Neural Correlates of Temporal Predictability in Motor Inhibition: A fMRI-EMG Investigation

• Grant number: 25/12274-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: November 24, 2025
• End date: May 23, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Experimental Psychology
• Principal Investigator: André Mascioli Cravo
• Grantee: Veronica Casagrande
• Supervisor: Jennifer Coull
• Host Institution: Centro de Matemática, Computação e Cognição (CMCC). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Centre For Research In Psychology & Neuroscience, France
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/07793-0 - Investigation of possible changes in temporal binding in patients with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, BP.MS

Abstract

Temporal perception is a fundamental cognitive process that guides motor control, yet the neural mechanisms underlying implicit timing and their influence on motor inhibition remain incompletely understood. This study will investigate how temporal predictability modulates inhibitory control in the motor cortex. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and electromyography, we will analyze existing data from healthy adults performing Go/No-go and Choice Reaction Time tasks with variable foreperiod durations to examine how temporal expectations influence motor inhibitory control. By employing two distinct tasks with different inhibitory demands, we will assess how the investigated mechanisms of temporal prediction depend on task-specific requirements. The study will test whether ipsilateral motor cortex inhibition manifests as an active (BOLD signal increase) or passive (BOLD signal decrease) process during temporal expectation. Additionally, we will investigate how individual differences in GABA concentrations, measured via magnetic resonance spectroscopy, relate to these temporal-motor inhibition interactions. The findings aim to advance our understanding of the neural basis of implicit timing and its role in action control while establishing methodological foundations for investigating altered inhibitory processes in clinical populations, such as those with ADHD. (AU)