Sport Sciences and Health Research

Sport Sciences and Health Research

The effect of transcranial alternating current stimulation over the supplementary motor area on bimanual coordination in elderly people

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Asiyeh Dehghani 1
Hamid Reza Taheri Torbati 1
Mehdi Sohrabi 1
Afkham Daneshfar 2
Mohammad Saber Sotoodeh 3
1 Department of Motor Behavior, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran
2 Department of motor behavior, Faculty of sport sciences, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
3 Postdoctoral researcher- University of Sussex United-Kingdom
10.22059/sshr.2023.362378.1100
Abstract
Background: Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a non-invasive method that offers a potential solution to reduce the effects of aging on brain function.
Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of offline tACS over the supplementary motor area on bimanual coordination in elderly people.
Materials and Methods: Thirty-one women aged of 60-75 years were selected as convenience. They were assigned to 2 conditions: tACS and Sham, in random order, with one-week interval between conditions. After pre-test, each participant completed four trials of 5 min using Purdue pegboard task. Concurrently, participants received beta tACS with a current intensity of 1 mA. Immediate retention test, transfer test, and delayed retention tests after 48 hours and 1 week were conducted. A 2(condition) x 4(test) ANOVA with repeated measures was performed on gain scores.
Results: The main effects of condition and test were significant (P<0.0001). The Bonferroni tests revealed the significant improvement of bimanual coordination in the tACS condition compared to the sham condition in all retention and transfer tests (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The findings highlights the potential use of offline beta tACS over the SMA as a modulatory factor for enhancing bimanual coordination in the elderly women.
Keywords
ageing
beta oscillations
bimanual coordination
dexterity
motor cortex
tACS

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Sport Sciences and Health Research
Volume 15, Issue 1
January 2023
Pages 113-125