Task-related measures of short-interval intracortical inhibition and GABA levels in healthy young and older adults: A multimodal TMS-MRS study

K. Cuypers; S. Verstraelen; C. Maes; L. Hermans; M. Hehl; K.-F. Heise; S. Chalavi; M. Mikkelsen; R. Edden; O. Levin; S. Sunaert; R. Meesen; D. Mantini; S.P. Swinnen

NeuroImage (Mar 2020)

Task-related measures of short-interval intracortical inhibition and GABA levels in healthy young and older adults: A multimodal TMS-MRS study

K. Cuypers,
S. Verstraelen,
C. Maes,
L. Hermans,
M. Hehl,
K.-F. Heise,
S. Chalavi,
M. Mikkelsen,
R. Edden,
O. Levin,
S. Sunaert,
R. Meesen,
D. Mantini,
S.P. Swinnen

Affiliations

K. Cuypers: Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium; REVAL Research Institute, Hasselt University, Agoralaan, Building A, 3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium; Corresponding author. Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Tervuursevest 101, 3001, Leuven, Belgium.
S. Verstraelen: REVAL Research Institute, Hasselt University, Agoralaan, Building A, 3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium
C. Maes: Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium
L. Hermans: Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium
M. Hehl: Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium
K.-F. Heise: Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium
S. Chalavi: Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium
M. Mikkelsen: Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
R. Edden: Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
O. Levin: Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium
S. Sunaert: Department of Imaging and Pathology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Radiology, University Hospitals Leuven, Gasthuisberg, UZ, Leuven, Belgium
R. Meesen: Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium; REVAL Research Institute, Hasselt University, Agoralaan, Building A, 3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium
D. Mantini: Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium; Brain Imaging and Neural Dynamics Research Group, IRCCS San Camillo Hospital, Venice, Italy
S.P. Swinnen: Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium; KU Leuven, Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), Leuven, Belgium

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 208
p. 116470

Abstract

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Establishing the associations between magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)-assessed gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-derived ‘task-related’ modulations in GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition and how these associations change with advancing age is a topic of interest in the field of human neuroscience. In this study, we identified the relationship between GABA levels and task-related modulations in GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition in the dominant (left) and non-dominant (right) sensorimotor (SM) cortices. GABA levels were measured using edited MRS and task-related GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition was measured using a short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) TMS protocol during the preparation and premotor period of a choice reaction time (CRT) task in 25 young (aged 18–33 years) and 25 older (aged 60–74 years) adults. Our results demonstrated that GABA levels in both SM voxels were lower in older adults as compared to younger adults; and higher SM GABA levels in the dominant as compared to the non-dominant SM voxel pointed to a lateralization effect, irrespective of age group. Furthermore, older adults showed decreased GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition in the preparation phase of the CRT task within the dominant primary motor cortex (M1), as compared to young adults. Finally, results from an exploratory correlation analysis pointed towards positive relationships between MRS-assessed GABA levels and TMS-derived task-related SICI measures. However, after correction for multiple comparisons none of the correlations remained significant.

Published in NeuroImage

ISSN: 1053-8119 (Print); 1095-9572 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/neuroimage

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