Spatial-Temporal Dynamics of the Sensorimotor Cortex: Sustained and Transient Activity

How the sensorimotor cortex is organized with respect to controlling different features of movement is unclear. One unresolved question concerns the relation between the duration of an action and the duration of the associated neuronal activity change in the sensorimotor cortex. Using subdural electrocorticography electrodes, we investigated in five subjects, whether high frequency band (HFB; 75–135 Hz) power changes have a transient or sustained relation to speech duration, during pronunciation of the Dutch /i/ vowel with different durations. We showed that the neuronal activity patterns recorded from the sensorimotor cortex can be directly related to action duration in some locations, whereas in other locations, during the same action, neuronal activity is transient, with a peak in HFB activity at movement onset and/or offset. This data sheds light on the neural underpinnings of motor actions and we discuss the possible mechanisms underlying these different response types.