Task dependence of distributed brain computations for coactivation

Determine whether and how the computations performed and contributions from distributed motor-related brain areas—including primary motor cortex, cerebellum, reticular formation, parietal cortex, and premotor cortex—to muscle coactivation vary with task urgency, body state, and environmental properties such as novel, unstable, or variable disturbances.

Background

Multiple brain areas have descending influence on spinal excitability and have been implicated in tasks that involve muscle coactivation, but direct measures during human arm movements are scarce.

The paper explicitly notes uncertainty about whether the roles and computations of these distributed areas depend on specific task demands or environmental contexts.