Identification of Neuromuscular Causal Relationship Between Brain and Muscles in Limb Movement by Using Ensemble...

This paper proposes the potential extension of Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition based Causal Decomposition (EEMD-CD) to the physiological system. The neural basis of Volitional Motor Control (VMC), resulting in skilled motor behaviors through a connected interaction between limb biomechanical properties and Central Neural System (CNS), has been well documented. Specifically, the Primary Motor Cortex (M1) contributes volitional and goal-directed limb movements in terms of motor planning and motor behavior. The actual applications of causality detection approaches were still dominated by the prediction concept, i.e., Granger Causality (GC). This study concerns clearly some of components of M1 regulating motor properties of upper limbs, and holds the neuroscience finding from which the bi-directional causal interaction in brain and muscles has been concluded. The study performs an experiment by which Electromyography (EMG) of limb muscles and Electroencephalography (EEG) across from prefrontal cortex to M1, were synchronously acquired during wrist extensions. It also provides a valid example of how the casuality can be approached by EEMD-CD and offers a first step in the identification of casual relationship in mutual physiological systems.