The neural basis of sensorimotor expertise: investigating the role of theta oscillations and the superior parietal lobule using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)

Abstract The study investigates the neural mechanisms underlying sensorimotor integration in motor experts (athletes in fast-paced sports), focusing on their enhanced ability to predict and adapt to dynamic movement patterns within the scope of the action emulation framework. Two experiments were conducted to examine these mechanisms. The first experiment compared experts and novices in a continuous tracking task, revealing that athletes displayed superior tracking performance, particularly on predictable trajectory segments. Electroencephalography (EEG) analysis identified distinct theta band oscillations between the groups. The source localization highlighted the superior parietal lobule (SPL) as a critical region associated with experts’ enhanced motor prediction capabilities. The second experiment employed repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to inhibit SPL activity and explore its causal role in motor expertise. Results indicated that rTMS disrupted specific neural oscillations but did not significantly alter behavioral performance, suggesting compensatory mechanisms in functionally connected regions. Differences in theta and beta oscillations between experts and novices’ post-stimulation highlight the adaptive neural plasticity underlying motor expertise. These findings contribute to our understanding of sensorimotor integration in expertise, reinforcing the role of feedforward modeling and predictive processing. This work advances our understanding of the neural substrates underlying high-level sensorimotor expertise.