Network analysis of electrical activity in brain motor cortex during motor execution and motor imagery of elderly

We performed connectivity analysis of the brain motor-related electrical activity corresponding to the motor execution and motor imagery in the group of elderly subjects aged 55-76. The goal of the current study is to infer the the differences and similarities of brain motor cortex functional connectivity during executive and mental motor tasks. Particularly, we observed significant event-related desynchronization (ERD) in β-band (15-30 Hz) over the motor cortex during both motor execution and motor imagery tasks. We applied linear correlation analysis to explore functional connectivity and found that motor execution and motor imagery share the similar connectivity pattern in the β-band at the beginning of the motor-task. We conclude, that motor preparation preceding motor execution reflects the mechanisms of the motor imagery process.