Premovement brain activity in a bimanual load-lifting task

Abstract

Even the simplest volitional movements must be precisely coordinated with anticipatory postural adjustments. Little is currently known about the neural networks that coordinate these adjustments in healthy adults. We measured brain activity prior to movement during a bimanual load-lifting task, designed to elicit anticipatory adjustments in a restricted and well-defined set of musculature in the arm. Electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography brain measurements were obtained from eleven participants while they performed a bimanual load-lifting task that required precise inter-limb coordination. Anticipatory biceps brachii inhibition in the loaded arm was associated with a robust desynchronization of the beta rhythm. Beamforming analyses localized beta band responses to the parietal lobules, pre- and post-central gyri, middle and medial frontal gyri, basal ganglia and thalamus. The current study shows that premovement brain activity in a bimanual load-lifting task can be imaged with magnetoencephalography. Future experiments will partition out brain activity associated with anticipatory postural adjustments and volitional movements. The experimental paradigm will also be useful in the study of motor function in patients with developmental or degenerative disorders.

Neuromagnetic brain activity associated with anticipatory postural adjustments for bimanual load lifting

“…In a recent MEG study of BMLL in healthy adults, Ng et al (2011) reported findings that complement Viallet et al's model. It was noted that, during voluntary unloading, pre-movement brain activity was associated with event-related desynchronization (ERD) of beta-frequency (13-30 Hz) oscillations in the basal ganglia and SMA contralateral to the load-bearing arm.…”

“…Ng et al, 2011). Visual instructions were presented using E-Prime version 1.0 (Psychology Software Tools, Inc, Pittsburgh, US) and were projected via a mirror onto a screen, which was directly in the participant's line of sight.…”

“…Brain activations prior to BMLL were contrasted with those in the same time period during the control task to reveal brain activations that were specifically associated with APA. Based on the previous literature, regions of interest (ROI) were defined in the basal ganglia (see Viallet et al, 1987), SMA (see Viallet et al, 1992), thalamus (see Ng et al, 2011), and cerebellum (see Schmitz et al, 2005) using the WFU Pickatlas (Maldjian et al, 2004). A 3D space defined by a 20× 20× 20 mm box containing the maxima identified from the contrast T map were subjected to small volume correction (Worsley et al, 1996).…”

Protocol to assess the neurophysiology associated with multi-segmental postural coordination

“…In addition, EEG does not provide high spatial resolution or clear insight into subcortical functions. Only recently, has an upper-limb load-lifting task been modified for recording by magnetoencephalography in order to gain insight into global cerebral function associated with posture-limb movement coordination (Ng et al, 2011, Ng et al, 2013). A task that requires coordination among the lower limbs and trunk, however, may provide additional insight into postural disorders affecting mobility and balance.…”

Time-frequency and ERP analyses of EEG to characterize anticipatory postural adjustments in a bimanual load-lifting task

“…Models of brain lesions (see Massion et al, 1999 for a review), EEG (Martineau et al, 2004), magnetoencephalography (Ng et al, 2011) and fMRI (Schmitz et al, 2005) recordings during the bimanual load-lifting task have shown the involvement of the sensorimotor cortex, the supplementary motor area (SMA), and the basal ganglia within the hemisphere contralateral to the postural arm in the production of APAs. As an alteration of the postural performance was found in patients with a lesion of the primary motor cortex (M1) contralateral to the postural arm only, the specificity of the role of each M1 has been questioned (Viallet et al, 1992).…”