Demonstrating the need for long inter-stimulus intervals when studying the post-movement beta rebound following a simple button press

Voluntary movements reliably elicit event-related synchronization of oscillatory neuronal rhythms in the beta (15-30 Hz) range immediately following movement offset, as measured by magneto/electroencephalography (M/EEG). This response has been termed the post-movement beta rebound (PMBR). While early work on the PMBR advocated for long inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs)-arguing that the PMBR might persist for several seconds-these concerns have since fallen by the wayside, with many recent studies employing very short (< 5 s) ISIs. In this work we interrogated sensor-level MEG time courses in 635 individuals who participated in a cued button-pressing paradigm as part of the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN) project. We focussed on a subset of trials in which button presses were separated by at least 15 s and, using curve modeling and Bayesian inference, estimated the point at which beta power returned to baseline levels. We show that beta power takes around 4-5 s to return to baseline levels following movement. These results have important implications for experimental design. The PMBR is ubiquitously defined relative to a preceding baseline period; we argue that short ISIs preclude true baseline estimation and, in turn, accurate estimation of PMBR magnitude. We recommend that future studies targeting the PMBR use ISIs of at least 6-7 s, allowing 5 s for beta power to return to baseline, plus a 1-2 s period for proper baseline estimation. Further work is needed to clarify PMBR duration in the context of different sensorimotor paradigms and clinical populations.