The impact of body posture on intrinsic brain activity: The role of beta power at rest

Abstract

Tying the hands behind the back has detrimental effects on sensorimotor perceptual tasks. Here we provide evidence that beta band oscillatory activity in a resting state condition might play a crucial role in such detrimental effects. EEG activity at rest was measured from thirty young participants (mean age = 24.03) in two different body posture conditions. In one condition participants were required to keep their hands freely resting on the table. In the other condition, participants' hands were tied behind their back. Increased beta power was observed in the left inferior frontal gyrus during the tied hands condition compared to the free hands condition. A control experiment ruled out alternative explanations for observed change in beta power, including muscle tension. Our findings provide new insights on how body postural manipulations impact on perceptual tasks and brain activity.

Changes in sensorimotor cortex oscillatory activity by orexin‐A in the ventrolateral preoptic area of the hypothalamus reflect increased muscle tone

“…In addition, sensorimotor processing is associated with a decrease in power of alpha (8–12 Hz) and beta (12–30 Hz) oscillations, and an increase in power of gamma (>30 Hz) oscillations (Joundi et al, 2012, 2013; Klostermann et al, 2007; Unterweger et al, 2020; Van Der Werf et al, 2008; Wang et al, 2017). Conversely, greater beta power is associated with maintenance of posture (Donno et al, 2020; Kristeva et al, 2007), whereas excessive beta power and insufficient gamma activity are linked to bradykinesia and rigidity in Parkinson's disease (Little & Brown, 2014; Lofredi et al, 2018). Interestingly, all these brain rhythms are remarkably preserved across species irrespective of brain size (Buzsáki et al, 2013; Fransen et al, 2016).…”