Biology subjects

Pillette, L.

Publications and source records attributed to Pillette, L..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Sport expertise and motor imagery abilities shape sensorimotor rhythm modulations during visualisation tasks: Implications for neurofeedback-based cognitive training in athletes

Kinaesthetic motor imagery (kMI) is widely used in sport to enhance motor performance by engaging cortical sensorimotor networks. Neurofeedback may further support kMI, but the optimal neural target to reinforce remains unclear. Maximal sensorimotor event-related desynchronisation (SMR-ERD) represents a relevant target as it may index sensorimotor cortex engagement, yet sport expertise has been associated with reduced SMR-ERD, potentially reflecting neural efficiency. The optimal neurofeedback target may therefore depend on sport expertise, movement expertise, and individual kMI ability. This study examined how these factors influence sensorimotor activity during kMI. We compared 17 basketball players (Experts) and 16 individuals without formal basketball training (Novices). kMI ability and frequency of use were assessed using questionnaires, while SMR-ERD was quantified using electroencephalography (EEG) during kMI. Participants imagined either a basketball-specific movement (Free throw), for which only Experts had extensive experience, or a generic movement (Box lifting), familiar to both groups. Experts reported greater kMI ability and more frequent kMI use than Novices. Only Experts exhibited significant and sustained SMR-ERD during kMI. Moreover, SMR-ERD was stronger in Experts than Novices specifically during Free throw kMI, corresponding to their movement of expertise. Nonetheless, within the Expert group, higher kMI ability was associated with reduced SMR-ERD. These findings suggest that sport expertise initially enhances voluntary recruitment of sensorimotor networks during kMI, whereas greater kMI ability may subsequently promote neural efficiency, resulting in reduced overall sensorimotor cortical activation. These results highlight the need to tailor kMI-based neurofeedback training to users' sport expertise and kMI ability levels.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Motor cortical beta power reflects adaptation to task constraints

The amplitude of beta-band activity ({beta} power; 13-30 Hz) over motor cortical regions is used to assess and decode movement in clinical settings and brain-computer interfaces, as {beta} power is often assumed to predict the strength of the brains motor output, or "vigor". However, recent conflicting evidence challenges this assumption and underscores the need to clarify the relationship between {beta} power and movement. In this study, sixty participants were trained to self-regulate {beta} power using electroencephalography-based neurofeedback before performing different motor tasks. Results showed that {beta} power modulations can impact different motor variables, or the same variables in opposite directions, depending on task constraints. Importantly, downregulation of {beta} power was associated with better task performance regardless of whether performance implied increasing or decreasing motor vigor. These findings demonstrate that {beta} power should be interpreted as a measure of motor flexibility, which underlies adaptation to environmental constraints, rather than vigor.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Agency accounts for the effect of FB transparency onmotor imagery neurofeedback performance

ObjectiveNeurofeedback (NF) is a cognitive training procedure based on real-time feedback (FB) of a participants brain activity that they must learn to self-regulate. A classical visual FB delivered in a NF task is a filling gauge reflecting a measure of brain activity. This abstract visual FB is not transparently linked--from the subjects perspective--to the task performed (e.g., motor imagery). This may decrease the sense of agency, that is, the participants reported control over FB. Here, we assessed the influence of FB transparency on NF performance and the role of agency in this relationship. ApproachParticipants performed a NF task using motor imagery to regulate brain activity measured using electroencephalography. In separate blocks, participants experienced three different conditions designed to vary transparency: FB was presented as either 1) a swinging pendulum, 2) a clenching virtual hand, 3) a clenching virtual hand combined with a motor illusion induced by tendon vibration. We measured self-reported agency and user experience after each NF block. Main resultsWe found that FB transparency influences NF performance. Transparent visual FB provided by the virtual hand resulted in significantly better NF performance than the abstract FB of the pendulum. Surprisingly, adding a motor illusion to the virtual hand significantly decreased performance relative to the virtual hand alone. When introduced in incremental linear mixed effect models, self-reported agency was significantly associated with NF performance and it captured the variance related to the effect of FB transparency on NF performance. SignificanceOur results highlight the relevance of transparent FB in relation to the sense of agency. This is likely an important consideration in designing FB to improve NF performance and learning outcomes.

neuroscience↗