Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
INSERM U316, Service Universitaire dExplorations Fonctionnelles et Neurophysiologie en Pedopsychiatrie, CHU Bretonneau,
2 Bld. Tonnelle, 37044 Tours cedex, France
b
Laboratoire de Biophysique et Mathematiques, UFR Sciences Pharmaceutiques, 31 avenue Monge, 37200 Tours, France
Accepted for publication: 14 April 1998
Abstract
This study was designed to relate visual perception of motion to cortical activity, by evaluation of the association of quantified
electroencephalogram (qEEG) parameters with a video film projection. The EEG was recorded from 14 sites according to the International
1020 system and a common average reference was used. Forty right-handed volunteers (mean age = 24 years) were examined. The video
film consisted of 20 s sequences showing still shots and moving shots with human movements or object movements. The EEG was then
subjected to spectral analysis; the spectral powers for the theta, alpha and beta bands were calculated for 14 s epochs and compared with
sequences of the video film. All analyses were based on logarithmically transformed absolute spectral power values. The power values of
each frequency band were analysed in a 3-way repeated measure ANOVA (Hemisphere Electrode Sequence). The results were
represented by EEG cartography. Significant decreases in the alpha 1, beta 1 and beta 2 power values of EEG in centro-parietal regions
of both hemispheres were shown during perception of human motion sequences. This suggests participation of the sensorimotor cortex
during visual observation of human motion. 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved
Keywords: Quantified EEG; Movement; Alpha rhythm; Mu rhythm; Beta rhythm; Human
1. Introduction
The EEG changes occurring during various mental activities in man have been the subject of many investigations
since the beginning of EEG research. In the visual examination of EEGs, most attention has been directed to the
changes in the alpha and beta ranges.
Most studies related to task-specific correlates in the EEG
have concentrated on the alpha band, the range of frequencies between 8 and 13 Hz (Butler and Glass, 1976; Shaw et
al., 1977; Beaumont et al., 1978). Generally, the magnitude
of the alpha band component of the EEG is diminished in
both cerebral hemispheres with any deviation from relaxed
wakefulness toward mental activity. Meanwhile, frequency
components in the beta band (1330 Hz) are thought to
increase in magnitude with increasing mental effort
(Dolce and Waldeier, 1974; Papanicolaou et al., 1986).
Many studies have shown that the same cerebral areas are
activated for both motor planning and motor imagery (Lassen and Ingvar, 1990; Beisteiner et al., 1995). Studies of
brain activity during mentally simulated movement were
first published by Ingvar and Philipson (1977), using regional cerebral blood flow measurements and showing that
there was an increase in frontal lobe activity, whereas
overt execution also led to activation of the rolandic area.
Decety and Ingvar (1990) confirmed this early finding by
positron emission tomography (PET) and they found, in
addition, a bilateral increase in metabolic activity in the
cerebellum during mentally simulated movements.
Finally, an increase in excitability of the motor system
has been described when a subject observes an action performed by another individual. Thus, the motor evoked
potentials (MEPs) significantly increased during the conditions in which subjects observed movements. The MEP
pattern reflected the pattern of muscle activity recorded
when the subjects executed the observed actions (Fadiga
et al., 1995). These authors concluded that in humans
there is a system matching action observation and execu-
0013-4694/98/$ - see front matter 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved
PII S0013-4694 (98 )0 0071-6
EEG 97694
288
2.1. Subjects
2.4. Analysis
The study was performed on 20 male and 20 female
healthy student volunteers between 18 and 33 years of age
(mean age = 24 years). Informed consent was obtained for
each subject before beginning the testing and the paradigm
was approved by the INSERM Scientific Council. Subjects
were all right-handed according to self-report, with no history of neurological disease and with a normal EEG. They
were seated in front of a video monitor in a comfortable
armchair in a darkened sound-proofed room.
2.2. Experimental procedure
Each subject watched a video during EEG recording. The
silent movie consisted of 31 sequences, each lasting 20 s.
The video was filmed by the VTCOM society. Still shots
(e.g. landscape, castle) alternated with moving sequences
consisting of objects in movement, still and moving cartoons, animals in motion and gymnastic movements executed by one person. Five sequences were analysed:
white (W) (TV screen white), waterfall (WF) (falling
water), lake (L) (a body of water surrounded by land),
and two human moving sequences comprising flexion
(F) during which a woman was bending her legs, and rotating (R) during which the same woman performed scissor
movements with her legs while lying on her back. The video
monitor was placed 150 cm from the subject. The subjects
289
3. Results
Table 1
Grouping according to Electrode factor
Alpha 1
LnAP
...
0.812
0.670
0.635
T4
C3
C4
A
...
Summary of 3-way ANOVA in each frequency band; F values and probabilities (*P , 0.05, **P , 0.01, ***P , 0.001) are presented
Theta 1
H
E
S
HE
HS
ES
HES
Theta 2
Alpha 1
Alpha 2
Beta 1
Beta 2
Beta 3
0.08
38.23
0.94
1.14
1.86
0.91
0.78
0.780
***
0.445
0.339
0.121
0.589
0.766
0.52
38.11
1.71
1.62
1.45
1.14
1.02
0.480
***
0.151
0.141
0.221
0.296
0.437
2.87
33.92
4.71
1.18
2.40
1.72
0.85
0.10
***
**
0.318
0.052
*
0.677
3.63
14.37
0.61
1.90
2.06
1.22
0.93
0.064
***
0.657
0.082
0.088
0.112
0.563
0.19
30.78
5.52
0.73
1.15
2.88
1.28
0.66
***
***
0.625
0.335
***
0.164
0.39
15.72
3.67
1.41
0.76
2.63
0.93
0.537
***
**
0.210
0.554
***
0.560
1.22
27.01
1.31
1.50
0.68
1.46
0.62
0.274
***
0.267
0.178
0.606
0.072
0.921
290
Fig. 1. Electrodes classification in groups in each frequency band after post-hoc test (Newman-Keuls) performed on the main Electrode effect. This
classification was performed with respect to Ln AP values for each electrode averaged over the 5 sequences. In each frequency band, centroparietal
electrodes have a lower spectral power than that of occipito-temporal and frontal electrodes.
