Self-paced Finger Tapping Research Articles

Increased visual alpha-band activity during self-paced finger tapping does not affect early visual stimulus processing.

Alpha-band activity is thought to be involved in orchestrating neural processing within and across brain regions relevant to various functions such as perception, cognition, and motor activity. Across different studies, attenuated alpha-band activity has been linked to increased neural excitability. Yet, there have been conflicting results concerning the consequences of alpha-band modulations for early sensory processing. We here examined whether movement-related alterations in visual alpha-band activity affected the early sensory processing of visual stimuli. For this purpose, in an EEG experiment, participants were engaged in a voluntary finger-tapping task while passively viewing flickering dots. We found extensive and expected movement-related amplitude modulations of motor alpha- and beta-band activity with event-related-desynchronization (ERD) before and during, and event-related-synchronization (ERS) after single voluntary finger taps. Crucially, while a visual alpha-band ERS accompanied the motor alpha-ERD before and during each finger tap, flicker-evoked Steady-State-Visually-Evoked-Potentials (SSVEPs), as a marker of early visual sensory gain, were not modulated in amplitude. As early sensory stimulus processing was unaffected by amplitude-modulated visual alpha-band activity, this argues against the idea that alpha-band activity represents a mechanism by which early sensory gain modulation is implemented. The distinct neural dynamics of visual alpha-band activity and early sensory processing may point to distinct and multiplexed neural selection processes in visual processing.

Interdependence of movement amplitude and tempo during self-paced finger tapping: evaluation of a preferred velocity hypothesis.

This study examined the relation between movement amplitude and tempo during self-paced rhythmic finger tapping to test a preferred velocity account of the preferred tempo construct. Preferred tempo refers to the concept that individuals have preferences for the pace of actions or events in their environment (e.g., the desired pace of walking or tempo of music). The preferred velocity hypothesis proposes that assessments of preferred tempo do not represent a pure time preference independent of spatial movement characteristics, but rather reflects a preference for an average movement velocity, predicting that preferred tempo will depend on movement amplitude. We tested this by having participants first perform a novel spontaneous motor amplitude (SMA) task in which they repetitively tapped their finger at their preferred amplitude without instructions about tapping tempo. Next, participants completed the spontaneous motor tempo (SMT) task in which they tapped their finger at their preferred tempo without instructions about tapping amplitude. Finally, participants completed a target amplitude version of the SMT task where they tapped at their preferred tempo at three target amplitudes (low, medium, and high). Participants (1) produced similar amplitudes and tempi regardless of instructions to produce either their preferred amplitude or preferred tempo, maintaining the same average movement velocity across SMA and SMT tasks and (2) altered their preferred tempo for different target amplitudes in the direction predicted by their estimated preferred velocity from the SMA and SMT tasks. Overall, results show the interdependence of movement amplitude and tempo in tapping assessments of preferred tempo.

Disruptions of cortico-kinematic interactions in Parkinson’s disease

The cortical role of the motor symptoms reflected by kinematic characteristics in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is poorly understood. In this study, we aim to explore how PD affects cortico-kinematic interactions. Electroencephalographic (EEG) and kinematic data were recorded from seven healthy participants and eight participants diagnosed with PD during a set of self-paced finger tapping tasks. Event-related desynchronization (ERD) was compared between groups in the α (8−14 Hz), low-ß (14−20 Hz), and high-ß (20−35 Hz) frequency bands to investigate between-group differences in the cortical activities associated with movement. Average kinematic peak amplitudes and latencies were extracted alongside Sample Entropy (SaEn), a measure of signal complexity, as variables for comparison between groups. These variables were further correlated with average EEG power in each frequency band to establish within-group interactions between cortical motor functions and kinematic motor output. High ß-band power correlated with mean kinematic peak latency and signal complexity in the healthy group, while no correlation was found in the PD group. Also, the healthy group demonstrated stronger ERD in the broad ß-band than the PD participants. Our results suggest that cortical ß-band power in healthy populations is graded to finger tapping latency and complexity of movement, but this relationship is impaired in PD. These insights could help further enhance our understanding of the role of cortical ß-band oscillations in healthy movement and the possible disruption of that relationship in PD. These outcomes can provide further directions for treatment and therapeutic applications and potentially establish cortical biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease.

