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First identification of brain’s preparation for action
7 February 2019
Neuroscientists at Bangor University and UCL have for the first time, identified the processes which occur in our brains milliseconds before we undertake a series of movements, crucial for speech, handwriting, sports or playing a musical instrument.
This new research could lead to the development of interventions which would assist with rehabilitation post-stroke or improve life for people living with stutter, dyspraxia or other similar conditions.
By measuring tiny magnetic fields outside the participants’ head and identifying unique patterns making up each sequence before it is executed, the researchers identified differences between neural patterns which lead to a more skilled as opposed to a more error-prone execution.
Lead author Dr Katja Kornysheva, who began the study at UCL before moving to Bangor University’s School of Psychology said:
“This revealed that the brain prepares for complex actions in the milliseconds beforehand by ‘stacking’ the actions to be taken, in the correct order.”
“Reviewing the brain impulses, we could see that when participants were producing the sequences correctly and accurately, with no errors, each activity was spaced and ordered in advance of being executed.
“However, when mistakes occurred, the ‘queuing’ of actions was visibly less well-defined as separate and distinct actions. It appears that the more closely bunched and less-defined ‘queuing’ was, the more participants committed errors in sequence production and timing.”
Senior author Professor Neil Burgess (UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience) said: “To our surprise we also found that this preparatory pattern is primarily reflecting a template for position (1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on) which can be reused across sequences – like cabinet drawers into which one can put different objects. This is a way for the brain to be efficient and flexible, by providing a blueprint for new sequences and staying organised.”
Dr Kornysheva added: “Unfortunately, disorders of sequence control and fluency can severely disrupt everyday life – with no treatment being predictively effective. This could help to ‘train’ their brains to create the correct preparation state and overcome difficulties such as a stutter or dyspraxia.
“We hope that the new understanding could also lead to the development of improved brain computer interfaces, used by people who are ‘locked- in or have whole body paralysis.”
The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust, is published in Neuron.