Effects of an external compared to an internal focus of attention on the excitability of fast and slow(er) motor pathways

Abstract The neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the behavioural improvements usually associated with an external (EF) compared with an internal focus of attention (IF) remain poorly investigated. Surround inhibition in the primary cortex has been shown to be more pronounced with an EF, indicat...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Yves-Alain Kuhn, Martin Keller, Sven Egger, Wolfgang Taube
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/557c843e1dde48e3bc2acd6a92c7e548
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:557c843e1dde48e3bc2acd6a92c7e548
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:557c843e1dde48e3bc2acd6a92c7e5482021-12-02T19:12:28ZEffects of an external compared to an internal focus of attention on the excitability of fast and slow(er) motor pathways10.1038/s41598-021-97168-92045-2322https://doaj.org/article/557c843e1dde48e3bc2acd6a92c7e5482021-09-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-97168-9https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract The neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the behavioural improvements usually associated with an external (EF) compared with an internal focus of attention (IF) remain poorly investigated. Surround inhibition in the primary cortex has been shown to be more pronounced with an EF, indicating a more spatial restriction of the motor command. However, the influence of different foci on the temporal aspect of the motor command, such as the modulation of fast versus slow(er) motor pathways, remains unknown and was therefore investigated in this study. Fourteen participants were asked to press on a pedal with the right foot to match its position with a target line displayed on a screen. The deviation of the pedal from the target line was used as a behavioural parameter and compared between both foci (EF vs IF). Additionally, conditioned H-reflexes were evoked during the motor task to assess the excitability of fast (direct) and slower (more indirect) motor pathways when adopting an EF or IF. With an EF compared to an IF, the motor performance was enhanced (P = .001; + 24%) and the activation of slow(er) motor pathways was reduced (P < 0.001, − 11.73%). These findings demonstrate for the first time that using different attentional strategies (EF and IF) has an influence on the excitability of slow(er) motor pathways. Together with the increased intracortical inhibition and surround inhibition known from previous studies, the diminished activation in the slow(er) motor pathways further explains why using an EF is a more economic strategy.Yves-Alain KuhnMartin KellerSven EggerWolfgang TaubeNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Yves-Alain Kuhn Martin Keller Sven Egger Wolfgang Taube Effects of an external compared to an internal focus of attention on the excitability of fast and slow(er) motor pathways
description	Abstract The neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the behavioural improvements usually associated with an external (EF) compared with an internal focus of attention (IF) remain poorly investigated. Surround inhibition in the primary cortex has been shown to be more pronounced with an EF, indicating a more spatial restriction of the motor command. However, the influence of different foci on the temporal aspect of the motor command, such as the modulation of fast versus slow(er) motor pathways, remains unknown and was therefore investigated in this study. Fourteen participants were asked to press on a pedal with the right foot to match its position with a target line displayed on a screen. The deviation of the pedal from the target line was used as a behavioural parameter and compared between both foci (EF vs IF). Additionally, conditioned H-reflexes were evoked during the motor task to assess the excitability of fast (direct) and slower (more indirect) motor pathways when adopting an EF or IF. With an EF compared to an IF, the motor performance was enhanced (P = .001; + 24%) and the activation of slow(er) motor pathways was reduced (P < 0.001, − 11.73%). These findings demonstrate for the first time that using different attentional strategies (EF and IF) has an influence on the excitability of slow(er) motor pathways. Together with the increased intracortical inhibition and surround inhibition known from previous studies, the diminished activation in the slow(er) motor pathways further explains why using an EF is a more economic strategy.
format	article
author	Yves-Alain Kuhn Martin Keller Sven Egger Wolfgang Taube
author_facet	Yves-Alain Kuhn Martin Keller Sven Egger Wolfgang Taube
author_sort	Yves-Alain Kuhn
title	Effects of an external compared to an internal focus of attention on the excitability of fast and slow(er) motor pathways
title_short	Effects of an external compared to an internal focus of attention on the excitability of fast and slow(er) motor pathways
title_full	Effects of an external compared to an internal focus of attention on the excitability of fast and slow(er) motor pathways
title_fullStr	Effects of an external compared to an internal focus of attention on the excitability of fast and slow(er) motor pathways
title_full_unstemmed	Effects of an external compared to an internal focus of attention on the excitability of fast and slow(er) motor pathways
title_sort	effects of an external compared to an internal focus of attention on the excitability of fast and slow(er) motor pathways
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/557c843e1dde48e3bc2acd6a92c7e548
work_keys_str_mv	AT yvesalainkuhn effectsofanexternalcomparedtoaninternalfocusofattentionontheexcitabilityoffastandslowermotorpathways AT martinkeller effectsofanexternalcomparedtoaninternalfocusofattentionontheexcitabilityoffastandslowermotorpathways AT svenegger effectsofanexternalcomparedtoaninternalfocusofattentionontheexcitabilityoffastandslowermotorpathways AT wolfgangtaube effectsofanexternalcomparedtoaninternalfocusofattentionontheexcitabilityoffastandslowermotorpathways
_version_	1718377048208048128

Effects of an external compared to an internal focus of attention on the excitability of fast and slow(er) motor pathways

Ejemplares similares