Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42487830›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in human neuroscience2026

Effects of motor activity versus cognitive demand on asymmetries in EEG frequency bands and their relation to handedness.

Annakarina Mundorf, Sarah A Merklein, Petunia Reinke, Jutta Peterburs, Stephan Getzmann, Patrick D Gajewski, Mauro Larra, Edmund Wascher, Sebastian Ocklenburg

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05155397 (The Dortmund Vital Study), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05155397 active not recruitingnot on this map

The Dortmund Vital Study: Impact of Biological and Lifestyle Factors on Cognitive Performace and Work Ability Across the Lifespan. An Interdisciplinary, Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Study

TypeobservationalSponsorTechnical University of DortmundRan2016 to 2037Enrolled627ConditionsAge-related Cognitive Decline
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Annakarina MundorfInstitute for Systems Medicine and Department of Human Medicine, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Sarah A MerkleinInstitute for Systems Medicine and Department of Human Medicine, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Petunia ReinkeDepartment of Psychology, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Jutta PeterbursInstitute for Systems Medicine and Department of Human Medicine, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Stephan GetzmannLeibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo) at the Technical University of Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany.
Patrick D GajewskiLeibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo) at the Technical University of Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany.
Mauro LarraLeibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo) at the Technical University of Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany.
Edmund WascherLeibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo) at the Technical University of Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany.
Sebastian OcklenburgDepartment of Psychology, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Electroencephalography (EEG) is commonly used in neuroscience to study cognitive and emotional processes, often showing functional lateralization. Alpha asymmetries are frequently interpreted as a reverse marker of functional asymmetries in cognitive activation. However, the role of motor activity versus cognitive demands in driving EEG asymmetries remains unclear. Methods: To explore this, we analyzed resting-state and task-based EEG asymmetry from 610 healthy adults (ages 20-70) from the Dortmund Vital Study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05155397). Participants completed three tasks with increasing hand involvement and cognitive demands: Psychomotor Vigilance, Simon, and Stroop tasks. Results: Timepoint (pre-stimulus vs. post-stimulus vs. resting-state) had the strongest impact, especially in the alpha and theta bands, with notable differences between resting-state and task-related asymmetries. Non-right-handers exhibited more dynamic shifts in asymmetry, while right-handers showed more stable lateralization patterns. Correlations between frequency bands, electrode pairs, and tasks revealed strong interhemispheric coupling in frontal and weaker coupling in central regions. Frontal post-stimulus asymmetry correlated more strongly than resting-state or pre-stimulus. Discussion: Findings suggest that EEG asymmetry is a dynamic process influenced by cognitive and/or motor activity and perceptual processes mediated by frontoparietal circuits, with implications for interpreting EEG biomarkers in both research and clinical settings. This study offers reference standards in EEG asymmetry research.

Indexed as

alpha asymmetryAsymmetry Indexmotor preparationoscillationsvisuospatial cognition

Identifiers

PMID42487830
PMCPMC13388754

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.