All talk? Left temporal alpha oscillations are not specific to verbal-analytical processing during conscious motor control

Abstract

1All talk? Left temporal alpha oscillations are not specific to verbal-analytical processing during 2 conscious motor control 3 4Johnny Abstract 29The present study tested the validity of inferring verbal-analytic motor processing from EEG 30 left-temporal alpha activity. Participants (n = 20) reached for and transport a jar under three 31 conditions: one control condition and two self-talk conditions aimed at eliciting either task-unrelated 32 verbal processing or task-related conscious control, while 32-channel EEG and kinematics were 33 recorded. Compared to the control condition, both self-talk conditions elicited greater self-reported 34 levels of verbal processing, but only the task-related self-talk condition was accompanied by greater 35 left temporal activity (i.e., EEG alpha power decreased) during movement production. However, this 36 increase was not localised to the left temporal region but was rather evident over all scalp regions 37 examined, suggesting an interpretation more consistent with diminished neural efficiency. No effects 38 for left temporal-frontal (T7-Fz) connectivity were detected across conditions. Our results failed to 39 endorse left-temporal EEG alpha activity as valid index of verbal-analytic processing during motor 40 tasks. 41Keywords: conscious motor processing, self-talk, verbal-processing, T7-Fz, neural efficiency. 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 3 52 1. Introduction 53The progression from beginner to skilled motor performance is characterised by an 54 attenuation of energy expenditure as the expression of greater metabolic efficiency (Hatfield, 2018; 55 Hatfield & Hillman, 2001). Such adaptations are not only observed as decreased somatic activity (e.g., 56reduced muscular activation), but also as decreased mental activity (e.g., reduced regional activation 57 in the brain). By using neuroimaging techniques, such as electroencephalography (EEG), researchers 58 have provided evidence that practice of a motor skill induces changes in the cerebral cortex consistent 59 with the concept of "neural efficiency". 60A cortical region that is often deemed to be implicated in the attainment of greater neural 61 efficiency is the left temporal region. By recording the magnitude of EEG oscillatory activity within 62 the 8-12 Hz frequency range, an inverse marker of neuronal activity termed "alpha power" (Klimesch, 63 2012), researchers have observed diminished activity in the left temporal region as a function of 64 66 temporal region includes structures implicated in language processing (e.g., Broca's area and 67Wernicke's area), the abovementioned findings have been interpreted as evidence that expert 68 performance is less reliant on declarative verbal-analytic processes that characterise the conscious 69 motor control of novices (e.g., Fitts & Posner, 1967). 70In addition to regional activation, cortico-cortical networking has been examined to reveal the 71 interaction across various cortical regions. For example, phase-based measures of alpha connectivity 72 between the left tempo...

Mind and body: Psychophysiological profiles of instructional and motivational self‐talk

“…Accordingly, other between‐group differences (e.g., experience, personality) may account for some of the effects in previous studies. The validity of T7‐Fz connectivity as an index of verbal‐analytic processing has also been questioned in a recent study by Parr, Gallicchio, Harrison, Johnen, and Wood (2019). Rather than reflecting conscious motor processing, it seems on the basis of our results that all connectivity between frontal and other sites could reflect the extent to which sensory (e.g., auditory, visual, perceptual) processes influence frontally‐generated action plans.…”

“…Notwithstanding, it may be beneficial for future studies to replicate and extend our experiment with a larger population. Fifth, we recognize that our ISPC (also known as phase locking value) approach to assessing connectivity provides a consolidated measure of connectivity (Gallicchio et al, 2016(Gallicchio et al, , 2017Parr et al, 2019), but does not provide information on connectivity direction. Future studies would do well to apply alternative techniques, such as Granger Causality (Cohen, 2014), which can provide insights on directionality.…”