Working memory load reduces corticospinal suppression to former go and trained no-go cues.

ABSTRACT: Environmental cues associated with an action can prime the motor system, decreasing response times and activating motor regions of the brain. However, when task goals change, the same responses to former go-associated cues are no longer required and motor priming needs to be inhibited to avoid unwanted behavioural errors. The present study tested whether the inhibition of motor system activity to presentations of former go cues is reliant on top-down, goal-directed cognitive control processes using a working memory (WM) load manipulation. Applying transcranial magnetic stimulation over the primary motor cortex to measure motor system activity during a Go/No-go task, we found that under low WM, corticospinal excitability was suppressed to former go and trained no-go cues relative to control

SUBMITTER: Tran DMD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8172546 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature