Steady-state movement-related cortical potentials: A new approach to assessing cortical activity associated with fast repetitive finger movements

Traditionally, studies of movement-related cortical potentials have focused on the preparation of single self-paced movements performed slowly. We studied MRCPs elicited by metronome-paced, fast repetitive finger movements (2/s) with 28-channel(10 normal subjects) and 122-channel (two subjects) EEG. EMG-locked averaging of 500 ms time windows (300 ms before to 200 ms after each EMG onset) produced a distinct pattern of phasic MRCPs (steady-state MRCPs). The main components were a pre-movement peak (pre-MP), 57 ms before EMG onset, and a post-movement peak (post-MP), 93 ms after EMG onset. From timing information and topographic mapping results, we propose that the pre-MF is largely generated by a tangential source in the anterior bank of the central sulcus and reflects precentral motor processing, whereas the post-MP is generated in the posterior bank of the central sulcus and represents post-central feedback processing. Steady-state MRCPs require actual recording times of less than 10 min, and show excellent intersession reproducibility. These characteristics may make them convenient for studying sensorimotor cortex activity experimentally and clinically. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.