Independent component analysis of dynamic brain responses during visuomotor adaptation

Abstract

To investigate the spatial and temporal changes in electro-cortical brain activity and hand kinematics during the acquisition of an internal model of a novel screen-cursor transformation, we employed single-trial infomax independent component analysis (ICA), spectral estimation, and kinematics methods. Participants performed center-out drawing movements under normal and rotated visual feedback of pen movements displayed on a computer screen. Clustering of task-related and adaptation-related independent components identified a selective recruitment of brain activation/deactivation foci associated with the exposure to the distorted visual feedback, including networks associated with frontal–, central–, and lateral–posterior alpha rhythms, and frontal–central error-related negativity potential associated with transient theta and low beta rhythms locked to movement onset. Moreover, adaptation to the rotated reference frame was associated with a reduction in the imposed directional bias and decreases in movement path length and movement time by late-exposure trials, as well as after-effects after removal of the visual distortion. The underlying spatiotemporal pattern of activations is consistent with recruitment of frontal–parietal, sensory-motor, and anterior cingulate cortical areas during visuomotor adaptation.