The impact of body posture on intrinsic brain activity: the role of beta power at rest

1.Tying the hands behind the back has detrimental effect of sensorimotor perceptual tasks. Here we provide evidence that beta band oscillatory activity in a resting state condition might have a crucial role in such detrimental effects. EEG activity in a resting state condition was measured from thirty participants in two different body posture conditions. In one condition participants were required to keep their hands freely resting on the table. In the other condition, participants were required to keep the hands tied behind their back. Increased beta power was observed in the left inferior frontal gyrus (l-IFG) during the tied hands condition compared to the free hands condition. A control study ruled out alternative explanations including muscle tension that might have affected the EEG data. Our findings provide new insight on how body postural manipulations impact on perceptual tasks and intrinsic brain activity.