Psychological assessment of event-related motor potential in different brain regions in carrying out simple and complicated tasks

Training in a certain skill not only culminates in better motor performance but also leads to neural adjustments and regulations in different brain regions.

The present study aimed to psychologically assess event-related motor potential in motor-related cortical regions during simple and complicated tasks.

The current research was of a semi-experimental type with a single-phase post-test design without a control group. The participants of the present study consisted of all 20-32-year-old right-handed male table tennis players in Tehran, in 2019. A total of 8 samples were selected via convenience sampling. Data were collected at the National Brain Mapping Laboratory. Annett Hand Preference Questionnaire (1970), Ocular Dominance Testing Card (1910), the Newgy Robo Pong Model 2050 Digital Table Tennis Robot, and the Specific Test for Table Tennis Stroke (2016) were used to record speed from Radar gun, and cameras and judges’ scoring were also used to measure accuracy. Moreover, the two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistical test was employed to assess the differences in two levels of task complexity in SPSS software version 24.

The results showed that the motor potential in the primary motor cortex region had a greater range in the simple task than in the complicated task (P=0.012); however, the premotor (P=0.008) and the posterior parietal cortical regions (P=0.026) of the complicated task had larger ranges than the simple task.

According to the results of this study, the motor potential range is dependent on the task complexity level. Therefore, it is suggested that tasks with different complexity levels be taken into account in investigating event-dependent potentials.