Volitional muscle activation intensifies neuronal processing of proprioceptive afference in the primary sensorimotor cortex: an EEG study

Proprioception refers to the ability to perceive the position and movement of body segments in space. The cortical aspects of the proprioceptive afference from the body can be investigated using corticokinematic coherence (CKC). CKC accurately quantifies the degree of coupling between cortical activity and limb kinematics, especially if precise proprioceptive stimulation of evoked movements is used. However, there is no evidence on how volitional muscle activation during proprioceptive stimulation affects CKC strength. Twenty-five healthy volunteers (28.8 ± 7 yr, 11 females) participated in the experiment, which included electroencephalographic (EEG), electromyographic (EMG), and kinematic recordings. Ankle-joint rotations (2-Hz) were elicited through a movement actuator in two conditions: passive condition with relaxed ankle and active condition with constant 5-Nm plantar flexion exerted during the stimulation. In total, 6 min of data were recorded per condition. CKC strength was defined as the maximum coherence value among all the EEG channels at the 2-Hz movement frequency for each condition separately. Both conditions resulted in significant CKC peaking at the Cz electrode over the foot area of the primary sensorimotor (SM1) cortex. Stronger CKC was found for the active (0.13 ± 0.14) than the passive (0.03 ± 0.04) condition (P < 0.01). The results indicated that volitional activation of the muscles intensifies the neuronal proprioceptive processing in the SM1 cortex. This finding could be explained both by peripheral sensitization of the ankle joint proprioceptors and central modulation of the neuronal proprioceptive processing at the spinal and cortical levels.