Movement is accompanied by beta power changes over frontal and sensorimotor regions: a decrease during movement (event-related desynchronization, ERD), followed by an increase (event-related synchronization, ERS) after the movement end. We previously found that enhancements of beta modulation (from ERD to ERS) during a reaching test (mov) occur over frontal and left sensorimotor regions after practice in a visuo-motor adaptation task (ROT) but not after visual learning practice. Thus, these enhancements may reflect local cumulative effects of motor learning. Here we verified whether they are triggered by the learning component inherent in ROT or simply by motor practice in a reaching task without such learning (MOT). We found that beta modulation during mov increased over frontal and left areas after three-hour practice of either ROT or MOT. However, the frontal increase was greater after ROT, while the increase over the left area was similar after the two tasks. These findings confirm that motor practice leaves local traces in beta power during a subsequent motor test. As they occur after motor tasks with and without learning, these traces likely express the cost of processes necessary for both usage and engagement of long-term potentiation mechanisms necessary for the learning required by ROT.

Movement-related oscillations in the beta range (from 13 to 30 Hz) have been observed over sensorimotor areas with power decrease (i.e., event-related desynchronization, ERD) during motor planning and execution followed by an increase (i.e., event-related synchronization, ERS) after the movement’s end. These phenomena occur during active, passive, imaged, and observed movements. Several electrophysiology studies have used beta ERD and ERS as functional indices of sensorimotor integrity, primarily in diseases affecting the motor system. Recent literature also highlights other characteristics of beta ERD and ERS, implying their role in processes not strictly related to motor function. Here we review studies about movement-related ERD and ERS in diseases characterized by motor dysfunction, including Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and multiple sclerosis. We also review changes of beta ERD and ERS reported in physiological aging, Alzheimer’s disease, and schizophrenia, three conditions without overt motor symptoms. The review of these works shows that ERD and ERS abnormalities are present across the spectrum of the examined pathologies as well as development and aging. They further suggest that cognition and movement are tightly related processes that may share common mechanisms regulated by beta modulation. Future studies with a multimodal approach are warranted to understand not only the specific topographical dynamics of movement-related beta modulation but also the general meaning of beta frequency changes occurring in relation to movement and cognitive processes at large. Such an approach will provide the foundation to devise and implement novel therapeutic approaches to neuropsychiatric disorders.

Recently we found that enhancements of movement-related beta (13.5–25 Hz) modulation (measured as event-related desynchronization peak to synchronization peak) during a simple reaching test (mov) occur over frontal and left sensorimotor regions after extended practice in a visuo-motor adaptation task (ROT) but not after similar duration practice in a visual learning task. Here we verify whether those enhancements are also trigged by motor practice alone or the additional learning component inherent in the visuo-motor adaptation task is needed. In healthy young subjects, beta modulation during mov increased over frontal and contralateral sensorimotor areas after three-hour practice of either ROT or reaching movements without visuo-motor adaptation (MOT). However, while the increase over the left area was similar after the two tasks, the frontal increase was greater after ROT practice. These findings confirm previous reports that extensive practice leaves local traces in beta power both at rest and during the subsequent execution of a motor test. They further suggest that, since they occur after motor tasks with (ROT) and without learning (MOT), these traces likely express the cost of processes necessary both for usage of these areas and for the engagement of long-term potentiation mechanisms necessary for creating new internal models.

We thank Martina Bossini Baroggi, Giulia Aurora Albanese and Giorgia Marchesi for the implementation of the kinematic analysis program (Marky) that was used to mark the kinematic data and Ramtin Mehraram for help in collecting and analyzing some of the MOT task data. " now reads: "This work was supported by NIH P01 NS083514 (MFG) and DOD W81XWH-19-1-0810 (MFG, AQ). Kinematic data were collected with custom-designed software, MotorTaskManager, produced by E.T.T. s.r.l. We thank Martina Bossini Baroggi, Giulia Aurora Albanese and Giorgia Marchesi for the implementation of the kinematic analysis program (Marky) that was used to mark the kinematic data and Ramtin Mehraram for help in collecting and analyzing some of the MOT task data. "The original Article has been corrected.

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