Right inferior frontal gyrus implements motor inhibitory control via beta-band oscillations in humans.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional multimodal neuroimaging study in healthy individuals
PubMed 33755019 · doi:10.7554/eLife.61679
What was done
Researchers measured neural activity in 59 human subjects using combined magnetoencephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a motor response inhibition task to evaluate the role of the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), and beta-band oscillations in top-down stopping control.
What was found
The abstract does not report specific numerical values, test statistics, or effect sizes. It reports that motor response inhibition was initiated by the rIFG via modulation of beta-band activity, stopping performance was predicted by beta-band power, and directed beta-band connectivity flowed from the rIFG to the pre-SMA.
Why it matters
These findings clarify the directional hierarchy of the human stopping network, indicating that the rIFG drives motor inhibition via oscillatory beta-band signalling to motor regions rather than simply acting as a passive relay.
Limits
The abstract does not provide quantitative data, confidence intervals, or demographic details of the 59 participants. Because this was an observational neuroimaging study rather than a direct interventional perturbation (e.g., using brain stimulation), direct causality cannot be definitively confirmed from the reported data alone.