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Updated: Jul 9, 2025
12:33
Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation
Published on: December 31, 2013
8.9K
Cardiac activity impacts cortical motor excitability.
Esra Al1,2,3,4,5, Tilman Stephani1,6, Melina Engelhardt7,8
1Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
Plos Biology
|November 28, 2023
Summary
Internal bodily processes, like heartbeats, influence human action. This study reveals that cardiac activity during systole enhances motor excitability, contrasting with previous findings on sensory perception.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Human Physiology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Internal bodily processes, including heartbeats, can modulate human cognition and action.
- Previous research indicates impaired somatosensory perception during cardiac systole and heightened cortical responses to heartbeats.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether cardiac influences on perception and action stem from changes in cortical excitability.
- To determine the specific effects of the cardiac cycle on cortical and corticospinal excitability.
Main Methods:
- Assessed cortical and corticospinal excitability using electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) during transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
- Monitored cardiac activity concurrently using electrocardiography (ECG).
- Evaluated hand-muscle activity and sensorimotor oscillations during a motor task.
Main Results:
- Cortical and corticospinal excitability peaked during systole and after stronger neural responses to heartbeats.
- Hand-muscle activity and sensorimotor desynchronization were amplified during systole in a motor task.
- Systolic cardiac signals demonstrated a facilitatory effect on motor excitability.
Conclusions:
- Cardiac cycle phase influences neural excitability, with systole facilitating motor processes.
- Distinct cardiac cycle windows may differentially optimize sensory perception versus motor action.
- Findings contrast with prior reports of sensory attenuation during cardiac systole.
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