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Beta and gamma oscillations index cognitive interference effects across a distributed motor network.
Alex I Wiesman1, Sam M Koshy2, Elizabeth Heinrichs-Graham3
1Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA; Center for Magnetoencephalography, UNMC, Omaha, NE, USA.
Neuroimage
|March 18, 2020
Summary
Cognitive interference impacts motor control via neural oscillations. Beta band activity shows subtype-invariant interference indexing, while gamma band activity in the premotor cortex predicts behavioral effects.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Motor Control
Background:
- Efficient motor planning is crucial for daily function.
- Motor control relies on neural oscillations in beta and gamma frequency bands.
- Cognitive interference, the inhibition of irrelevant information, affects motor neural dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if different subtypes of cognitive interference differentially impact motor neural dynamics.
- To explore the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive interference in motor control.
Main Methods:
- Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was used to record brain activity.
- A novel adaptation of the Multi-Source Interference Task (MSIT) was employed.
- Two subtypes of cognitive interference were presented in isolation and simultaneously.
Main Results:
- Subtype-invariant indexing of cognitive interference was observed in beta-band oscillations across motor regions, including the primary motor and posterior parietal cortices.
- Superadditive behavioral effects of interference subtypes were paralleled by gamma oscillations in the contralateral premotor cortex.
- Gamma oscillations in the premotor cortex predicted these superadditive behavioral effects.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive interference is indexed similarly across different subtypes in the beta frequency band within widespread motor regions.
- Gamma oscillations in the premotor cortex play a role in the superadditive effects of combined cognitive interference subtypes on behavior.
- These findings enhance our understanding of how the brain manages competing information during motor planning and execution.
