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Should I stay or should I go? How local-global implicit temporal expectancy shapes proactive motor control: An hdEEG
G M Duma1, U Granziol2, G Mento3
1Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy; Scientific Institute, IRCCS "E. Medea", Association "La Nostra Famiglia", Conegliano, TV, Italy.
Neuroimage
|June 24, 2020
Summary
Global temporal prediction implicitly improves motor control by adjusting reaction times. Brain activity reveals distinct neural steps for expectancy, response, and violation detection, involving frontoparietal and left lateralized networks.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Motor Control Research
Background:
- Proactive motor control relies on predicting upcoming events.
- The role of global temporal prediction in implicit motor adjustment remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how global temporal prediction influences the brain's ability to implicitly adjust proactive motor control.
- To delineate the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying this adjustment process.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Dynamic Temporal Prediction (DTP) paradigm with manipulated stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs) and probabilities.
- Employed behavioral measures (reaction time) and neurophysiological recordings (EEG) including contingent negative variation (CNV), P3, omission-detection potential, and oscillatory power.
- Conducted source analysis to identify brain network involvement.
Main Results:
- Behaviorally, participants showed faster reaction times, indicating performance adjustment based on implicit global prediction.
- Neurophysiologically, expectancy implementation involved CNV modulation and frontoparietal network activation.
- Response implementation showed P3 increase and frontal network engagement, while expectancy violations triggered negativity increases and left lateralized network activation.
Conclusions:
- Global temporal prediction significantly enhances proactive motor control through implicit mechanisms.
- Distinct neural processes support expectancy implementation, response execution, and violation detection during motor control.
- Findings suggest overlap between implicit and explicit cognitive processes in motor control.

