Properties of primary motor cortical local field potentials in the leg and trunk representations during arm movements

Large, spatially-distributed populations of motor cortical neurons are recruited during upper limb movements. Here, we examined how beta attenuation, a mesoscopic reflection of unit engagement, varies across a spatially expansive sampling of primary motor cortex in a non-human primate (macaca mulatta). We found that electrodes in both the trunk and leg representation of motor cortex exhibit qualitatively similar behavior to electrodes in the arm representation during a planar reaching task, despite the fact that there were no overt movements of the trunk or leg. These findings are interpreted in the context of a state-based brain machine interface.