Cortico-cerebellar beta-band dynamics predict flexible motor timing
- 1University of Birmingham
Abstract
Flexible motor control requires that movements adapt to changing temporal contexts. Here, we test whether flexible timing is driven by context-dependent encoding across cortico-cerebellar circuits and how neural dynamics within these circuits enable accurate performance. To overcome the signal-to-noise limitations of conventional electro- and magnetoencephalography, we recorded whole-head neural dynamics using optically pumped magnetometer arrays (OPM-MEG). Participants learned a context-dependent task, executing manual button presses at time intervals 800 ms (T1) and 1,600 ms (T2), respectively, to avoid a periocular air puff, which was associated with an implicit conditioned eyeblink. We found that the motor cortex contralateral to the hand and bilateral cerebellar lobule VI dynamically encoded these intervals through beta-band (13-30 Hz) event-related desynchronisation (ERD) that precisely scaled with T1 and T2. The cerebellar trial-by-trial latency of the beta-band ERD predicted the timing of explicit manual actions. Finally, partial directed coherence revealed that baseline bidirectional beta-band coupling across the network transiently weakened from the ipsilateral cerebellum to the contralateral motor cortex during finger movement execution. Our findings show that cortico-cerebellar coupling functions as a gating mechanism and suggest that cerebellar circuits modulate cortical motor activity for flexible, accurate motor timing.
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BibTeX
@misc{zandvoort2026corticocerebellar,
title = {{Cortico-cerebellar beta-band dynamics predict flexible motor timing}},
author = {C. S. Zandvoort and C. C. Wissing and J. Winter and A. Kowalczyk and O. Jensen and R. C. Miall and D. Narain and K. Kornysheva},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.03.748373},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.03.748373v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Cortico-cerebellar beta-band dynamics predict flexible motor timing
AU - C. S. Zandvoort
AU - C. C. Wissing
AU - J. Winter
AU - A. Kowalczyk
AU - O. Jensen
AU - R. C. Miall
AU - D. Narain
AU - K. Kornysheva
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/03
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.03.748373
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.03.748373v1
AB - Flexible motor control requires that movements adapt to changing temporal contexts. Here, we test whether flexible timing is driven by context-dependent encoding across cortico-cerebellar circuits and how neural dynamics within these circuits enable accurate performance. To overcome the signal-to-noise limitations of conventional electro- and magnetoencephalography, we recorded whole-head neural dynamics using optically pumped magnetometer arrays (OPM-MEG). Participants learned a context-dependent task, executing manual button presses at time intervals 800 ms (T1) and 1,600 ms (T2), respectively, to avoid a periocular air puff, which was associated with an implicit conditioned eyeblink. We found that the motor cortex contralateral to the hand and bilateral cerebellar lobule VI dynamically encoded these intervals through beta-band (13-30 Hz) event-related desynchronisation (ERD) that precisely scaled with T1 and T2. The cerebellar trial-by-trial latency of the beta-band ERD predicted the timing of explicit manual actions. Finally, partial directed coherence revealed that baseline bidirectional beta-band coupling across the network transiently weakened from the ipsilateral cerebellum to the contralateral motor cortex during finger movement execution. Our findings show that cortico-cerebellar coupling functions as a gating mechanism and suggest that cerebellar circuits modulate cortical motor activity for flexible, accurate motor timing.
ER -