Mechanical load modulates premovement cortical activity during voluntary upper limb movement

Examining how scalp electroencephalography (EEG) activity changes under increasing motor demands may provide insights into how the brain prepares for movement. In this exploratory study, premovement EEG activity was examined in ten healthy male participants (n = 10) performing a unilateral bicep curl task. Cue-locked EEG signals preceding kinematically defined movement onset were analyzed using complementary event-related potential analysis (ERP), time–frequency analysis (TF), and cross-frequency coupling analyses to examine load-dependent EEG responses.

As mechanical load increased, premovement EEG activity exhibited temporal, frequency-specific, and spatially distributed changes. Mixed-effects analyses indicated that the relationship between graded mechanical load and premovement EEG activity was better described by a non-linear than a linear model. These differences were pronounced at higher load levels and exhibited non-linear and frequency-specific patterns across the frontal, central, and contralateral sensorimotor scalp regions.

These findings provide preliminary insights into how increasing mechanical demand is associated with frequency-specific, spatially distributed, and non-linear changes in premovement EEG activity before movement onset. The authors acknowledge the use of data collected under the Defence Research and Development Organisation–Joint Advanced Technology Centre (DRDO–JATC) project (Grant No. RP04191G), with the consent of the other co-PIs, Shubhendu Bhashin and Lalan Kumar.

Financial support for this study was provided through the UQ–IITD Joint PhD Scholarship Program. The University of Queensland-Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (UQ-IITD) Research Academy, New Delhi, India Department of Applied Mechanics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia Vijesh Bhagat, Chelsea Dobbins & Antonio Padilha Lanari Bo Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Delhi, New Delhi, India Rohit Kumar Yadav, Sutirtha Ghosh & Suriya Prakash Muthukrishnan Department of Mechanical, Electrical and Chemical Engineering, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway Correspondence to Sitikantha Roy, Chelsea Dobbins or Antonio Padilha Lanari Bo. The authors declare no competing interests.

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