Abstract

LUFT, Caroline  and  ANDRADE, Alexandro. EEG and Motor Learning Research. Rev. Port. Cien. Desp. [online]. 2006, vol.6, n.1, pp.106-115. ISSN 1645-0523.

The Electroencephalogram (EEG) is the record of the cortex electrical activity that corresponds to the flow of information processed by the cortex during its activities. Physical movement involves specific cognitive processes and motor learning goes through by different phases and shows different characteristics in encephalon. The purpose of this paper was to review studies using EEG within the field of Motor Learning research, its applications and empirical possibilities. The main articles reviewed in this study, point out that motor learning causes a change in the cortical activation in the pre-motor and motor areas, i. e., the alpha activity increases in these areas, indicating that the movement was learned. This way, motor learning is related to less effort and more neural efficiency mainly in the pre-motor cortex because this area is responsible for motor planning. Reviewing main results in empirical studies, we conclude that EEG may be an excellent tool in motor learning research, adding something more to this field studies by the direct investigation of the cognitive processes involved in motor ability and in its learning.

Keywords : electroencephalogram; motor learning; movement; brain cortex.

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