Preservation of perceptual integration improves temporal stability of bimanual coordination in the elderly: an evidence of age-related brain plasticity.

Despite the apparent age-related decline in perceptual-motor performance, recent studies suggest that the elderly people can improve their reaction time when relevant sensory information are available. However, little is known about which sensory information may improve motor behaviour itself. Using a synchronization task, the present study investigates how visual and/or auditory stimulations could increase accuracy and stability of three bimanual coordination modes produced by elderly and young adults. Neurophysiological activations are recorded with ElectroEncephaloGraphy (EEG) to explore neural mechanisms underlying behavioural effects. Results reveal that the elderly stabilize all coordination modes when auditory or audio-visual stimulations are available, compared to visual stimulation alone. This suggests that auditory stimulations are sufficient to improve temporal stability of rhythmic coordination, even more in the elderly. This behavioural effect is primarily associated with increased attentional and sensorimotor-related neural activations in the elderly but similar perceptual-related activations in elderly and young adults. This suggests that, despite a degradation of attentional and sensorimotor neural processes, perceptual integration of auditory stimulations is preserved in the elderly. These results suggest that perceptual-related brain plasticity is, at least partially, conserved in normal aging.

Blais M ，Martin E ，Albaret JM ，Tallet J ... -  《-》

Is there a link between sensorimotor coordination and inter-manual coordination? Differential effects of auditory and/or visual rhythmic stimulations.

Blais M ，Albaret JM ，Tallet J 《-》

Age-related changes in the bimanual advantage and in brain oscillatory activity during tapping movements suggest a decline in processing sensory reafference.

Sallard E ，Spierer L ，Ludwig C ，Deiber MP ，Barral J ... -  《-》

Capturing with EEG the neural entrainment and coupling underlying sensorimotor synchronization to the beat.

Synchronizing movements with rhythmic inputs requires tight coupling of sensory and motor neural processes. Here, using a novel approach based on the recording of steady-state-evoked potentials (SS-EPs), we examine how distant brain areas supporting these processes coordinate their dynamics. The electroencephalogram was recorded while subjects listened to a 2.4-Hz auditory beat and tapped their hand on every second beat. When subjects tapped to the beat, the EEG was characterized by a 2.4-Hz SS-EP compatible with beat-related entrainment and a 1.2-Hz SS-EP compatible with movement-related entrainment, based on the results of source analysis. Most importantly, when compared with passive listening of the beat, we found evidence suggesting an interaction between sensory- and motor-related activities when subjects tapped to the beat, in the form of (1) additional SS-EP appearing at 3.6 Hz, compatible with a nonlinear product of sensorimotor integration; (2) phase coupling of beat- and movement-related activities; and (3) selective enhancement of beat-related activities over the hemisphere contralateral to the tapping, suggesting a top-down effect of movement-related activities on auditory beat processing. Taken together, our results are compatible with the view that rhythmic sensorimotor synchronization is supported by a dynamic coupling of sensory and motor related activities.

Nozaradan S ，Zerouali Y ，Peretz I ，Mouraux A ... -  《-》

Sensorimotor slowing with ageing is mediated by a functional dysregulation of motor-generation processes: evidence from high-resolution event-related potentials.

Yordanova J ，Kolev V ，Hohnsbein J ，Falkenstein M ... -  《BRAIN》