EEG Activity Over Ipsilateral and Contralateral M1 During Simple and Complex Hand Tasks: Variations with Motor Learning

Jun Zhao¹Yifan Wang^1*Dengzhe Hou²János Négyesi³De-Lai Qiu¹Ryoichi Nagatomi^2*

• ¹Brain Science Institute, Jilin Medical University, Jilin, China
• ²Tohoku University, sendai, Japan
• ³Hungarian University of Sports Science, Budapest, Hungary

Abstract Introduction: The functional role of the ipsilateral primary motor cortex (iM1) activation in motor skill acquisition is widely researched; however, its interaction with task complexity remains unclear. This study aimed to address a critical gap in motor neuroscience: how the activation dynamics (specifically in the gamma frequency band) recorded by electrodes over the contralateral primary motor cortex (cM1) and iM1 evolve during the acquisition of simple versus complex motor skills, and whether these dynamics are modulated by hand dominance. Methods: In a randomized controlled trial, 48 right-handed participants were randomly assigned to train on either simple or complex visuomotor tasks using their right (SR, CR, respectively) or left hand (SL, CL, respectively), with 12 participants per group. One participant in the SL group was excluded due to poor EEG quality, resulting in 11 participants in the SL group. Participants completed 10 training blocks followed by skill retention tests. Brain activity was recorded continuously via 64-channel electroencephalography (EEG). Results: Data from 47 participants revealed that, prior to training, the high-gamma band (50-80Hz) activation recorded by electrodes over iM1 exhibited significantly more activation during simple tasks compared to complex tasks, irrespective of the hand used. However, after 10 training sessions, the electrodes over iM1 activation increased during complex tasks but decreased during simple task for both hands, eliminating significant differences in activation levels between simple and complex tasks. Furthermore, no significant changes were observed in the activation recorded by electrodes over cM1 before and after training. Conclusions: Our data indicated that task complexity affects the electrodes over iM1 activation. Specifically, complex task training for both right and left hands increased the high-gamma and low-gamma frequency bands of the electrodes over iM1, respectively. These findings highlight differential neural responses within specific frequency bands, potentially reflecting distinct impacts of the interventions applied to each group. This supports the idea that iM1 plays a dynamic, task-dependent role in skill acquisition, consistent with prior proposals that iM1 activation scales with task demands.