291
Fig. 2. Mean Ln AP values for each sequence (W, white; WF, waterfall; L,
lake; F, flexion; R, rotating) averaged over the 14 electrodes in alpha 1 (a),
beta 1 (b) and beta 2 (c) bands. Significant difference between two
sequences are given by P level (*P , 0.05; **P , 0.01; ***P ,
0.001). Significant differences are mainly observed between human movement sequences (F, R) and non-human sequences (W, WF, L).
4. Discussion
This study demonstrates that visual perception of human
movement on a video screen modifies the qEEG pattern,
specifically alpha 1, beta 1 and beta 2 rhythms. The modifications are proved statistically for the electrode sites of
motor cortex reactivity.
No hemisphere difference was found in our study, due to
the fact that the video task was symmetrical and thus
involved participation of both hemispheres. This is in agreement with previous studies which reported a reduction in
spectral power over both hemispheres during motor tasks
(De Toffol et al., 1990; De Toffol and Autret, 1991).
Furthermore, we noted that the spectral power of occipital
electrodes was always greater than the spectral power of
centro-parietal electrodes.
In this study, some methodological problems can be
pointed out. Firstly, the choice of a reference in EEG is
always difficult. There is no classical reference but there
are rules to be respected and the choice of a reference is
made according to the problem. Thus cartographic maps,
which are achieved by a linear interpolation method, are
292
293
Fig. 3. EEG cartographies in alpha 1 band (a), beta 1 band (c) and beta 2 band (e) for each sequence (W, white; WF, waterfall; L, lake; F, flexion; R, rotating).
EEG cartographies show the mean of the Ln values of spectral power (AP) in mV2. Statistical EEG cartographies in alpha 1 band (b), beta 1 band (d) and beta
2 band (f) show the values of the P level obtained with the Newman-Keuls test for each electrode for human motion sequences (F, R) versus non-human
sequences (W, WF, L) (red (***): P , 0.001; yellow (**): P , 0.01; green (*): P , 0.05; blue (ns): no significant result).
294
and Penfield (1949) demonstrated by human electrocorticograms that voluntary hand movement serves to block precentral beta rhythm. The most characteristic feature of
precentral beta rhythm is its blocking, or desynchronisation,
localised over the motor hand area by fist clenching. The
functional relationship between precentral beta rhythm and
sensorimotor activation was confirmed by Gastaut (1952).
Rougeul et al. (1979) studied fast somato-parietal rhythms
of around 18 Hz in monkeys and found that they were
blocked by the smallest body movement. Beta desynchronisation during voluntary hand movement was quantified
and displayed in the form of event-related desynchronisation (ERD) time courses by Pfurtscheller (1981), beta ERD
occurring in parallel with mu ERD. Movement-related
desynchronisation in the lower beta frequency band
recorded over the sensorimotor hand area has been reported,
not only in a self-paced index finger movement task but also
with foot movement (Toro et al., 1994).
As previously described, both mu and beta rhythms are
modified by movement, whether prepared, executed or, as in
our study, observed. The occipital alpha rhythm is considered to be an idling rhythm of the visual system and the mu
and central beta rhythms to be idling rhythms of the sensorimotor system (Kuhlman, 1978; Pfurtscheller, 1992;
Pfurtscheller and Neuper, 1994; Pfurtscheller et al., 1996).
In 1959, Ciganek reported reactive rhythms over the central
scalp regions in both alpha and beta frequency ranges (Ciganek, 1959). Furthermore, using magnetoencephalographic
recordings in 4 healthy subjects, Tiihonen et al. (1989)
observed two rhythms over the sensorimotor cortex, one
at 21 Hz that reacted to opening and closing of the hands
and another at 10 Hz that reacted to hand movement in only
one patient but was reduced by eye opening in all. More
recently, Arroyo et al. (1993) reported that when mu rhythm
was blocked there was an overall decrease in power density
in all frequency bands. This is consistent with previous
studies of Pfurtscheller et al., who showed a decrease in
mu power spectra in scalp recorded EEG using eventrelated desynchronisation with simultaneous decrease in
low-frequency beta power in response to movement
(Pfurtscheller, 1981; Pfurtscheller et al., 1994). It is therefore clear that reactive somatosensory rhythms occur in two
frequency bands.
Our results and previous conclusions support the hypothesis that mu and beta rhythms are associated with motor
behaviour, and our results are in agreement with Kuhlmans
hypothesis which considered mu rhythm sensitive to
somatic afferent input (Kuhlman, 1978). The mu rhythm
is thus located in central areas during visual perception of
human movement, whereas the beta rhythm appears to be
more posterior since it involves not only centro-parietal
areas but also occipital areas. This reaction to observed
movement is specific to human movement. In order to confirm the specificity of these results, a study is being performed to compare EEG modifications during real motion
and visual motion observation.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by INSERM U316 The nervous system from the foetus to the child (Prof. L. Pourcelot), INSERM network no. 4R002B, INSERM-France
Telecom 1993 convention, VTCOM society, and the Langlois Foundation. S.C. is a Conseil Regional-Region Centre
grant-holder.
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