D-119 | Beyond Reaction Time: Studying the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Motor Planning by analyzing Corticomuscular Coherence during Motor Reaction tasks

Sensory and Motor Systems
Author: Leonardo Ariel Cano | Email: lcano@herrera.unt.edu.ar

Leonardo Ariel Cano^1°2°, Gonzalo Daniel Gerez^1°2°, María Soledad García^1°2°,  Ana Lía Albarracín^1°, Eduardo Fernández-Jover^3°, Fernando Daniel Farfán^1°3°

^1° Laboratory of Neuroscience and Applied Technologies (LINTEC), Bioengineering Department, Faculty of Exact Sciences and Technology (FACET), National University of Tucuman (UNT), Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas (INSIBIO), National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET). Av. Independencia 1800, San Miguel de Tucuman 4000, Argentina.
^2° Faculty of Physical Education, (FacDEF), National University of Tucuman (UNT). Av. Benjamin Araoz 750, San Miguel de Tucuman 4000, Argentina.
^3° Institute of Bioengineering, Universidad Miguel Hernández of Elche. Av de la Universidad S/N, Elche 03202, Spain

The involvement of the cerebral hemispheres in motor planning is a significant research topic in sports science and laterality. In the field of motor control, decision-making (DMK) time has been proposed as a metric of central processing speed, reflecting the time needed to complete processes such as scanning the environment, identifying objects of interest, selecting a response, and initiating the motor program. In this study, twenty-five healthy right-handed volunteers were divided into control (n=16) and athletes (n=9) groups. Participants performed motor reaction tasks based on visual stimuli, while 64-channel EEG, EMG, and motion capture data were collected to assess functional connectivity between the cortex and muscles. The control group exhibited around 20% longer DMK time for right-hand selection compared to the left hand, while the athletes group showed no such disparity. Additionally, controls demonstrated significant right-hemisphere corticomuscular coherence in sensorimotor areas during motor planning for both hands. These findings provide evidence that hemispheric involvement in motor planning is neither symmetrical nor equivalent for both hands in control subjects. In contrast, athletes did not display consistent spatiotemporal patterns. Future research on athletes will require more precise classification based on the type of sport practiced.