Decoding sequential finger movements from preparatory activity in higher-order motor regions: a functional magnetic...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Motor Control
• Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

• Complex sequential finger movements necessitate precise temporal organization.
• Behavioral studies suggest the brain prepares entire movement sequences as a unified set.
• Neuroimaging evidence and specific brain regions involved in preparatory sequence representation remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate brain activity during the preparation of sequential finger movements.
• To identify brain regions involved in representing upcoming movement sequences.
• To test the hypothesis that sequences are prepared as a single set.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity.
• Multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) was applied to fMRI data.
• Participants performed two well-learned sequential finger movements with their right hands.

Main Results:

• Preparatory activity in contralateral motor regions predicted which sequence would be executed.
• The contralateral dorsal premotor cortex and supplementary motor area were key predictive regions.
• Execution-related activity predicted performed sequences across a broader sensory-motor network.

Conclusions:

• The findings support the hypothesis that the brain represents well-organized movement sequences as a set.
• Preparatory activity in higher-order motor regions encodes information about upcoming motor actions.
• This provides neuroimaging evidence for the set-based preparation of sequential movements.