Quantification of Movement-Related EEG Correlates Associated with Motor Training: A Study on Movement-Related Cortical Potentials and Sensorimotor Rhythms

The ability to learn motor tasks is important in both healthy and pathological conditions. Measurement tools commonly used to quantify the neurophysiological changes associated with motor training such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and functional magnetic resonance imaging pose some challenges, including safety concerns, utility, and cost. EEG offers an attractive alternative as a quantification tool. Different EEG phenomena, movement-related cortical potentials (MRCPs) and sensorimotor rhythms (event-related desynchronization—ERD, and event-related synchronization—ERS), have been shown to change with motor training, but conflicting results have been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate how the EEG correlates (MRCP and ERD/ERS) from the motor cortex are modulated by short (single session in 14 subjects) and long (six sessions in 18 subjects) motor training. Ninety palmar grasps were performed before and after 1 × 45 (or 6 × 45) min of motor training with the non-dominant hand (laparoscopic surgery simulation). Four channels of EEG were recorded continuously during the experiments. The MRCP and ERD/ERS from the alpha/mu and beta bands were calculated and compared before and after the training. An increase in the MRCP amplitude was observed after a single session of training, and a decrease was observed after six sessions. For the ERD/ERS analysis, a significant change was observed only after the single training session in the beta ERD. In conclusion, the MRCP and ERD change as a result of motor training, but they are subject to a marked intra- and inter-subject variability.