Developmental Trajectory of Beta Cortical Oscillatory Activity During a Knee Motor Task

Abstract

There is currently a void in the scientific literature on the cortical beta oscillatory activity that is associated with the production of leg motor actions. In addition, we have limited data on how these cortical oscillations may progressively change as a function of development. This study began to fill this vast knowledge gap by using high-density magnetoencephalography to quantify the beta cortical oscillatory activity over a cross-section of typically developing children as they performed an isometric knee target matching task. Advanced beamforming methods were used to identify the spatiotemporal changes in beta oscillatory activity during the motor planning and motor action time frames. Our results showed that a widespread beta event-related desynchronization (ERD) was present across the pre/postcentral gyri, supplementary motor area, and the parietal cortices during the motor planning stage. The strength of this beta ERD sharply diminished across this fronto-parietal network as the children initiated the isometric force needed to match the target. Rank order correlations indicated that the older children were more likely to initiate their force production sooner, took less time to match the targets, and tended to have a weaker beta ERD during the motor planning stage. Lastly, we determined that there was a relationship between the child’s age and the strength of the beta ERD within the parietal cortices during isometric force production. Altogether our results suggest that there are notable maturational changes during childhood and adolescence in beta cortical oscillatory activity that are associated with the planning and execution of leg motor actions.

Practice modulates motor‐related beta oscillations differently in adolescents and adults

“…, ; Kurz et al . ; Valyear & Frey, ). The weaker alpha oscillations seen in these cortical areas may imply that adolescents have more difficulty computing these transformations.…”

“…; Kurz et al . ). This pattern of activity has also been observed in adolescents but with distinct differences (Gaetz et al .…”

“…; Kurz et al . ). The strength of the beta ERD in adolescents is weaker compared to adults (Gaetz et al .…”

“…; Kurz et al . ). Despite the recognition that there are developmental differences in this cortical activity, we still have an incomplete understanding of how practising a motor action relates to these maturational differences in the oscillatory activity.…”

Oscillatory dynamics in the dorsal and ventral attention networks during the reorienting of attention

“…Finally, with regards to the impact of motor‐related responses on our results, at a reviewer's request we imaged the beta response using a shorter time window (i.e., from 300 to 700 ms) than that utilized in our original analysis (i.e., from 300 to 900 ms) to reduce possible contamination by motor‐related activity. While assessing the contribution of motor‐related activity was not a goal of the present study, our laboratory has a history of investigating the oscillatory signature of motor control (Arpin et al, ; Heinrichs‐Graham, Arpin, & Wilson, ; Heinrichs‐Graham et al, ; Heinrichs‐Graham, Santamaria, Gendelman, & Wilson, ; Heinrichs‐Graham & Wilson, ; Kurz, Becker, Heinrichs‐Graham, & Wilson, ; Kurz et al, ; Kurz, Proskovec, Gehringer, Heinrichs‐Graham, & Wilson, ; Wilson et al, ; Wilson, Heinrichs‐Graham, & Becker, ), and we are acquainted with the impact that motor‐related responses can have on cognitive paradigms. As such, we anticipated that beamforming a shorter time window would result in a global reduction in beta power throughout the cortex.…”