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Updated: Jul 17, 2026
09:48
Intracortical Inhibition Within the Primary Motor Cortex Can Be Modulated by Changing the Focus of Attention
Published on: September 11, 2017
Selective inhibition of movement
James P Coxon1, Cathy M Stinear, Winston D Byblow
1Human Motor Control Laboratory, Department of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Journal of Neurophysiology
|January 26, 2007
Summary
Selective inhibition, the ability to stop one movement while performing another, is more difficult than general inhibition. This finding holds true for both single and double-limb tasks, impacting motor control.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Motor Control
- Human Movement Science
Background:
- Volitional inhibition typically requires complete movement cessation.
- Real-world motor control involves selective inhibition amidst global motor output.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the human capacity for selective inhibition.
- Determine if selective inhibition is more challenging than nonselective inhibition.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments using unimanual and bimanual tasks.
- Participants performed Go trials and Stop trials (Stop All and selective Stop).
- Measured finger lift times and response delays during selective inhibition.
Main Results:
- Selective inhibition proved more difficult than nonselective inhibition in both unimanual and bimanual contexts.
- Selective inhibition trials resulted in lift time delays of up to 100 ms.
- Persistent finger lift time asynchronies were observed post-selective inhibition trials.
Conclusions:
- Selective inhibition is a distinct and more demanding motor control process.
- Neural mechanisms likely involve a nonselective inhibitory pathway followed by selective disinhibition.
- Nonspecific neural inhibition and selective neural disinhibition underlie persistent behavioral effects.
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