Functional connectivity in the brain during motor coordination with high-density electroencephalography

Perception, action, and cognition are achieved through concerted neural activity in large-scale brain networks. As such, understanding the basic mechanisms of long-range neuronal communication may permit to elucidate how the brain orchestrates when we perform a complex task. Motor coordination is a prototypical example of complex behaviour, and its study is very well suited for broader investigations about the architecture and functioning of the brain. This project will use bimanual coordination in combination with brain imaging and stimulation techniques, as that is a useful means to start understanding the link between functional connectivity and behaviour. A first main goal will be to develop necessary analytical tools to study synchronization of oscillatory activity in the large-scale brain networks during motor coordination. Using these tools, we will investigate motor coordination conditions with different complexity to better understand how groups of neurons in a brain network dynamically exchange information. Finally, we will also examine whether and how neuronal communication in brain networks can be transiently altered by non-invasive stimulation techniques, to test if these alterations are causally linked to changes in motor performance. Overall, this research will permit to better understand which neuronal oscillations most strongly contribute to long-range interactions in the brain and will shed new light on how these interactions mediate motor behaviour.