Steady-state evoked potentials distinguish brain mechanisms of self-paced versus synchronization finger tapping

Sensorimotor synchronization (SMS) requires aligning motor actions to external events and represents a core part of both musical and dance performances. In the current study, to isolate the brain mechanisms involved in synchronizing finger tapping with a musical beat, we compared SMS to pure self-paced finger tapping and listen-only conditions at different tempi. We analyzed EEG data using frequency domain steady-state evoked potentials (SSEPs) to identify sustained electrophysiological brain activity during repetitive tasks. Behavioral results revealed different timing modes between SMS and self-paced finger tapping, associated with distinct scalp topographies, thus suggesting different underlying brain sources. After subtraction of the listen-only brain activity, SMS was compared to self-paced finger tapping. Resulting source estimations showed stronger activation of the left inferior frontal gyrus during SMS, and stronger activation of the bilateral inferior parietal lobule during self-paced finger tapping. These results point to the left inferior frontal gyrus as a pivot for perception–action coupling. We discuss our findings in the context of the ongoing debate about SSEPs interpretation given the variety of brain events contributing to SSEPs and similar EEG frequency responses.

P2. Spatial and temporal changes of electrical cortical activity induced by self-initiated finger tapping

Objective Sustained neuronal activity can be localized with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Signal analysis of the time series within and across brain voxels reveal state specific characteristics enriching our understanding of, e.g., different states of consciousness ( Tagliazucchi et al., 2015 , Tagliazucchi et al., 2014 , Tagliazucchi et al., 2013a , Tagliazucchi et al., 2013b ). It should be possible to derive similar information from a more universally available and bed side tool, the electroencephalogram (EEG) ( Tagliazucchi et al., 2012a , Tagliazucchi et al., 2012b ). Because surface EEG is a blurred representation of multiple neuronal sources, source analysis is required to add spatial detail. Here, we validate a source reconstruction method facilitating the analysis of ongoing EEG in source space with methods comparable to those applied to fMRI time series: We test whether we can localize well described surface EEG changes induced by a finger tapping task to motor cortical brain regions. Method 30 subjects underwent a self-paced finger tapping task which induces desynchronization of the surface EEG ( Pfurtscheller et al., 1996 ). We recorded from 29 EEG channels and EMG electrodes over the right and left M. abductor pollicis brevis and created grand average maps for each tapping condition (left hand, right hand, both hands, no tapping) both in sensor and source (minimum variance distortionless response [‘minimum norm’] beamforming) space. Results In sensor space, we observed a drop in 8–12 Hz activity near C3 and C4 ( Fig. 1 ) with an onset a few seconds before the start of each tapping condition. In source space, the desynchronization localized to central regions ( Fig. 2 ). Discussion EEG desynchronization was in agreement with ( Pfurtscheller et al., 1996 , McFarland et al., 2000 ), the drop in power preceding the EMG-defined (self-paced) tapping might reflect motor planning. The minimum norm beamforming localized the EEG changes biologically plausible to central regions. In conclusion, we validated a technique, which transforms ongoing EEG into source space. This is an important prerequisite for further quantitative EEG signal analysis with spatial information similar those applied to fMRI time series.

Suppression of EEG mu rhythm during action observation corresponds with subsequent changes in behavior

Movement is intrinsically linked to perception such that observing an action induces in the observer behavioral changes during execution of similar actions. Electroencephalogram (EEG) studies have revealed that at the group level, action observation suppresses oscillatory power in mu (8–12 Hz) and beta (15–25 Hz) bands over the sensorimotor cortex – a phenomenon associated with increased excitability of cortical neurons. However, it is unclear whether differences in suppression level across individuals is linked with individual differences in subsequent behavioral changes. Here 32 subjects performed self-paced finger tapping with their right hand before and after observation of a video displaying finger-tapping at either 2 or 4 Hz. Behaviorally, subjects’ rate of self-pace tapping increased following observation, with higher increases following 4 Hz observation. The level of EEG power suppression in the low frequency range (low mu; 8–10 Hz) during observation corresponded to subsequent behavioral changes in tapping rate across individuals. Our results demonstrate that observing actions implicitly shifts subsequent execution rates, and that individual differences in the level of this implicit shift can be explained by activity in the sensorimotor cortex during observation.

