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. 2017 Dec 11:11:604.
doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00604. eCollection 2017.

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

Mads Jochumsen  1 , Cecilie Rovsing  1 , Helene Rovsing  1 , Sylvain Cremoux  2 , Nada Signal  3 , Kathryn Allen  4 , Denise Taylor  3 , Imran K Niazi  1   3   4
Affiliations

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

Mads Jochumsen et al. Front Hum Neurosci. .

Abstract

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.

Keywords: EEG; ERD/ERS; grasp; motor training; movement-related cortical potentials.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The figure shows the experimental design and when the recordings were taken and the how training sessions were distributed.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The figure shows the experimental setup for the pre-/post-training measurement and the training. “0 s” is the movement onset. (A) Pre-/post measurement and (B) Intervention.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Overview of the results from the functional measures; completion time and root mean square error (RMSE) for the three experiments. The values are mean ± standard error. For the single session motor training, the average time to complete each bead plate pattern is shown (note that the number of completed patterns varied across subjects). For the multiple sessions motor training, the average completion time per bead plate pattern is shown for each training session, and the time to complete the transfer test for the control (Con) and training (Int) group and time to complete the retention test is reported. Lastly, the RMSE is reported for each trial in the training session (pinch grasp) in the control experiment. A significant test statistic is marked with “*”.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Grand average of the epochs across subjects for the motor training over a single session. “0 s” is the movement onset.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Grand average of the epochs across subjects for the motor training over multiple sessions. “0 s” is the movement onset.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Grand average of the epochs across subject for the control experiment. “0 s” is the movement onset.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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