Age-dependent changes in central somatosensory conduction time.

Abstract

The effects of aging on central somatosensory conduction time (CSCT) were examined using 125 neurologically healthy subjects aged 10-79 years. There was a mean overall increase in CSCT during the age span studied of 0.5 ms. However, the principal increase in CSCT did not appear to start until the end of the fourth decade, after which there was a steady incremental increase. There was little evidence of an abrupt stepwise increase in CSCT at any age. Age-dependent changes in asymmetry (right-left difference in CSCT) remained approximately constant until the end of the sixth decade. From the age of 60 years onwards, there was a small mean increase in asymmetry of 0.1 ms. Subjects were divided into six age groups and the upper limit of normal for both CSCT and asymmetry was defined for each.