Transmission of brain activity during cognitive task

Abstract

The transmission of brain activity during constant attention test was estimated by means of the shorttime directed transfer function (SDTF). SDTF is an estimator based on a multivariate autoregressive model. It determines the propagation as a function of time and frequency. For nine healthy subjects the transmission of EEG activity was determined for target and non-target conditions corresponding to pressing of a switch in case of appearance of two identical images or withholding the reaction in case of different images. The involvement of prefrontal and frontal cortex manifested by the propagation from these structures was observed, especially in the early stages of the task. For the target condition there was a burst of propagation from C3 after pressing the switch, which can be interpreted as beta rebound upon completion of motor action. In case of non-target condition the propagation from F8 or Fz to C3 was observed, which can be connected with the active inhibition of motor cortex by right inferior frontal cortex or presupplementary motor area. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010.