1/7: Excited to share our new pre-print "All talk? Left temporal alpha oscillations are not specific to verbal-analytical processing during conscious motor control" @Greg___Wood @GerGallicch @Ann_KathrinJ https://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/851956v1 #biorxiv_neursci

2/7" In this paper, we directly assessed the validity of inferring both verbal and conscious motor processing from EEG left temporal alpha power and T7-Fz connectivity during a reaching and grasping task.

3/7: We compared three reaching conditions: one uninstructed (control), and two self-talk conditions designed to elicit either task-unrelated verbal processing or task-related conscious control.

4/7: Specifically, the task-unrelated condition required participants to rehearse nursery rhymes (e.g. Mary had a little lamb) during performance, whilst the task-related condition required participants to rehearse-and-adhere to movement instructions (e.g. keep elbow below wrist)

5/7: Both self-talk conditions increased self-reported levels of verbal processing (compared to control), but only the task-related condition increased conscious motor processing and decreased hand acceleration profiles.

6/7: Task-related self-talk was also accompanied by increased left-temporal activity (alpha power decreased) during movement – BUT – this increase was not localised to the left temporal region but was evident across the entire topography.

6.5/7: Surprisingly, no effects for T7-Fz high-alpha connectivity were observed across conditions!

7/7: Results fail to endorse left temporal alpha power and T7-Fz connectivity as valid measures of verbal and/or conscious motor processing. Increased left temporal activity associated with novice/conscious performance is more likely a bi-product of diminished neural efficiency.