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Human motor behaviors are characterized by both, reactive and proactive mechanisms. Yet, studies investigating the neural correlates of motor behavior almost exclusively focused on reactive motor processes. Here, we employed… Click to show full abstract
Human motor behaviors are characterized by both, reactive and proactive mechanisms. Yet, studies investigating the neural correlates of motor behavior almost exclusively focused on reactive motor processes. Here, we employed the pro‐/anti‐cue motor preparation paradigm to systematically study proactive motor control in an imaging environment. In this paradigm, either pro‐ or anti‐cues are presented in a blocked design. Four fingers (two from each hand) are mapped onto four visual target locations. Visual targets require a speeded response by one corresponding finger, but, most importantly, they are preceded by visual cues that are congruent (“pro‐cue”), incongruent (“anti‐cue”), or neutral with respect to the responding hand. With short cue‐target intervals, congruence effects are based on automatic motor priming of the correct hand (in case of pro‐cues) or incorrect hand (in case of anti‐cues), generating, respectively, reaction time benefits or reaction time costs relative to the neutral‐cue. With longer cue‐target intervals, slower top‐down processes become effective, transforming early anti‐cue interference into late anti‐cue facilitation.