Abstract
Although basal ganglia (BG) are involved in the motor disorders of aged people, the effect of aging on the functional interaction of BG is not well-known. This work was aimed at studying the influence of aging on the functional connectivity of the motor circuit of BG (BGmC). Thirty healthy volunteers were studied (young-group 26.4 ± 5.7 years old; aged-group 63.1 ± 5.8 years old) with a procedure planned to prevent the spurious functional connectivity induced by the closed-loop arrangement of the BGmC. BG showed different functional interactions during the inter-task intervals and when subjects did not perform any voluntary task. Aging induced marked changes in the functional connectivity of the BGmC during these inter-task intervals. The finger movements changed the functional connectivity of the BG, these modifications were also different in the aged-group. Taken together, these data show a marked effect of aging on the functional connectivity of the BGmC, and these effects may be at the basis of the motor handicaps of aged people during the execution of motor-tasks and when they are not performing any voluntary motor task.
Highlights
The decline of motor abilities associated with aging normally occurs parallel to changes in different cortical and subcortical motor centers (Fjell and Walhovd, 2010; Seidler et al, 2010)
The use of BOLD-data of VOIs located in the main nuclei of the BG motor circuit (BGmC) and of the partial correlation method proved useful to study the effect of aging on the functional interaction of basal ganglia (BG)
BG showed marked changes in aged people during both the no-motion and motion intervals, suggesting that a different functional connectivity of BGmC nuclei may be at the basis of the motor deterioration induced by aging
Summary
The decline of motor abilities associated with aging normally occurs parallel to changes in different cortical and subcortical motor centers (Fjell and Walhovd, 2010; Seidler et al, 2010). MRI (fcMRI), has reported inconsistent results indicating an increase (Marchand et al, 2011), a decrease (Taniwaki et al, 2007) or no changes (Baudrexel et al, 2011) in the functional connectivity of BG with aging. This low consistency of fcMRI studies may be associated with age-related changes in the neuro-vascular coupling (Riecker et al, 2003), the small size of some BG (which hampers the grouping of data obtained in different subjects), and the closed-loop wiring of BG (the interaction between two centers may reflect the circulation of information across the BG closed-loop circuit more than their direct interaction). The partial correlation coefficient (CC) was used to estimate the “magnitude” of the functional interaction of BG (Fox and Raichle, 2007), and a block-task paradigm with interleaved “no-motion”/“motion” (hand movements) intervals was used to study the influence of motion on the BG interaction (Fair et al, 2007)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
