The simultaneous changes in motor performance and EEG patterns in beta band during learning dart throwing skill in dominant and non-dominant hand

Background: Although changes in performance during the learning of various sports skills have been studied, however, how these changes at the brain level is still unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate simultaneous changes in motor performance and EEG patterns in beta band during learning dart throwing skill in dominant and non-dominant hand. Methodology: The samples consisted of 14 non-athlete students with an average age of 23 ± 2.5, which were divided into two group dominant hand (7) and non-dominant hand (7). Repeated measures ANOVA were used to measure data at the execution level and changes in EEG activity. Results: The results of this study at the performance level showed a significant reduction in the absolute error of dart throwing and at the same time at the brain level increased EEG activity in frontal and parietal-posterior regions along with decreased central area activity in acquisition and retention stages in both groups (P<.05). Also, there was a significant difference between the activity of EEG pattern in the dominant and non-dominant hand groups except for two channels AF3 and PO4 (P<.05). Conclusion: In general, the results of this study showed that along with relatively constant changes in performance during dart skill learning, relatively constant changes in EEG activity pattern occur, so that the concept of motor learning is also visible at the brain level. Also, the results of this study supported the existence of the different motor program for dominant and non-dominant hand control in the conditions of bilateral transfer control.

Valence-dependent neural correlates of augmented feedback processing in extensive motor sequence learning - Part II: Predictive value of event-related potentials for behavioral adaptation and learning

To examine the neural processing of valence-dependent augmented feedback, 38 students learned a sequential arm movement task with 192 trials in each of five practice sessions. The degree of motor automatization was tested under dual-task-conditions. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in the first and last practice session. This study is an additional analysis of the data from Margraf et al. [Margraf, L., Krause, D., & Weigelt, M. (this issue). Valence-dependent neural correlates of augmented feedback processing in extensive motor sequence learning - Part I: Practice-related changes of feedback processing.]. While Part I focused on changes in neural feedback processing after extensive motor practice, Part II examines coherences between neural feedback processing and short-term behavioral adaptations, as well as different dimensions of long-term learning (i.e., accuracy, consistency, and automaticity). It was found that more negative amplitudes of the feedback-related-negativity (FRN) after negative feedback were predictive for goal-independent changes of behavior in the early practice phase, whereas more positive amplitudes of the late fronto-central positivity (LFCP) after negative feedback were predictive for goal-directed behavioral adaptations (error reduction), independent from the practice phase. Unexpectedly, more positive amplitudes of the P300 after positive feedback were also predictive for goal-directed behavioral adaptations. Concerning long-term learning and motor automatization, a positive correlation was found for the reduction of dual-task costs (DTC) and LFCP-amplitudes after positive feedback in the early practice.

Medial frontal negativities predict performance improvements during motor sequence but not motor adaptation learning

Alterations in our environment require us to learn or alter motor skills to remain efficient. Also, damage or injury may require the relearning of motor skills. Two types have been identified: movement adaptation and motor sequence learning. Doyonet al. (2003, Distinct contribution of the cortico-striatal and cortico-cerebellar systems to motor skill learning. Neuropsychologia, 41(3), 252-262) proposed a model to explain the neural mechanisms related to adaptation (cortico-cerebellar) and motor sequence learning (cortico-striatum) tasks. We hypothesized that medial frontal negativities (MFNs), event-related electrocortical responses including the error-related negativity (ERN) and correct-response-related negativity (CRN), would be trait biomarkers for skill in motor sequence learning due to their relationship with striatal neural generators in a network involving the anterior cingulate and possibly the supplementary motor area. We examined 36 participants' improvement in a motor adaptation and a motor sequence learning task and measured MFNs elicited in a separate Spatial Stroop (conflict) task. We found both ERN and CRN strongly predicted performance improvement in the sequential motor task but not in the adaptation task, supporting this aspect of the Doyon model. Interestingly, the CRN accounted for additional unique variance over the variance shared with the ERN suggesting an expansion of the model.

EEG Analysis in Coincident Timing Task Towards Motor Rehabilitation

The identification of specific components in EEG signals is often key when designing EEG-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), and a good understanding of the factors that elicit such components can be helpful when it comes to precise, energy-efficient and time-accurate actuation of exoskeletons. CNVs (Contingent Negative Variations), ERDs or ERSs (Event-Related Desynchronizations/Synchronizations) as well as ErrPs (Error-Related Potentials) are particularly important components can be identified during motor tasks and related to specific events in a Coincident Timing (CT) task. This work investigates offline EEG signals acquired during an upper limb CT task and analyzes the task protocol with the purpose of correlating the aforementioned EEG features to movement onset. CNVs and ERD/ERS were successfully identified after averaging multiple trials, and it was further concluded that complementary information about muscle activity (via EMG) as well as video tracking of arm movement play a critical role in the synchronization of EEG components with movement onset. The framework for EEG analysis presented in this paper allows for future development of a BCI on top of this CT task capable of assessing motor learning and actuating an exoskeleton to enable faster motor rehabilitation.

