Abstract
Motor cortical beta oscillations have been reported for decades, yet their behavioral correlates remain unresolved. Some studies link beta oscillations to changes in underlying neural activity, but the specific behavioral manifestations of these reported changes remain elusive. To investigate how changes in population neural activity, beta oscillations, and behavior are linked, we recorded multi-scale neural activity from motor cortex while three macaques performed a novel neurofeedback task. Subjects volitionally brought their beta oscillatory power to an instructed state and subsequently executed an arm reach. Reaches preceded by a reduction in beta power exhibited significantly faster movement onset times than reaches preceded by an increase in beta power. Further, population neural activity was found to shift farther from a movement onset state during beta oscillations that were neurofeedback-induced or naturally occurring during reaching tasks. This finding establishes a population neural basis for slowed movement onset following periods of beta oscillatory activity.
Highlights
Beta band oscillations have been noted to reliably emerge during specific motor actions such as isometric contraction and precision reaching, after movement-related cues, and prior to instructed reaches (Baker et al, 2003, Baker et al, 1997; Canolty et al, 2012; Engel and Fries, 2010; Leventhal et al, 2012; Saleh et al, 2010; Sanes and Donoghue, 1993)
A movement onset-aligned trial-averaged spectrogram from the intracortical recordings in contralateral motor and premotor cortex (e.g. Monkey C in Figure 1d) showed that the clearest movement-related desynchronization was in the 25–40 Hz band for all monkeys, consistent with early reports of beta oscillations in the macaque motor cortex (Baker et al, 1997; Murthy and Fetz, 1992)
Subjects modulated endogenous motor cortical local field potential signals to move the vertical position of the beta cursor
Summary
Beta band oscillations (typically defined as 13–30 Hz) have been noted to reliably emerge during specific motor actions such as isometric contraction and precision reaching, after movement-related cues, and prior to instructed reaches (Baker et al, 2003, Baker et al, 1997; Canolty et al, 2012; Engel and Fries, 2010; Leventhal et al, 2012; Saleh et al, 2010; Sanes and Donoghue, 1993).
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