Improving the reliability of single-subject fMRI by weighting intra-run variability

At present, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is one of the most useful methods of studying cognitive processes in the human brain in vivo, both for basic science and clinical goals. Although neuroscience studies often rely on group analysis, clinical applications must investigate single subjects (patients) only. Particularly for the latter, issues regarding the reliability of fMRI readings remain to be resolved. To determine the ability of intra-run variability (IRV) weighting to consistently detect active voxels, we first acquired fMRI data from a sample of healthy subjects, each of whom performed 4 runs (4 blocks each) of self-paced finger-tapping. Each subject's data was analyzed using single-run general linear model (GLM), and each block was then analyzed separately to calculate the IRV weighting. Results show that integrating IRV information into standard single-subject GLM activation maps significantly improved the reliability (p=0.007) of the single-subject fMRI data. This suggests that taking IRV into account can help identify the most constant and relevant neuronal activity at the single-subject level.

A developmental study of the effect of music training on timed movements.

When people clap to music, sing, play a musical instrument, or dance, they engage in temporal entrainment. We examined the effect of music training on the precision of temporal entrainment in 57 children aged 10–14 years (31 musicians, 26 non-musicians). Performance was examined for two tasks: self-paced finger tapping (discrete movements) and circle drawing (continuous movements). For each task, participants synchronized their movements with a steady pacing signal and then continued the movement at the same rate in the absence of the pacing signal. Analysis of movements during the continuation phase revealed that musicians were more accurate than non-musicians at finger tapping and, to a lesser extent, circle drawing. Performance on the finger-tapping task was positively associated with the number of years of formal music training, whereas performance on the circle-drawing task was positively associated with the age of participants. These results indicate that music training and maturation of the motor system reinforce distinct skills of timed movement.

The neural correlates of self-paced finger tapping in bipolar depression with motor retardation.

Motor retardation is a characteristic feature of bipolar depression, and is also a core feature of Parkinson's disease. Within the framework of the functional deafferentiation theory in Parkinson's disease, we hypothesised that motor retardation in bipolar depression is mediated by disrupted subcortical activation, leading to decreased activation of cortical motor areas during finger tapping. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate neural activity during self-paced finger tapping to elucidate whether brain regions that mediate preparation, control and execution of movement are activated differently in subjects with bipolar depression (n = 9) compared to healthy controls (n = 12). An uncorrected whole-brain analysis revealed significant group differences in dorsolateral and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Corrected analyses showed non-significant differences in patients compared to controls: decreased and less widespread activation of the left putamen and left pallidum; increased activity in the left thalamus and supplementary motor area; decreased activation in the left lateral pre- and primary motor cortices; absence of activation in the pre-supplementary motor area; activation of the bilateral rostral cingulate motor area. Both movement preparation and execution may be affected in motor retardation, and the activity in the whole left-side motor circuit is altered during self-initiated motor performance in bipolar depression.

Abstract 2806: Does Motor Cortex Activity Predict Motor Recovery? An fMRI Study of Subacute Lacunar Stroke

Background: While primary motor cortex (M1) has been demonstrated to be crucial for motor recovery in a recent meta-analysis including fMRI and TMS studies, other functional neuroimaging studies have found that activity in a broader sensorimotor cortical network correlate with motor recovery. The heterogeneity of stroke lesions and the small sample size characterizing many studies could account for these discrepancies. Hypothesis : The strength of task-related activity in primary motor cortex predicts motor recovery in a clinically homogenous population of acute lacunar stroke patients. Methods: We used fMRI to investigate the neural mechanisms of stroke recovery. We studied 18 stroke patient (4 females, 14 males) after their first single lacunar stroke (7 right , 11 left hemisphere). The lesions caused pure hemiparesia one week after stroke onset (mean 7.2 days; range 2 -15). Lesions were limited to the deep territory of the anterior choroid artery, involving the corticospinal tract at the level of the internal capsule or the corona radiata ( Figure 1 ). Patients were matched to 18 healthy controls for age and sex. Motor impairment was assessed using the NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS), the Fugl-Meyer Scale (FMS), Finger Tapping Score (FTS), Purdue Pegboard and simple reaction times 7 days and 6 months after stroke. At 6 months, a global motor recovery score was computed using the FMS and the FTS to assess motor recovery. Functional MRI scans were obtained using a self-paced finger tapping (FT) task implemented as a block design alternating right FT, left FT and rest. Data were processed using SPM8. In the first level analysis “FT minus fixation” contrasts were computed for the impaired hand. At the second level, multiple regression was used to assess the effect of the motor recovery score on the FT-related motor activity (threshold p<0.05 FWE; extent threshold k=5). Age and FT rate recorded during the experiment were included as covariates in the second level model. Results: As a group, the patients showed good recovery at 6 months. Both patients and controls exhibited a typical pattern of FT task-related activity. Activity in primary motor cortex predicted motor recovery at 6 months, after adjustment for age and FT rate. MNI coordinates = [-34,-14,48] See Figure 1 . Conclusions: Primary motor cortex activity, measured soon after stroke onset, predicts motor recovery assessed at 6 months post-stroke. fMRI measurements made in the early phase of stroke recovery could be useful to derive prognostic biomarkers in both clinical practice and clinical trials investigating novel treatments, such as stem cell administration.

