1
|
Heuer H. Imagery practice of motor skills without conscious awareness?: a commentary to Frank et al. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2024:10.1007/s00426-023-01907-8. [PMID: 38165421 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-023-01907-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Modifications of imagined sensory consequences will not benefit overt performance when they cannot be transformed into motor outflow that produces them. With physical practice, the acquisition of internal models of motor transformations is largely based on prediction errors that are absent in imagery practice. What can imagery practice nevertheless contribute to transformation learning? Explicit, strategic adjustments to novel transformations should be possible. This appears less likely for implicit adjustments. Are there variants of imagery practice that can produce adjustments without conscious awareness of the transformation and/or the resultant movement changes?
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Herbert Heuer
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Kolářová B, Tomsa M, Kolář P, Haltmar H, Diatelová T, Janura M. How Posture and Previous Sensorimotor Experience Influence Muscle Activity during Gait Imagery in Young Healthy Individuals. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1605. [PMID: 38002564 PMCID: PMC10670012 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13111605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
This study explores how gait imagery (GI) influences lower-limb muscle activity with respect to posture and previous walking experience. We utilized surface electromyography (sEMG) in 36 healthy young individuals aged 24 (±1.1) years to identify muscle activity during a non-gait imagery task (non-GI), as well as GI tasks before (GI-1) and after the execution of walking (GI-2), with assessments performed in both sitting and standing postures. The sEMG was recorded on both lower limbs on the tibialis anterior (TA) and on the gastrocnemius medialis (GM) for all tested tasks. As a result, a significant muscle activity decrease was found in the right TA for GI-1 compared to GI-2 in both sitting (p = 0.008) and standing (p = 0.01) positions. In the left TA, the activity decreased in the sitting posture during non-GI (p = 0.004) and GI-1 (p = 0.009) in comparison to GI-2. No differences were found for GM. The subjective level of imagination difficulty improved for GI-2 in comparison to GI-1 in both postures (p < 0.001). Previous sensorimotor experience with real gait execution and sitting posture potentiate TA activity decrease during GI. These findings contribute to the understanding of neural mechanisms beyond GI.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Barbora Kolářová
- Department of Clinical Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Palacký University Olomouc, Hněvotínská 976/3, 775 15 Olomouc, Czech Republic; (M.T.); (P.K.)
- Department of Rehabilitation, University Hospital Olomouc, Zdravotníků 248/7, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Marek Tomsa
- Department of Clinical Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Palacký University Olomouc, Hněvotínská 976/3, 775 15 Olomouc, Czech Republic; (M.T.); (P.K.)
- Department of Rehabilitation, University Hospital Olomouc, Zdravotníků 248/7, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Kolář
- Department of Clinical Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Palacký University Olomouc, Hněvotínská 976/3, 775 15 Olomouc, Czech Republic; (M.T.); (P.K.)
- Department of Rehabilitation, University Hospital Olomouc, Zdravotníků 248/7, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Hana Haltmar
- Department of Clinical Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Palacký University Olomouc, Hněvotínská 976/3, 775 15 Olomouc, Czech Republic; (M.T.); (P.K.)
- Department of Rehabilitation, University Hospital Olomouc, Zdravotníků 248/7, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
- Department of Natural Sciences in Kinanthropology, Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, třída Míru 117, 771 11 Olomouc, Czech Republic;
| | - Tereza Diatelová
- Department of Clinical Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Palacký University Olomouc, Hněvotínská 976/3, 775 15 Olomouc, Czech Republic; (M.T.); (P.K.)
| | - Miroslav Janura
- Department of Natural Sciences in Kinanthropology, Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, třída Míru 117, 771 11 Olomouc, Czech Republic;
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Iwanami J, Mutai H, Sagari A, Sato M, Kobayashi M. Relationship between Corticospinal Excitability While Gazing at the Mirror and Motor Imagery Ability. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13030463. [PMID: 36979273 PMCID: PMC10046091 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13030463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Mirror therapy (MT) helps stroke survivors recover motor function. Previous studies have reported that an individual's motor imagery ability is related to the areas of brain activity during motor imagery and the effectiveness of motor imagery training. However, the relationship between MT and motor imagery ability and between corticospinal tract excitability during mirror gazing, an important component of MT, and motor imagery ability is unclear. This study determined whether the motor-evoked potential (MEP) amplitude while gazing at the mirror relates to participants' motor imagery abilities. Twenty-four healthy right-handed adults (seven males) were recruited. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was performed while gazing at the mirror, and MEP of the first dorsal interosseous muscle of the right hand were measured. Motor imagery ability was measured using the Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire (KVIQ), which assesses the vividness of motor imagery ability. Additionally, a mental chronometry (MC) task was used to assess time aspects. The results showed a significant moderate correlation between changes in MEP amplitude values while gazing at the mirror, as compared with resting conditions, and assessment scores of KVIQ. This study shows that corticospinal excitability because of mirror gazing may be related to the vividness of motor imagery ability.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jun Iwanami
- Division of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Science, Faculty of Medicine, Shinshu University, Matsumoto 390-8621, Japan
| | - Hitoshi Mutai
- Division of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Science, Faculty of Medicine, Shinshu University, Matsumoto 390-8621, Japan
| | - Akira Sagari
- Division of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Science, Faculty of Medicine, Shinshu University, Matsumoto 390-8621, Japan
| | - Masaaki Sato
- Division of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Science, Faculty of Medicine, Shinshu University, Matsumoto 390-8621, Japan
| | - Masayoshi Kobayashi
- Division of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Science, Faculty of Medicine, Shinshu University, Matsumoto 390-8621, Japan
| |
Collapse
|