Cerebral-cortical networking and activation increase as a function of cognitive-motor task difficulty
Jeremy C Rietschel1, Matthew W Miller, Rodolphe J Gentili
1Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
Biological Psychology
|March 14, 2012
Summary
Increased task difficulty enhances neural effort and cortical networking, supporting the psychomotor efficiency hypothesis. This study reveals how cognitive and sensory-motor demands uniquely impact brain activity during cognitive-motor tasks.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Motor Control
Background:
- Excessive task difficulty often impairs cognitive-motor performance.
- The psychomotor efficiency hypothesis posits that inefficient cortical dynamics mediate this performance decline.
- Previous research has not directly investigated this hypothesis concerning task difficulty.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the psychomotor efficiency hypothesis by examining cerebral cortical dynamics under varying task difficulty.
- To investigate the neural correlates of cognitive-motor performance under Easy and Hard conditions.
- To differentiate the effects of cognitive versus sensory-motor demands on brain activity.
Main Methods:
- Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to measure brain activity and cortical networking during a cognitive-motor task (Tetris®).
- Participants completed both Easy and Hard task conditions.
- A control experiment manipulated cognitive demand while keeping sensory-motor demand constant.
Main Results:
- Increased task difficulty (Hard condition) led to greater neural effort, evidenced by increased EEG spectral power and cortical networking.
- Cortical networking to the motor planning region was specifically sensitive to sensory-motor demand.
- Regionally specific neural activation was influenced by cognitive demand.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the psychomotor efficiency hypothesis, demonstrating increased neural effort and networking with higher task difficulty.
- Cognitive and sensory-motor demands have distinct impacts on cerebral cortical dynamics.
- This research provides insights into brain-behavior relationships concerning task difficulty and informs the design of training protocols for optimizing cognitive-motor skills.
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