EEG correlates of verbal and conscious processing of motor control in sport and human movement: A systematic review

Studies from the sport and human movement sciences have proposed that electroencephalographic (EEG) measures of left-temporal alpha power and left-temporal-frontal connectivity reflect verbal, conscious processing during the learning and control of motor skills. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize these studies, bring awareness to key methodological considerations, and suggest future research agendas and practices to help generate new knowledge on this topic. An extensive search of electronic databases (PubMed, PsychInfo, GoogleScholar, and SportDiscus) was conducted to identify peer-reviewed literature relating to EEG, conscious movement control and verbal processing. Thirty-eight studies met the inclusion criteria and were retained for quality assessment and synthesis of results. Results suggested that only 36% of studies measuring left-temporal alpha power and only 47% of studies measuring left-temporal-frontal connectivity supported their putative association with verbally-guided, conscious motor processing. There were great methodological inconsistencies across studies and overall studies scored moderate for quality criteria. In conclusion, we question the use of these EEG indices as markers of verbally-guided conscious control until more substantive evidence of their efficacy is provided and stronger methodologies are adopted. We outline six recommendations that can be used to guide such work in the future.