title: Linking motor-related brain potentials and velocity profiles in multi-joint arm reaching movements.
abstract: The study of the movement related brain potentials (MRPBs) needs accurate technical approaches to disentangle the specific patterns of bran activity during the preparation and execution of movements. During the last forty years, synchronizing the electromyographic activation (EMG) of the muscle with electrophysiological recordings (EEG) has been commonly ussed for these purposes. However, new clinical approaches in the study of motor diseases and rehabilitation suggest the demand of new paradigms that might go further into the study of the brain activity associated with the kinematics of movements. As a response to this call, we have used a 3-D hand-tracking system with the aim to record continuously the position of an ultrasonic sender attached to the hand during the performance of multi-joint self-paced movements. We synchronized time-series of position and velocity of the sender with the EEG recordings, obtaining specific patterns of brain activity as a function of the fluctuations of the kinematics during natural movement performance. Additionally, the distribution of the brain activity during the preparation and execution phases of movements was similar that reported previously using the EMG, suggesting the validity of our technique. We claim that this paradigm could be usable in patients because of its simplicity and the potential knowledge that can be extracted from clinical protocols.
authors.affiliation: Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Department of Basic Psychology, University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Julià L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Amengual
authors.affiliation: Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Department of Basic Psychology, University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain ; Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat Spain.
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marco-Pallarés
authors.affiliation: Neurodynamic Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Carles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grau
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Münte
authors.affiliation: Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Department of Basic Psychology, University of Barcelona Barcelona, Spain ; Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat Spain ; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Fornells
keywords: 3-D movement analyser; kinematics; motor activity; motor related brain potentials; self-paced movement; time-series analysis