The impact of body posture on intrinsic brain activity: The role of beta power at rest.

Author: Donno B1,2, Migliorati D1,2,3, Zappasodi F1,2, Perrucci MG1,2, Costantini M2,4
Affiliation:
1Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti, Chieti, Italy.
2Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti, Chieti, Italy.
3Center for Biomedical Brain Imaging, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, United States of America.
4Department of Psychological, Health, and Territorial Sciences, 'G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy.
Conference/Journal: PLoS One.
Date published: 2020 Jan 24
Other: Volume ID: 15 , Issue ID: 1 , Pages: e0218977 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218977. eCollection 2020. , Word Count: 141


Tying the hands behind the back has detrimental effects on sensorimotor perceptual tasks. Here we provide evidence that beta band oscillatory activity in a resting state condition might play a crucial role in such detrimental effects. EEG activity at rest was measured from thirty young participants (mean age = 24.03) in two different body posture conditions. In one condition participants were required to keep their hands freely resting on the table. In the other condition, participants' hands were tied behind their back. Increased beta power was observed in the left inferior frontal gyrus during the tied hands condition compared to the free hands condition. A control experiment ruled out alternative explanations for observed change in beta power, including muscle tension. Our findings provide new insights on how body postural manipulations impact on perceptual tasks and brain activity.

PMID: 31978115 PMCID: PMC6980550 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218977

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