Open AccessDevelopment of cortical motor circuits between childhood and adulthood: A navigated TMS‐HdEEG study
Author(s) -
Määttä Sara,
Könönen Mervi,
Kallioniemi Elisa,
Lakka Timo,
Lintu Niina,
Lindi Virpi,
Ferreri Florinda,
Ponzo David,
Säisänen Laura
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
human brain mapping
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.005
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1097-0193
pISSN - 1065-9471
DOI - 10.1002/hbm.23545
Subject(s) - transcranial magnetic stimulation , neuroscience , psychology , motor cortex , neurophysiology , electroencephalography , hum , primary motor cortex , stimulation , audiology , medicine , art , performance art , art history
Motor functions improve during childhood and adolescence, but little is still known about the development of cortical motor circuits during early life. To elucidate the neurophysiological hallmarks of motor cortex development, we investigated the differences in motor cortical excitability and connectivity between healthy children, adolescents, and adults by means of navigated suprathreshold motor cortex transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) combined with high‐density electroencephalography (EEG). We demonstrated that with development, the excitability of the motor system increases, the TMS‐evoked EEG waveform increases in complexity, the magnitude of induced activation decreases, and signal spreading increases. Furthermore, the phase of the oscillatory response to TMS becomes less consistent with age. These changes parallel an improvement in manual dexterity and may reflect developmental changes in functional connectivity. Hum Brain Mapp 38:2599–2615, 2017 . © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.