Functional heterogeneity of beta bursts in childhood reveals a dimensional neural signature of motor skill

Rayson, Holly, Gerson, Sarah A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8710-1178, Keating, Jennifer, Jones, Catherine R.G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0541-0431, Purcell, Catherine ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0301-2555, Bonaiuto, James J and Vanderwert, Ross E ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2280-8401 2026. Functional heterogeneity of beta bursts in childhood reveals a dimensional neural signature of motor skill. Imaging Neuroscience 10.1162/imag.a.1376

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Abstract

Activity in the beta frequency band appears to play a critical role in sensorimotor processing, with transient ‘bursts’ exhibiting distinct waveform motifs that may reflect different neural computations. However, how these dynamics relate to motor development and neurodevelopmental conditions remains unclear. Here, we used EEG to investigate sensorimotor beta bursts in children with and without developmental coordination disorder (DCD). We characterized beta bursts during action execution and observation of gross and fine motor actions. Conventional spectral features and overall burst rates did not differ between groups. In contrast, children with DCD showed altered rate modulation of specific burst waveform motifs, including atypical hemispheric lateralization and disrupted interhemispheric connectivity. Critically, motif-specific burst rates were systematically related to motor performance across individuals, with similar relations observed across groups. These findings indicate that waveform-specific beta burst dynamics track graded variation in motor performance, rather than mapping selectively onto diagnostic status. Beta burst variability may therefore reflect the functional expression of motor performance, rather than a disorder-specific neural mechanism underlying DCD. This work highlights the importance of beta burst waveform diversity for understanding variability in sensorimotor function across development.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Healthcare Sciences Schools > Psychology Schools > Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Schools > School of Social and Spatial Sciences Research Institutes & Centres > Cardiff University Centre for Human Development Science (CHDS) Research Institutes & Centres > Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC)
Publisher:	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	7 September 2026
Date of Acceptance:	13 August 2026
Last Modified:	07 Sep 2026 12:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/189435

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