Introduction: A fundamental aspect of planning future actions is the performance and control of motor tasks. This behaviour is done through sensory-motor integration.
Aim: To explain the electrophysiological mechanisms in the cortex (modifications to the alpha band) that are involved in anticipatory actions when individuals have to catch a free-falling object.
Subjects and methods: The sample was made up of 20 healthy subjects of both sexes (11 males and 9 females) with ages ranging between 25 and 40 years (32.5 +/- 7.5) who were free of mental or physical diseases (previous medical history); the subjects were right-handed (Edinburgh Inventory) and were not taking any psychoactive or psychotropic substances at the time of the study. The experiment consisted in a task in which subjects had to catch freely falling objects. The experiment was made up of six blocks of 15 tests, each of which lasted 2 minutes and 30 seconds, with a break of one minute between blocks. Data were captured by means of a quantitative electroencephalogram two seconds before and two seconds after each ball was dropped.
Results: An interaction of the factors moment and position was only observed for the right parietooccipital cortex, in the combination of electrodes P4-O2.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that the right parietooccipital cortex plays an important role in increasing expectation and swiftness in the processes of preparing for a motor task.