Fujiyama H Hinder MR Barzideh A Van de Vijver C Badache AC Manrique-C MN Reissig P Zhang X Levin O Summers JJ Swinnen SP 2017 Functional motor declines that often occur with advancing age-including reduced efficacy to learn new skills-can have a substantial impact on the quality of life. Recent studies using noninvasive brain stimulation indicate that priming the corticospinal system by lowering the threshold for the induction of long-term potentiation-like plasticity before skill training may facilitate subsequent skill learning. Here, we used "priming" protocol, in which we used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applying the cathode over the primary motor cortex (M1) before the anode placed over M1 during unimanual isometric force control training (FORCEtraining). Older individuals who received tDCS with the cathode placed over M1 before tDCS with the anode placed over M1 concurrent with FORCEtraining showed greater skill improvement and corticospinal excitability increases following the tDCS/FORCEtraining protocol compared with both young and older individuals who did not receive the preceding tDCS with the cathode placed over M1. The results suggested that priming tDCS protocols may be used in clinical settings to improve motor function and thus maintain the functional independence of older adults. application/pdf https://sonar.ch/global/documents/36877 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.11.012 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/28033506 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Neurobiology of aging. - 2017 Healthy aging Homeostatic metaplasticity Primary motor cortex Skill acquisition Transcranial direct current stimulation Adult Aged Aging Conditioning, Psychological Electric Stimulation Electrodes Evoked Potentials, Motor Female Humans Learning Long-Term Potentiation Male Middle Aged Motor Cortex Motor Skills Neural Inhibition Neuronal Plasticity Quality of Life Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Young Adult Preconditioning tDCS facilitates subsequent tDCS effect on skill acquisition in older adults. http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501