Boosting motor learning-related neuroplasticity in healthy older adults with non-invasive brain stimulation.

A substantial impediment to healthy living in older adults is the compromised functioning of the motor system, and the neuroplastic processes underlying the learning of movement skills in particular. A promising avenue to boost motor-related neuroplasticity in older individuals is noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS); however, remarkably little is known with respect to the neural correlates of this intervention. Accordingly, the overarching objective of this research programme is to investigate the effects of NIBS on the neuroplasticity underlying motor learning in healthy older adults. Specifically, healthy young and older adults will complete a motor task before and 8 hours after receiving stimulation to the primary motor cortex. We will examine stimulationinduced changes in brain activity, functional connectivity and neurometabolite concentration and how these processes are modulated by individual variations in brain structure. Such an investigation is essential before NIBS-based interventions can be employed as a viable avenue to mitigate age- or pathology-related declines in motor functioning and is consistent with the European Commission’s initiative to increase the healthy lifespan of Europeans by 2 years prior to 2020.