission tomography study
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DOI：
10.1161/01.str.32.1.139
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发表时间：
2001-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
8.3
通讯作者：
Baron, JC
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Calautti, C;Serrati, C;Baron, JC
背景和目的：现有数据表明，随着年龄的增长，精细手指的运动能力下降，这表明中枢运动过程发生了变化。到目前为止，还没有功能性神经影像学研究评估年龄对手指运动时激活模式的影响。方法：采用高分辨率灌注正电子发射断层扫描技术对两组7名健康右撇子进行研究：年轻组（平均年龄24岁）和老年组（平均年龄60岁）。这项任务是用右手或左手用节拍器以1.26赫兹的听觉提示，用拇指敲击食指。对照条件为静息状态，打开节拍器。结果：老年人和年轻人之间发现了显著的差异，表明老年人明显的过度激活影响了与移动手指同侧的额叶上部皮层（前运动-前额叶交界处），好像这项看似简单的运动任务的执行被老年人的大脑判断为更复杂。在先前的知觉和认知范式中，类似的发现被解释为衰老的神经生物学变化的补偿过程。然而，对我们样本中对照条件数据的分析表明，老年组的前额叶过度激活至少在一定程度上是由于年轻受试者的前脑区静息灌注较高。结论：本研究中观察到的脑功能变化可能是正常衰老过程中发生的精细运动功能轻微下降的基础。我们的研究结果强调了在卒中后运动恢复的功能影像学研究中使用年龄匹配的对照组的重要性。
Background and Purpose-Available data indicate a decline in fine finger movements with aging, suggesting changes in central motor precesses. Thus far no functional neuroimaging study has assessed the effect of age on activation patterns during finger movement.Methods-We used high-resolution perfusion positron emission tomography to study 2 groups of 7 healthy right-handed subjects each: a young group (mean age, 24 years) and an old group (mean age, 60 years). The task was a thumb-to-index tapping, auditory-cued at 1.26 Hz with a metronome, with either the right or the left hand. The control condition was a resting state with the metronome on.Results-Significant differences between old and young subjects were found, suggesting significant overactivation in older subjects affecting the superior frontal cortex (premotor-prefrontal junction) ipsilateral to the moving fingers, as if the execution of this apparently simple motor task was judged more complex by the aged brain. Similar findings in previous perceptual and cognitive paradigms have been interpreted as a compensation process for the neurobiological changes of aging. Analysis of the control condition data in our sample showed, however, that this prefrontal overactivation in the old group was due at least in part to higher resting perfusion in anterior brain areas in the young subjects.Conclusions-The changes in brain function observed in this study may underlie the subtle decline in fine motor functions known to occur with normal aging. Our findings emphasize the importance of using an age-matched control group in functional imaging studies of motor recovery after stroke.