Age related effects on motor sequence learning and improvement by cortical stimulation

Introduction: During normal aging variable declines in cognitive functions occur. However, little is known about the effects of age on motor sequence learning. The purpose of the present study was (A) to explore age-related effects on an explicit motor sequence task and (B) to investigate if anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to the primary motor cortex (M1) can improve motor sequence learning. Methods: (A) Motor sequence learning of a five digit finger sequence was tested in a group of 14 healthy elderly (56–88 years; 67.9±2.3) and 14 healthy young (22–28 years; 24.5±0.5). The subject…