Title
Dynamic modulation of cortico-muscular coupling during real and imagined sensorimotor synchronisation
Abstract
People have a natural and intrinsic ability to coordinate body movements with rhythms surrounding them, known as sensorimotor synchronisation. This can be observed in daily environments, when dancing or singing along with music, or spontaneously walking, talking or applauding in synchrony with one another. However, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying accurately synchronised movement with selected rhythms in the environment remain unclear. Here we studied real and imagined sensorimotor synchronisation with interleaved auditory and visual rhythms using cortico-muscular coherence (CMC) to better understand the processes underlying the preparation and execution of synchronised movement. Electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG) from the finger flexors, and continuous force signals were recorded in 20 participants during tapping and imagined tapping with discrete stimulus sequences consisting of alternating auditory beeps and visual flashes. The results show that the synchronisation between cortical and muscular activity in the beta (14-38 Hz) frequency band becomes time-locked to the taps executed in synchrony with the visual and auditory stimuli. Dynamic modulation in CMC also occurred when participants imagined tapping with the visual stimuli, but with lower amplitude and a different temporal profile compared to real tapping. These results suggest that CMC does not only reflect changes related to the production of the synchronised movement, but also to its preparation, which appears heightened under higher attentional demands imposed when synchronising with the visual stimuli. These findings highlight a critical role of beta band neural oscillations in the cortical-muscular coupling underlying sensorimotor synchronisation.
Year
DOI
Venue
2021
10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118209
NeuroImage
Keywords
DocType
Volume
Cortico-muscular coherence,Sensorimotor synchronisation,Beta oscillations,Environmental rhythms,Motor imagery,Electroencephalography
Journal
238
ISSN
Citations 
PageRank 
1053-8119
2
0.39
References 
Authors
11
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Patti Nijhuis120.39
Peter E Keller220.39
Sylvie Nozaradan320.39
Manuel Varlet420.39