Sarcopenia is a disease characterised by a loss in muscle mass, muscle strength and physical function. While many risk factors have been linked to sarcopenia, there is emerging evidence that age-related changes in neural mechanisms may play a key role, especially to losses in muscle strength and function (independent of mass). An important feature of the nervous system is that motor neurones can intrinsically modulate its excitability by generating persistent inward currents (PICs). PICs amplify the received net excitatory input allowing the motor neurone to discharge at higher frequencies, thus facilitating higher force production by the motor units. Ageing can significantly impair the generation of PICs, which may contribute to the age-related reductions in strength and function. However, it remains unclear if this is further diminished in adults with impaired physical function. This study aims to investigate if sarcopenic older adults have reductions in intrinsic motor neurone excitability, which is in part reflective of PICs, relative to healthy controls. A total of 20 older adults diagnosed with sarcopenia and 20 non-sarcopenic controls will be included. Herein we report preliminary data from two sarcopenic (69 and 79 years) and six control (72±6 years) females. Sarcopenia was based on the Sarcopenia Definitions and Outcomes Consortium (SDOC) cut-off points for handgrip strength and 4-m gait speed. High-density surface electromyography signals (128-channels) were recorded from the tibialis anterior during ramp-shaped contraction to 20%, 40%, and 60% of maximal isometric force. A blind-source-separation algorithm was used to decompose the recorded signals into individual motor neurone discharge trains, which allowed the estimation of PIC amplitude (i.e., intrinsic excitability). Body composition was estimated with bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy. Because of the current small sample size, data was interpreted based on estimated marginal mean differences (along with effect size d and 95%CI). As expected, those with sarcopenia were weaker (handgrip strength 16.5±2.5 vs 27.4±8.4kg), slower (4-m gait speed 0.79±0.03 vs 1.45±0.22m/s) and had lower appendicular lean mass (6.4±0.5 vs 8.0±1.0kg/m2) than controls. Estimates of PICs were higher in controls [4.4(95%CI:3.7, 5.1) vs sarcopenic 3.0 (95%CI:1.8, 4.2)pps], with a net difference of 1.4 (95%CI: -0.1, 2.8)pps. In conclusion, the preliminary findings from this study provide early evidence of potential impairment of intrinsic motor neurone excitability in older adults with sarcopenia, which may play a critical role in their reduced strength and function. However, these results should be interpreted with caution and confirmation is required with the larger sample size.