Electrical activity of the brain during the imagination of purposeful hand movements in persons playing stringed and keyboard musical instruments

Abstract

The imagination of purposeful movements and their implementation activates the same areas of the cerebral cortex, which is actively used in the creation of the brain computer interface and its implementation in the field of healthcare in the form of neuro-controlled exoskeletal limbs and robots that perform complex medical manipulations using the human brain. Playing musical instruments contributes to the development of upper limb motor skills and the development of interneuronal connections of the cerebral cortex. The aim of the work was to study brain activity when imagining purposeful movement in persons playing musical instruments. Brain activity was measured using electroencephalography. Interhemispheric asymmetry was determined using a complex method to determine the leading hemisphere. Because of the conducted research, it was found that the skills of playing musical instruments, even in the absence of sensory afferentation from the periphery during the imaginary initiation of movement, contribute to a stronger combined activation of the sensory and motor areas of the cortex.