Feedback-Related Electroencephalogram Oscillations of Athletes With High and Low Sports Anxiety

We investigated the relationship between performance-related anxiety and the neural response to error feedback that was delivered during the execution of a time estimation task. Using the Sport Anxiety Scale (SAS-2), we selected university athletes high and low in sports anxiety. Participants executed a time estimation task where they were instructed to estimate 1 s by pressing a button after a sound cue. They performed this task while their performance was being evaluated by an experimenter (evaluation condition) and also while alone (in a no-evaluation condition). We tested whether feedback-related brain activities may increase in amplitude in the evaluation condition compared to the control condition - especially for athletes who report high performance-related anxiety. We focused on oscillations of sub-delta, delta, and theta frequency bands phase-locked to the feedback onset. Time-frequency analyses revealed that the magnitude of both the sub-delta component (0.3-1.2 Hz) and the theta component (4-8 Hz) were larger in incorrect than correct trials. In addition, the theta component was smaller for athletes high in sports anxiety than for athletes low in sports anxiety. The delta component was overall larger for correct than incorrect feedback. Further, athletes high in sports anxiety exhibited a larger delta component (1.5-3.5 Hz) for correct feedback in the evaluation condition than in the no-evaluation condition. Our results suggest that evaluation by others may increase the delta oscillation associated with correct feedback processing - especially among athletes high in sports anxiety.

Long-Distance Runners and Sprinters Show Different Performance Monitoring - An Event-Related Potential Study

Previous findings have reported that track and field athletes may monitor and utilize internal information, including anxiety level, suggesting that the ability to inwardly monitor one's own functioning and utilize anxiety are required to achieve superior performance. Performance monitoring has been investigated using two event-related potential components; the error (-related) negativity (Ne/ERN) and error positivity (Pe). It is unknown whether performance monitoring differs among various types of athletes. It has also been reported that Ne/ERN amplitude is increased in individuals who are more anxious and the prevalence and effect of anxiety also differs among various types of athletes. In this study, we recorded both Ne/ERN and Pe from long-distance runners (n = 24) and sprinters (n = 24) while they were performing a spatial Stroop task under motivation and no motivation conditions. We also collected scores on the Sport Competitive Anxiety Test (SCAT). Mean error rate on incongruent trials was lower in the motivation condition than in the no motivation condition. There was neither group effect, nor condition effect found in Ne/ERN amplitude. However, for the long-distance runners, Pe amplitude was larger in the motivation condition than in the no motivation condition. We also investigated the relationships between Ne/ERNs and individual differences in performance anxiety using the SCAT. A multiple linear regression analysis in the motivation condition revealed an interaction between type of runner and SCAT scores, indicating that long-distance runners with higher SCAT scores showed larger Ne/ERN amplitudes whereas the sprinters with high SCAT scores tended to exhibit smaller Ne/ERN amplitudes. Our findings provide further evidence that performance monitoring differs across various types of athletes.

Quantification of Movement-Related EEG Correlates Associated with Motor Training: A Study on Movement-Related Cortical Potentials and Sensorimotor Rhythms

The ability to learn motor tasks is important in both healthy and pathological conditions. Measurement tools commonly used to quantify the neurophysiological changes associated with motor training such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and functional magnetic resonance imaging pose some challenges, including safety concerns, utility, and cost. EEG offers an attractive alternative as a quantification tool. Different EEG phenomena, movement-related cortical potentials (MRCPs) and sensorimotor rhythms (event-related desynchronization—ERD, and event-related synchronization—ERS), have been shown to change with motor training, but conflicting results have been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate how the EEG correlates (MRCP and ERD/ERS) from the motor cortex are modulated by short (single session in 14 subjects) and long (six sessions in 18 subjects) motor training. Ninety palmar grasps were performed before and after 1 × 45 (or 6 × 45) min of motor training with the non-dominant hand (laparoscopic surgery simulation). Four channels of EEG were recorded continuously during the experiments. The MRCP and ERD/ERS from the alpha/mu and beta bands were calculated and compared before and after the training. An increase in the MRCP amplitude was observed after a single session of training, and a decrease was observed after six sessions. For the ERD/ERS analysis, a significant change was observed only after the single training session in the beta ERD. In conclusion, the MRCP and ERD change as a result of motor training, but they are subject to a marked intra- and inter-subject variability.

(Don't) Mind the effort: Effects of contextual interference on ERP indicators of motor preparation

Motor learning is associated with a decrease in frontal control-related brain activity and increase of central and parietal motor-related activity. Contextual interference (CI), manipulated typically by blocked versus randomized training schedules, affects motor learning, resulting in inferior performance during training but in superior performance during retention and transfer. The CI effect is often explained by increased processing demands under high CI training. Consistently, in the motor preparation phase, the activity of control- and attention-related brain areas is increased under high CI. Here, we investigated the effect of CI on learning-related changes in ERPs during motor preparation. Participants learned throwing at virtual targets and were tested for retention in the target condition 1 week later. The frontal P3 component decreased with learning during the first session and across sessions. In addition, there was a trend for a stronger reduction of P3 during retention after high CI training. Both initial and late contingent negative variation (iCNV and lCNV) amplitudes decreased with learning and showed a significantly stronger reduction under high CI. We conclude that CI modulates the interplay of cognitive and motor processes in the preparatory phase of motor learning and that a stronger involvement of cognitive processes during high CI training accounts for differential effects of CI on ERP indicators of motor preparation during retention.