Investigating the Relationship Between Resting-state EEG Frontoparietal Coherence, Visuospatial Ability, and Motor Skill Acquisition: A Retrospective Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Visuospatial ability may explain individual differences in the extent of motor skill learning. This study tested whether frontoparietal functional connectivity at rest, measured by resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) coherence, is related to both visuospatial performance and motor skill acquisition (an early stage of motor learning). Methods: Across 21 participants, the following data were retrospectively analyzed: 2-min eyes-closed resting-state EEG, the Visuospatial/Constructional Index score from the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), and five practice trials of a functional motor task. Right frontoparietal coherence in the alpha band (8–12 Hz) was computed with imaginary coherence (IC) between electrodes F4 and P4, with ICs from left and midline electrodes included as negative controls. Results: F4–P4 alpha IC was highly correlated with the RBANS Visuospatial/Constructional Index, while left and midline alpha ICs were not. However, there was no correlation between right frontoparietal alpha IC with skill acquisition. Conclusion: This study supports that right frontoparietal IC is positively related with visuospatial function, yet the limited dose of motor practice (five trials) in the retrospective dataset was not inherently designed to investigate motor skill acquisition per se. However, results show proof of concept for developing right frontoparietal alpha IC-based neurofeedback applications for visuospatial training.