Effector-Dependent Differences Between Upper and Lower Limbs During Go/No-Go Tasks

Abstract: We investigated motor effector differences in N2 and P3 components of event-related potentials (ERPs) during a visual Go/No-go task requiring button-press responses with the hands and feet. Twenty-three healthy right-handed and right-footed participants ( M age : 22.3 ± 1.4 years) performed the task using their right hand, left hand, right foot, and left foot. We also evaluated the relationships between the response time (RT) and amplitudes and latencies of N2 and P3 components. Behavioral results showed significantly longer RTs and greater response variability for foot responses than for hand responses. ERP analysis revealed significantly larger amplitudes of Go-N2 under lower-limb conditions, whereas no significant effector-related differences were observed in No-go-N2 amplitudes. P3 amplitudes were significantly larger for upper limbs during both Go and No-go trials, and a trend toward shorter P3 latencies was observed for lower-limb responses. The scalp distributions of Go-P3 amplitudes differed between upper- and lower-limb conditions. These findings suggest that certain aspects of neural activity related to motor execution and inhibitory control are shared between upper- and lower-limb conditions, whereas other aspects are considered to be modulated by the specific motor effector involved.