Event-related synchronization/desynchronization in terms of manual motor program switching in men

Abstract

The scientific community is paying increasing attention to the characteristics of brain processes providing switch of manual motor programs. Thirty-two right-handed men aged 18–23 years participated in the experiment. The EEG registration was performed according to the international system 10/20, with closed eyes during manual reactions in the Go-Stop-Change paradigm. In the case of a low tone (70%), men had to press the left button of the console (go-response) with the right index finger. A high tone (30%) required rapid pressing of the right button (stop-change-response) with the middle finger. Event-related desynchronization and synchronization of the spectral power of the EEG frequency (6 Hz to 23 Hz) were estimated in the Matlab environment. Significant ERS response is established at the frequency of 6 Hz in symmetrical frontal, central and parietal parts, at 9 Hz – in the left parietal area, at 14–15 Hz – in frontal, central, and parietal areas of the right cortex, and at the frequency of 22 Hz – in the right frontal lobe. However, EEG desynchronization is recorded at the frequency of 7–8 Hz in the frontal and central areas of both hemispheres. The most sensitive to the manual movement stop followed by switching to an alternative event is associated with synchronization of electrical cortical activity, which showed higher values of the spectral power at the frequency of 6 Hz and 14–15 Hz in frontal and central allocations, and was lower at the frequency of 16–17 Hz in both parietal lobes than that during the Go-response.