Aberrant Oscillatory Activity during Simple Movement in Task-Specific Focal Hand Dystonia.

In task-specific focal hand dystonia (tspFHD), the temporal dynamics of cortical activity in the motor system and how these processes are related to impairments in sensory and motor function are poorly understood. Here, we use time-frequency reconstructions of magnetoencephalographic (MEG) data to elaborate the temporal and spatial characteristics of cortical activity during movement. A self-paced finger tapping task during MEG recording was performed by 11 patients with tspFHD and 11 matched healthy controls. In both groups robust changes in beta (12–30 Hz) and high gamma (65–90 Hz) oscillatory activity were identified over sensory and motor cortices during button press. A significant decrease [p < 0.05, 1% False Discovery Rate (FDR) corrected] in high gamma power during movements of the affected hand was identified over ipsilateral sensorimotor cortex in the period prior to (−575 ms) and following (725 ms) button press. Furthermore, an increase (p < 0.05, 1% FDR corrected) in beta power suppression following movement of the affected hand was identified over visual cortex in patients with tspFHD. For movements of the unaffected hand, a significant (p < 0.05, 1% FDR corrected) increase in beta power suppression was identified over secondary somatosensory cortex (S2) in the period following button press in patients with tspFHD. Oscillatory activity within in the tspFHD group was however not correlated with clinical measures. Understanding these aberrant oscillatory dynamics can provide the groundwork for interventions that focus on modulating the timing of this activity.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging for presurgical evaluation of very young pediatric patients with epilepsy

The authors describe their experience with functional MR (fMR) imaging in children as young as 5 years of age, or even younger in developmental age equivalent. Functional MR imaging can be useful for identifying eloquent cortex prior to surgical intervention. Most fMR imaging clinical work has been done in adults, and although children as young as 8 years of age have been included in larger clinical series, cases in younger children are rarely reported. The authors reviewed presurgical fMR images in eight patients who were 8 years of age or younger, six of whom were 5 or 6 years of age. Each patient had undergone neuropsychological testing. Three patients functioned at a below-average level, with adaptive functioning age scores of 3 to 4 years. Self-paced finger tapping (with passive movement in one patient) and silent language tasks were used as activation tasks. The language task was modified for younger children, for whom the same (not novel) stimuli were used for extensive practice ahead of time and in the MR imaging unit. Patient preparation involved techniques such as having experienced staff present to work with patients and providing external management during imaging. Six of eight patients had extensive training and practice prior to the procedure. In the two youngest patients, this training included use of a mock MR unit. All cases yielded successful imaging. Finger tapping in all seven of the patients who could perform it demonstrated focal motor activation in the frontal-parietal region, with expected activation elsewhere, including in the cerebellum. Three of four patients had the expected verb generation task activations, with left-hemisphere dominance, including a 6-year-old child who functioned at the 3-year, 9-month level. The only child (an 8-year-old) who was not prepared prior to the imaging session for the verb generation task failed this task due to movement artifact. Despite the challenges of successfully using fMR imaging in very young and clinically involved patients, these studies can be performed successfully in children with a chronological age of 5 or 6 years and a developmental age as young as 3 or 4 years.

