Temporal dynamics of neural activity in motor execution and inhibition processing

Although many neuroimaging studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging have shown the neuronal networks for motor execution and inhibition processing, the precise activation timing of each brain region is not yet well understood. In the present study, we investigated the temporal dynamics of neural activities in multiple brain regions using magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) simultaneously during somatosensory Go/No-go paradigms. The results of MEG showed that neural activities in the bilateral premotor area at approximately 150 ms and in the primary motor cortex at approximately 250 ms were only detected in Go trials, while brain responses in the bilateral prefrontal cortex at approximately 170 ms were only observed in No-go trials. In addition, the amplitudes of the N140 and P300 components in EEG was significantly larger in No-go trials than in Go trials, and the latencies of N140 and P300 were significantly later in No-go trials than in Go trials. Our results indicated the time courses of neural processing in response execution and inhibition processing, and revealed differences in their underlying neural mechanisms.