Cerebral cortical dynamics and the quality of motor behavior during social evaluative challenge.
To determine the influence of arousal on cerebral cortical dynamics and motor behavior, 58 channels of EEG were recorded in 13 college-age men (n=6) and women during an aiming task performed alone and in a social evaluation condition. Moderate arousal, as measured by heart rate, skin conductance, and self-reported mood, was induced during the social evaluation. In accord with the Yerkes-Dodson Hypothesis, which posits optimal performance during moderate arousal, improved performance (i.e., quality of the aiming trajectories) was observed. During social evaluation, changes in electroencephalogram dynamics included decreased coherence between the motor planning (Fz) and right temporal region (T4), increased coherence in the sensorimotor networks subserving the task, and increased local processing (gamma, 30-44 Hz) in the temporal regions. The results imply that moderate arousal promotes specific alterations in cortical dynamics that facilitate motor performance.
Rietschel
Jeremy C
JC
Department of Kinesiology, School of Public Health, University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD 20742-2611, USA.
Goodman
Ronald N
RN
King
Bradley R
BR
Lo
Li-Chuan
LC
Contreras-Vidal
Jose L
JL
Hatfield
Bradley D
BD
D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D003163:Competitive Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012931:Social Environment; D055815:Young Adult