Papegaaij, Selma Baudry, Stéphane Négyesi, János Taube, Wolfgang Hortobágyi, Tibor 2016-03-22 Purpose: In a previous study, we reported that a short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) decreases in old but not in young adults when standing on foam vs. a rigid surface. Here, we examined if such an age by task difficulty interaction in motor cortical excitability also occurs in easier standing tasks.Methods: Fourteen young (23 ± 2.7 years) and fourteen old (65 ± 4.1 years) adults received transcranial magnetic brain stimulation and peripheral nerve stimulation, while they stood with or without support on a force platform.Results: In the soleus, we found that SICI was lower in unsupported (35 % inhibition) vs. supported (50 %) standing (<em>p</em> = 0.007) but similar in young vs. old adults (<em>p</em> = 0.591). In the tibialis anterior, SICI was similar between conditions (<em>p</em> = 0.597) but lower in old (52 %) vs. young (72 %) adults (<em>p</em> = 0.030). Age and standing with or without support did not affect the Hoffmann reflex in the soleus.Conclusions: The current data suggest that the motor cortex is involved in standing control, and that its role becomes more prominent with an increase in task difficulty. application/pdf https://folia.unifr.ch/global/documents/304915 https://folia.unifr.ch/documents/304915/files/tau_iis.pdf eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1007/s00421-016-3354-6 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess License undefined European Journal of Applied Physiology. - 2016, vol. 116, no. 5, p. 959–967 Aging Balance Short-interval intracortical inhibition Transcranial magnetic stimulation Peripheral nerve stimulation info:eu-repo/classification/udc/57 Intracortical inhibition in the soleus muscle is reduced during the control of upright standing in both young and old adults http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501