Abstract
BackgroundError amplification (EA), virtually magnify task errors in visual feedback, is a potential neurocognitive approach to facilitate motor performance. With regional activities and inter-regional connectivity of electroencephalography (EEG), this study investigated underlying cortical mechanisms associated with improvement of postural balance using EA.MethodsEighteen healthy young participants maintained postural stability on a stabilometer, guided by two visual feedbacks (error amplification (EA) vs. real error (RE)), while stabilometer plate movement and scalp EEG were recorded. Plate dynamics, including root mean square (RMS), sample entropy (SampEn), and mean frequency (MF) were used to characterize behavioral strategies. Regional cortical activity and inter-regional connectivity of EEG sub-bands were characterized to infer neural control with relative power and phase-lag index (PLI), respectively.ResultsIn contrast to RE, EA magnified the errors in the visual feedback to twice its size during stabilometer stance. The results showed that EA led to smaller RMS of postural fluctuations with greater SampEn and MF than RE did. Compared with RE, EA altered cortical organizations with greater regional powers in the mid-frontal cluster (theta, 4–7 Hz), occipital cluster (alpha, 8–12 Hz), and left temporal cluster (beta, 13–35 Hz). In terms of the phase-lag index of EEG between electrode pairs, EA significantly reduced long-range prefrontal-parietal and prefrontal-occipital connectivity of the alpha/beta bands, and the right tempo-parietal connectivity of the theta/alpha bands. Alternatively, EA augmented the fronto-centro-parietal connectivity of the theta/alpha bands, along with the right temporo-frontal and temporo-parietal connectivity of the beta band.ConclusionEA alters postural strategies to improve stance stability on a stabilometer with visual feedback, attributable to enhanced error processing and attentional release for target localization. This study provides supporting neural correlates for the use of virtual reality with EA during balance training.
Highlights
Error amplification (EA), virtually magnify task errors in visual feedback, is a potential neurocognitive approach to facilitate motor performance
When the postural system is challenged with external perturbations [15,16,17], additional cortical resources are taxed to cope with balance constraints, leading to spectral changes in scalp-recorded electroencephalographic (EEG) signals over the motor, sensory, and cognitive regions [15, 18, 19]
Considering the potential resource reallocation in the brain, this study investigated variations in regional activities and inter-regional connectivity of electroencepha‐ lography (EEG) sub-bands between EA feedback and real error (RE) feedback during stabilometer stance
Summary
Error amplification (EA), virtually magnify task errors in visual feedback, is a potential neurocognitive approach to facilitate motor performance. When the postural system is challenged with external perturbations [15,16,17], additional cortical resources are taxed to cope with balance constraints, leading to spectral changes in scalp-recorded electroencephalographic (EEG) signals over the motor, sensory, and cognitive regions [15, 18, 19]. Decreases in alpha power (8–12 Hz) around the central, parietal and occipital regions may be related to increased attentional processes to monitor postural destabilization [23]. The availability of visual feedback influences cortical adaptations to vibratory postural perturbations, with increases in the EEG spectral power of brain networks compared to that in closed-eye trials [22]. Visual feedback of perturbation leads to beta (13–35 Hz) desynchronization in occipito-parietal areas, hypothetically relating to change in the postural strategy of the status quo [21, 28]
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