Effects of DBS on precision grip abnormalities in essential tremor

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventrolateral thalamus is a highly effective procedure for the treatment of essential tremor (ET). The regularity of repetitive, self-paced finger tapping is known to be abnormal in patients with ET and improved following DBS. However, the more complex timing that underlies force development in the hands in ET and after DBS has not been evaluated. In this pilot study, we assessed precision grip performance in seven ET subjects before and after 5 months of DBS. Ten healthy controls were also studied. ET subjects showed a significant increase in preload duration (235 +/- 145 vs. 82 +/- 49 ms) and peak negative load (-0.524 +/- 0.35 vs. -0.174 +/- 0.14 N) during grip-lift compared with healthy subjects. No difference in load duration was observed between the groups. Following DBS, the magnitude of the peak negative load was significantly reduced (P = 0.03). In contrast, the duration of the load phase was worsened (non-significant) after DBS. We conclude that defects in the control of distal musculature necessary for establishing a stable grip exist in ET, whereas proximal muscles necessary for object lift-off remain relatively intact. Further, synergy paradigms governing grip-lift coordination may also be impaired. Although DBS is successful in alleviating tremor in ET, it produces only a partial restoration of normal precision grip.

A regularized discriminative framework for EEG analysis with application to brain–computer interface

We propose a framework for signal analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) that unifies tasks such as feature extraction, feature selection, feature combination, and classification, which are often independently tackled conventionally, under a regularized empirical risk minimization problem. The features are automatically learned, selected and combined through a convex optimization problem. Moreover we propose regularizers that induce novel types of sparsity providing a new technique for visualizing EEG of subjects during tasks from a discriminative point of view. The proposed framework is applied to two typical BCI problems, namely the P300 speller system and the prediction of self-paced finger tapping. In both datasets the proposed approach shows competitive performance against conventional methods, while at the same time the results are easier accessible to neurophysiological interpretation. Note that our novel approach is not only applicable to Brain imaging beyond EEG but also to general discriminative modeling of experimental paradigms beyond BCI.

Real-time imaging of human brain function by near-infrared spectroscopy using an adaptive general linear model

Near-infrared spectroscopy is a non-invasive neuroimaging method which uses light to measure changes in cerebral blood oxygenation associated with brain activity. In this work, we demonstrate the ability to record and analyze images of brain activity in real-time using a 16-channel continuous wave optical NIRS system. We propose a novel real-time analysis framework using an adaptive Kalman filter and a state–space model based on a canonical general linear model of brain activity. We show that our adaptive model has the ability to estimate single-trial brain activity events as we apply this method to track and classify experimental data acquired during an alternating bilateral self-paced finger tapping task.

Modern Electrophysiological Methods for Brain-Computer Interfaces

Modern electrophysiological studies in animals show that the spectrum of neural oscillations encoding relevant information is broader than previously thought and that many diverse areas are engaged for very simple tasks. However, EEG-based brain-computer interfaces (BCI) still employ as control modality relatively slow brain rhythms or features derived from preselected frequencies and scalp locations. Here, we describe the strategy and the algorithms we have developed for the analysis of electrophysiological data and demonstrate their capacity to lead to faster accurate decisions based on linear classifiers. To illustrate this strategy, we analyzed two typical BCI tasks. (1) Mu-rhythm control of a cursor movement by a paraplegic patient. For this data, we show that although the patient received extensive training in mu-rhythm control, valuable information about movement imagination is present on the untrained high-frequency rhythms. This is the first demonstration of the importance of high-frequency rhythms in imagined limb movements. (2) Self-paced finger tapping task in three healthy subjects including the data set used in the BCI-2003 competition. We show that by selecting electrodes and frequency ranges based on their discriminative power, the classification rates can be systematically improved with respect to results published thus far.

Time-variant Analysis of Fast-fMRI and Dynamic Contrast Agent MRI Sequences as Examples of 4-dimensional Image Analysis

Image sequences with time-varying information content need appropriate analysis strategies. The exploration of directed information transfer (interactions) between neuronal assemblies is one of the most important aims of current functional MRI (fMRI) analysis. Additionally, we examined perfusion maps in dynamic contrast agent MRI sequences of stroke patients. In this investigation, the focus centers on distinguishing between brain areas with normal and reduced perfusion on the basis of the dynamics of contrast agent inflow and washout. Fast fMRI sequences were analyzed with time-variant Granger causality (tvGC). The tvGC is based on a time-variant autoregressive model and is used for the quantification of the directed information transfer between activated brain areas. Generalized Dynamic Neural Networks (GDNN) with time-variant weights were applied on dynamic contrast agent MRI sequences as a nonlinear operator in order to enhance differences in the signal courses of pixels of normal and injured tissues. A simple motor task (self-paced finger tapping) is used in an fMRI design to investigate directed interactions between defined brain areas. A significant information transfer can be determined for the direction primary motor cortex to supplementary motor area during a short time period of about five seconds after stimulus. The analysis of dynamic contrast agent MRI sequences demonstrates that the trained GDNN enables a reliable tissue classification. Three classes are of interest: normal tissue, tissue at risk for death, and dead tissue. The time-variant multivariate analysis of directed information transfer derived from fMRI sequences and the computation of perfusion maps by GDNN demonstrate that dynamic analysis methods are essential tools for 4D image analysis.

