The ability to inhibit ongoing motor actions is essential to avoid detrimental consequences. Effective inhibition depends mainly on the functioning of several areas, such as the pre-supplementary motor cortex (pre-SMA). The research team, led by Sara Borgomaneri, explored possible changes in the ability of 66 participants to inhibit actions upon facing emotionally negative or neutral human body postures, presented in a stop signal task, before and after the application of a session of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the pre-SMA, the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) and the left primary motor cortex (lM1). They observed a shorter reaction time to emotionally negative stimuli after applying an inhibitory rTMS session to the pre-SMA. On the other hand, there was a shorter reaction time to neutral body postures after administration of rTMS over rIFG. No significant changes were observed after lM1 stimulation. These results support the existence of emotional effects on motor control systems and provide evidence that such effects may involve separate and distinct neural pathways from those associated with motor inhibition in neutral contexts. This study was developed within the scope of the research project 33/22 - The influence of emotions on actions: Boosting brain network plasticity to improve action control, supported by the BIAL Foundation, and published in the scientific journal Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, in article The role of pre-supplementary motor cortex in action control with emotional stimuli: A repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation study.
ABSTRACT
Swiftly halting ongoing motor actions is essential to react to unforeseen and potentially perilous circumstances. However, the neural bases subtending the complex interplay between emotions and motor control have been scarcely investigated. Here, we used an emotional stop signal task (SST) to investigate whether specific neural circuits engaged by action suppression are differently modulated by emotional signals with respect to neutral ones. Participants performed an SST before and after the administration of one session of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the pre-supplementary motor cortex (pre-SMA), the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), and the left primary motor cortex (lM1). Results show that rTMS over the pre-SMA improved the ability to inhibit prepotent action (i.e., better action control) when emotional stimuli were presented. In contrast, action control in a neutral context was fostered by rTMS over the rIFG. No changes were observed after lM1 stimulation. Intriguingly, individuals with higher impulsivity traits exhibited enhanced motor control when facing neutral stimuli following rIFG stimulation. These results further our understanding of the interplay between emotions and motor functions, shedding light on the selective modulation of neural pathways underpinning these processes.
