Summary
We recorded with a 24-channel SQUID magnetometer cerebral activity preceding and following self-paced voluntary ‘skilled’ movements in four healthy adults. The subject pressed buttons successively with the right index and middle fingers aiming at a time difference of 40–60 ms; on-line feedback on performance was given after each movement. Slow magnetic readiness fields (RFs) preceded the movements by 0.5 s and culminated about 20 ms after the electromyogram (EMG) onset. Movement-evoked fields, MEFs, opposite in polarity to RFs, were observed 90–120 ms after the EMG onset. They were followed by an additional ‘skilled-performance field’, SPF, 400–500 ms after the EMG onset. The source locations of RF, MEF, and SPF were within 2 cm from sources of the somatosensory evoked responses, which were situated in the posterior wall of the Rolandic fissure; the sources of MEF were closest to the midline. Neural generators of these deflections and of the corresponding electric potentials are discussed.
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This study has been financially supported by the Academy of Finland, Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, the Finnish Ministry of Education and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We thank Dr. Matti Hämäläinen and Mr. Visa Vilkman for expert help in software and hardware problems, and Prof. Olli V. Lounasmaa for comments on the manuscript.
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Chiarenza, G.A., Hari, R.K., Karhu, J.J. et al. Brain activity associated with skilled finger movements: Multichannel magnetic recordings. Brain Topogr 3, 433–439 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01129002
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01129002