How mind wandering influences motor control: The modulating role of movement difficulty

Zhengkun Long, Qiufang Fu, Xiaolan Fu

Abstract: Highlights•Finger movements (key-pressing and key-releasing) with relatively faster reaction times can elicit stronger midfrontal delta-theta (1–7 Hz) neural oscillatory activity and stronger contralateral delta-theta functional connectivity compared to movements with slower reaction times, which reflects differences in movement difficulty, as simpler movements typically entail better motor control.•Movement difficulty modulates the impact of mind wandering on motor control, as evidenced by mind wandering only attenuating the midfrontal delta-theta activity (1–7 Hz) and contralateral delta-theta functional connectivity of relatively simple movements while not affecting more relatively difficult movements.•Mind wandering results in larger alpha ERD (8–13 Hz) during movement execution compared to on-task states regardless of movement difficulty, which may reflect the inefficiency of generating movement.