Does an auditory distractor sequence affect self-paced tapping?

This study investigated whether an auditory distractor ( D) sequence affects the timing of self-paced finger tapping. To begin with, Experiment 1 replicated earlier findings by showing that, when taps are synchronized with an isochronous auditory target ( T) sequence, an isochronous D sequence of different tempo and pitch systematically modulates the tap timing. The extent of the modulation depended on the relative intensity of the T and D tones, but not on their pitch distance. Experiment 2 then used a synchronization-continuation paradigm in which D sequences of different tempi were introduced only during continuation tapping. Although the D sequences rarely captured the taps completely, they did increase the tapping variability and deviations from the correct tempo. Furthermore, they eliminated the negative correlation between successive inter-tap intervals and led to intermittent phase locking when the tapping period was close to the period of the D sequence. These distractor effects occurred regardless of whether or not the taps generated auditory feedback tones. The distractor effects thus depend neither on the intention to synchronize with a T sequence nor on the simultaneous perception of two auditory sequences. Rather, they seem to reflect a basic attraction of rhythmic movement to auditory rhythms.

Brain fMRI Activation Associated with Self‐Paced Finger Tapping in Chronic Alcohol‐Dependent Patients

Background: Fine and gross motor dysfunction in chronic alcoholic patients is prevalent, but not extensively studied. Brain autopsy studies of brain regions involved in motor movements indicate cerebellum and frontal lobes are particularly sensitive to alcohol‐induced damage, in contrast to motor cortex.Methods: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we compared the pattern of activation of the cerebral cortex and cerebellum during repetitive, self‐paced dominant (DH) and nondominant (NDH) index finger tapping in eight uncomplicated alcohol‐dependent patients after approximately 2 weeks of abstinence and in nine normal controls.Results: Whereas alcoholic patients tapped significantly more slowly than normal controls, a greater percentage of pixels were activated in the ipsilateral cortex during DH tapping. Furthermore, alcoholics tapped significantly less efficiently (tapping rate divided by percent pixels activated [weighted by pixel intensity] in a given region of interest [ROI]) than normal controls in every ROI examined while using DH, but only in ipsilateral hemi‐cerebellum using NDH. Finally, the alcohol‐dependent patients did not demonstrate the greater mean pixel activation, percentage activated pixels, and lesser activation efficiency in the ipsilateral cortex during NDH compared to DH tapping that was observed in the normal control group.Conclusions: These findings are compatible with motor inefficiency and compensatory alterations of cortical‐cerebellar circuits. Further studies are needed to determine whether these deficits recover with prolonged abstinence and how they relate to cognitive inefficiency throughout the clinical course of alcoholism.

A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of paced finger tapping in children

Fourteen typically developing children from 7.9–11.3 years in age were studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify the cerebral loci involved in performance of paced finger tapping by children. Each child performed two bimanual alternating paced finger-tapping tasks. In the first, paced finger tapping was conducted to external 3-Hz pacing provided by a metronome. In the second, the metronome was turned off and finger tapping continued while each child tried to maintain the 3-Hz rhythm by self pacing. Individual and group data were analyzed with statistical parametric mapping techniques that resulted in activation maps for the two tasks. Metronome tapping produced activation of the posterior regions of both superior temporal gyri, both primary sensorimotor cortices, anterodorsomedial cerebellum and supplementary motor area. Self-tapping resulted in recruitment of pre-supplementary motor area and cerebellum in addition to bilateral supplementary motor area and primary sensorimotor cortical activation. Bimanual alternating paced finger tapping performed by children activates a neural network involving primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, and cerebellum. Posterior superior temporal gyrus may be important for encoding auditory information, and presupplementary motor area and midline cerebellum play an important role in self-paced finger tapping.