Hypoxia Adaptation Promotes Cerebral Functional Connectivity With Neuromuscular Efficiency Decrement

Overview

The study utilized a trimodal setup comprising EEG, EMG, and fNIRS modules. Participants wore a 64-channel dry EEG cap, while EMG electrodes were placed on the right biceps brachii, the flexor digitorum profundus of the forearm, and the gastrocnemius muscle. fNIRS probes were positioned on the forehead to monitor cerebral hemodynamic responses. The experimental paradigm included two tasks: motor execution (ME) and motor imagery (MI). During ME, participants performed 15 trials of actual movements. In MI, participants completed 60 trials of imagined movements. Each trial involved a randomly presented stimulus-left-hand clenching, right-hand clenching, or bilateral heel raising-with each movement type occurring an equal number of times across the session.

This study employed a multimodal acquisition system comprising EEG, EMG, and fNIRS modules. Participants were fitted with a 64-channel dry EEG cap for the measurement of cortical electrical activity. Surface EMG electrodes were attached to three muscle groups: the right biceps brachii, the flexor digitorum profundus of the forearm, and the gastrocnemius muscle, to record muscle activation signals. Simultaneously, fNIRS probes were positioned on the participants' foreheads to monitor cerebral hemodynamic responses. The experimental paradigm was divided into two tasks: motor execution (ME) and motor imagery (MI). During the ME task, participants performed 15 trials of actual movements, whereas the MI task involved 60 trials of imagined movements. Each trial randomly presented one of three stimuli-left-hand clenching, right-hand clenching, or bilateral heel raising-with an equal distribution of the three movement types across the session. The order of stimuli was randomized to prevent prediction bias.

Conditions