Participation in physical activity benefits brain health and function. Cognitive function generally demonstrates a noticeable effect of physical activity, but much less is known about areas responsible for controlling movement, such as primary motor cortex (M1). While more physical activity may support M1 plasticity in older adults, the neural mechanisms underlying this beneficial effect remain poorly understood. Aging is inevitably accompanied by diminished motor performance, and the extent of plasticity may also be less in older adults compared with young. Motor complications with aging may, perhaps unsurprisingly, contribute to reduced physical activity in older adults. While the development of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques have identified that human M1 is a crucial site for learning motor skills and recovery of motor function after injury, a considerable lack of knowledge remains about how physical activity impacts M1 with healthy aging. Reducing impaired neural activity in older adults may have important implications after neurological insult, such as stroke, which is more common with advancing age. Therefore, a better understanding about the effects of physical activity on M1 processes and motor learning in older adults may promote healthy aging, but also allow us to facilitate recovery of motor function after neurological injury. This article will initially provide a brief overview of the neurophysiology of M1 in the context of learning motor skills, with a focus on healthy aging in humans. This information will then be proceeded by a more detailed assessment that focuses on whether physical activity benefits motor function and human M1 processes.

参加体育活动有益于大脑健康和功能。认知功能通常表现出身体活动的显着影响，但对负责控制运动的区域知之甚少，例如初级运动皮层 (M1)。虽然更多的体力活动可能支持老年人的 M1 可塑性，但这种有益作用背后的神经机制仍知之甚少。衰老不可避免地伴随着运动能力的下降，与年轻人相比，老年人的可塑性程度也可能较低。可能不足为奇的是，衰老引起的运动并发症可能导致老年人体力活动减少。虽然非侵入性脑刺激技术的发展已经确定人类 M1 是学习运动技能和受伤后运动功能恢复的关键部位，但仍然相当缺乏关于体育活动如何影响 M1 与健康老龄化的知识。减少老年人受损的神经活动可能在神经损伤后具有重要意义，例如随着年龄的增长而更常见的中风。因此，更好地了解体育活动对老年人 M1 过程和运动学习的影响可能会促进健康老龄化，但也能让我们促进神经损伤后运动功能的恢复。本文将首先在学习运动技能的背景下简要概述 M1 的神经生理学，重点是人类的健康老龄化。