The ups and downs of beta oscillations in sensorimotor cortex

Abstract

Since the first descriptions of sensorimotor rhythms by Berger (1929) and by Jasper and Penfield (1949), the potential role of beta oscillations (~13-30 Hz) in the brain has been intensely investigated. We start this review by showing that experimental studies in humans and monkeys have reached a consensus on the facts that sensorimotor beta power is low during movement, transiently increases after movement end (the "beta rebound") and tonically increases during object grasping. Recently, a new surge of studies exploiting more complex sensorimotor tasks including multiple events, such as instructed delay tasks, reveal novel characteristics of beta oscillatory activity. We therefore proceed by critically reviewing also this literature to understand whether modulations of beta oscillations in task epochs other than those during and after movement are consistent across studies, and whether they can be reconciled with a role for beta oscillations in sensorimotor transmission. We indeed find that there are additional processes that also strongly affect sensorimotor beta oscillations, such as visual cue anticipation and processing, fitting with the view that beta oscillations reflect heightened sensorimotor transmission beyond somatosensation. However, there are differences among studies, which may be interpreted more readily if we assume multiple processes, whose effects on the overall measured beta power overlap in time. We conclude that beta oscillations observed in sensorimotor cortex may serve large-scale communication between sensorimotor and other areas and the periphery.

Interactions between visual and semantic processing during object recognition revealed by modulatory effects of age of acquisition

“…A variation on the top-down re-activation account of the modulation of visual activity by AoA is based on the concept of "beta rebound" (Kilavik et al, 2013). Beta activity in sensorimotor cortex is low during the execution of a movement then shows a prominent but transient increase from 300 to 1000 ms after the movement ends.…”

Coordinating Utterances During Turn-Taking: The Role of Prediction, Response Preparation, and Articulation

“…Alpha-beta desynchronization has been associated with motor aspects of articulation (Piai, Roelofs, Rommers, & Maris, 2015b), whereas beta synchronization has been associated with maintaining the current cognitive state until the response can be articulated (Engel & Fries, 2010;Kilavik, Zaepffel, Brovelli, MacKay, & Riehle, 2013). These findings suggest that when listeners prepare their response in advance of articulation, they buffer and continue to rehearse this response (presumably so they do not forget what they wish to say) until they are given the opportunity to take their turn.…”

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

“…Brain oscillatory activity in the beta band has been pointed out as a mechanism supporting the maintenance of motor or cognitive states (Alegre et al 2003;Engel and Fries 2010). In general, power modulations of brain oscillations relate to the overall level of activity in neuronal populations (see Kilavik et al 2013). Decrease in power (desynchronization) corresponds to an activated brain state and is a correlate of excited cortical neurons (Steriade and Llinas 1988;Pfurtscheller et al 1997;Kilavik et al 2013).…”

“…In general, power modulations of brain oscillations relate to the overall level of activity in neuronal populations (see Kilavik et al 2013). Decrease in power (desynchronization) corresponds to an activated brain state and is a correlate of excited cortical neurons (Steriade and Llinas 1988;Pfurtscheller et al 1997;Kilavik et al 2013). Conversely, an increase in power (synchronization) reflects decreased cortical excitability or increased inhibition of neuronal populations (Pfurtscheller et al 1997;Kilavik et al 2013).…”

“…Decrease in power (desynchronization) corresponds to an activated brain state and is a correlate of excited cortical neurons (Steriade and Llinas 1988;Pfurtscheller et al 1997;Kilavik et al 2013). Conversely, an increase in power (synchronization) reflects decreased cortical excitability or increased inhibition of neuronal populations (Pfurtscheller et al 1997;Kilavik et al 2013). For example, the voluntary suppression of complex finger movements was associated with increased upper alpha power over the sensorimotor cortex compared to a rest condition (Sauseng et al 2013).…”