All talk? Challenging the use of left-temporal EEG alpha oscillations as valid measures of verbal processing and conscious motor control

Parr, Johnny V.V. and Gallicchio, Germano and Harrison, Neil R. and Johnen, Ann-Kathrin and Wood, Greg (2020) All talk? Challenging the use of left-temporal EEG alpha oscillations as valid measures of verbal processing and conscious motor control. Biological Psychology, 155. p. 107943. ISSN 0301-0511

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Abstract

This study tested the validity of EEG left-temporal alpha power and upper-alpha T7-Fz connectivity as indices of verbal activity and conscious motor control. Participants (n = 20) reached for, and transported, a jar under three conditions: a control condition and two self-talk conditions aimed at eliciting either task-unrelated verbal processing or task-related conscious control, while EEG and hand kinematics were recorded. Compared to the control condition, both self-talk conditions increased self-reported verbal processing, but only the task-related self-talk condition increased left-temporal activity (i.e., alpha power decreased). However, as cortical activity increased across the entire scalp topography, conscious control likely elicits a multitude of processes that may not be explained by left-temporal activity or verbal processing alone, but by a widespread decrease in neural efficiency. No significant effects for T7-Fz connectivity were detected. Results suggest that left-temporal EEG alpha oscillations are unlikely to uniquely reflect verbal processing during conscious motor control.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Biological Psychology and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107943
Identification Number:	10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107943
Dates:	Date Event 27 July 2020 Accepted 8 August 2020 Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Conscious motor processingReinvestmentVerbal-analyticalT7-FzNeural efficiency
Subjects:	CAH04 - psychology > CAH04-01 - psychology > CAH04-01-01 - psychology (non-specific)
Divisions:	Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > College of Psychology
Depositing User:	Ann-Kathrin Johnen
Date Deposited:	05 Oct 2022 15:18
Last Modified:	11 Jun 2024 13:03
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/13643

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