Alpha and beta oscillatory activity during a sequence of two movements

Abstract

Objective: We studied movement-related electroencephalographic oscillatory changes in the alpha and beta range during a sequence of two movements in 7 healthy volunteers, in order to investigate the relationship between these changes and each component in the sequence.Methods: The sequence consisted of a wrist active extension-passive flexion followed by a first and second finger pincer. A total of 10.5 s sweeps were recorded using the level of surface electromyographic (EMG) activity in wrist extensors as trigger, including a 7.5 s prestimulus. The sweeps were also realigned manually offline using as trigger the end of the first EMG burst, or the beginning of the second movement. An index of the changes in non-phase-locked energy in the 7 -37 Hz range was obtained by averaging single-sweep timefrequency transforms.Results: The duration of each of the movements in the sequence and the relationship between them were compatible with the use of two different motor programmes in the sequence. In the beta band, a decrease in energy (event-related desynchronisation, ERD) began 1.5 s before the onset of the first movement, and was sustained until the end of the second movement. No energy increases were observed until the end of the second movement. In the alpha band, the ERD began 0.5 seconds before the first movement and was sustained throughout the recording.Conclusion: These findings suggest that the beta-event-related synchronisation is related to the end of the whole motor process, and not to the end of each motor programme.

Distinct Modulations in Sensorimotor Postmovement and Foreperiod β-Band Activities Related to Error Salience Processing and Sensorimotor Adaptation

“…In contrast, only a handful of studies have analyzed the modulation of ␤-activity further back in time during the foreperiod (for review, see Kilavik et al, 2013). Using precueing paradigms several studies have reported intermittent ␤-band peaks during the foreperiod between the warning and the imperative cues (Alegre et al, 2004(Alegre et al, , 2006Molnár et al, 2008;van Wijk et al, 2009;Fischer et al, 2010;Zaepffel et al, 2013). First, Alegre et al (2004Alegre et al ( , 2006 reported multiple, largely independent ␤-power peaks in this epoch, of frontal and central sources.…”

“…Using precueing paradigms several studies have reported intermittent ␤-band peaks during the foreperiod between the warning and the imperative cues (Alegre et al, 2004(Alegre et al, , 2006Molnár et al, 2008;van Wijk et al, 2009;Fischer et al, 2010;Zaepffel et al, 2013). First, Alegre et al (2004Alegre et al ( , 2006 reported multiple, largely independent ␤-power peaks in this epoch, of frontal and central sources. Recently, in a precued reach-to-grasp task, Zaepffel et al (2013) found that ␤-band power was reduced above contralateral sensorimotor cortex following cues that contained information about grip type.…”

Age-related changes in the bimanual advantage and in brain oscillatory activity during tapping movements suggest a decline in processing sensory reafference

“…Because we have selected a 500-ms period, our analyses might have missed potential power modulations during this interval. However, the previously reported fast beta changes were mainly described during discrete hand/foot movements during time intervals of 8 s or more Derambure et al 1999;Pfurtscheller and Lopes da Silva 1999;Pfurtscheller 2001;Alegre et al 2003) but were not observed for each movement in a sequence of two consecutive movements (Alegre et al 2004). Post-movement ERS was indeed not observed after the first movement but only at the end of the sequence of movements.…”

“…Precisely, a premovement desynchronization phase (ERD) about 1 s before the movement followed with a post-movement synchronization phase (ERS or beta rebound) has been reported. The ERD phase has been advanced to correspond to the preparation and the execution of the movement, while the ERS phase has been associated either to sensory reafferences, to the return of the motor cortex to a 'rest' state or to the closure of the motor process (see Pfurtscheller et al 1996;Derambure et al 1999;Alegre et al 2003Alegre et al , 2004). Because we have selected a 500-ms period, our analyses might have missed potential power modulations during this interval.…”

Changes in cortical relative power in patients submitted to a tendon transfer: a pre and post surgery study

“…A few experiments have demonstrated that such proprioceptive mechanisms are specific of these somatossensory cortical areas, specifically, hands and feet [25][26][27] . However, the real meaning of cortical activity changes is still far from being elucidated 28 .…”