Neural and Behavioral Outcomes Differ Following Equivalent Bouts of Motor Imagery or Physical Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1590-1606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah N. Kraeutner ◽  
Alexandra Stratas ◽  
Jennifer L. McArthur ◽  
Carl A. Helmick ◽  
David A. Westwood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Motor Skill ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Brain Activation ◽  
Motor Program ◽  
Physical Practice ◽  
Complex Motor ◽  
And Performance

Despite its reported effectiveness for the acquisition of motor skills, we know little about how motor imagery (MI)-based brain activation and performance evolves when MI (the imagined performance of a motor task) is used to learn a complex motor skill compared to physical practice (PP). The current study examined changes in MI-related brain activity and performance driven by an equivalent bout of MI- or PP-based training. Participants engaged in 5 days of either MI or PP of a dart-throwing task. Brain activity (via fMRI) and performance-related outcomes were obtained using a pre/post/retention design. Relative to PP, MI-based training did not drive robust changes in brain activation and was inferior for realizing improvements in performance: Greater activation in regions critical to refining the motor program was observed in the PP versus MI group posttraining, and relative to those driven via PP, MI led only to marginal improvements in performance. Findings indicate that the modality of practice (i.e., MI vs. PP) used to learn a complex motor skill manifests as differences in both resultant patterns of brain activity and performance. Ultimately, by directly comparing brain activity and behavioral outcomes after equivalent training through MI versus PP, this work provides unique knowledge regarding the neural mechanisms underlying learning through MI.

Aberrant brain activation following motor skill learning in schizophrenic patients as shown by functional magnetic resonance imaging

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 1079-1088 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. KODAMA ◽  
H. FUKUZAKO ◽  
T. FUKUZAKO ◽  
T. KIURA ◽  
S. NOZOE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Skill ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Motor Skill Learning ◽  
Bold Signal ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Complex Motor ◽  
Schizophrenic Patients ◽  
Signal Response

Background. Motor skill learning may be impaired in schizophrenia. While functional brain imaging studies have shown reduced activation during motor task performance in schizophrenic patients, brain activity changes with motor skill learning in these patients have not been studied by functional imaging.Methods. A sequential complex motor task involving the right hand was performed by nine medicated schizophrenic patients and 10 age-matched healthy controls. Functional magnetic resonance images were obtained using a gradient echo, echoplanar imaging (EPI) pulse sequence before and after 1 week of training in performing the task.Results. Bilaterally, patients showed significantly less blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal response in the premotor area (PMA) before beginning motor training than controls. BOLD signal response increased in the left PMA of schizophrenic patients after 1 week of motor training; in contrast, the signal decreased in the left PMA of control subjects. Training effects concerning the number of finger movement sequences achieved did not differ between groups. Daily neuroleptic dose did not significantly affect changes with training in BOLD signal response in the PMA.Conclusions. These preliminary results suggest that schizophrenic patients have dysfunction of neural networks in areas including the PMA that are involved in executing a complex motor task. In terms of brain activity, motor learning may be less efficient or slower in the patients than in healthy subjects.

scholarly journals Neuronal Substrates Underlying Performance Variability in Well-Trained Skillful Motor Task in Humans

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuaki Mizuguchi ◽  
Shintaro Uehara ◽  
Satoshi Hirose ◽  
Shinji Yamamoto ◽  
Eiichi Naito
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Motor Skill ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Cerebellar Hemisphere ◽  
Intensive Training ◽  
Performance Variability ◽  
The Right

Motor performance fluctuates trial by trial even in a well-trained motor skill. Here we show neural substrates underlying such behavioral fluctuation in humans. We first scanned brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging while healthy participants repeatedly performed a 10 s skillful sequential finger-tapping task. Before starting the experiment, the participants had completed intensive training. We evaluated task performance per trial (number of correct sequences in 10 s) and depicted brain regions where the activity changes in association with the fluctuation of the task performance across trials. We found that the activity in a broader range of frontoparietocerebellar network, including the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), anterior cingulate and anterior insular cortices, and left cerebellar hemisphere, was negatively correlated with the task performance. We further showed in another transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) experiment that task performance deteriorated, when we applied anodal tDCS to the right DLPFC. These results indicate that fluctuation of brain activity in the nonmotor frontoparietocerebellar network may underlie trial-by-trial performance variability even in a well-trained motor skill, and its neuromodulation with tDCS may affect the task performance.

scholarly journals Ipsilesional motor cortex activation with high-force unimanual handgrip contractions of the less-affected limb in participants with stroke

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin W Andrushko ◽  
Layla Gould ◽  
Doug W Renshaw ◽  
Shannon Forrester ◽  
Michael E Kelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Brain Activation ◽  
Cortical Activity ◽  
Motor Recovery ◽  
Stroke Recovery ◽  
Inhibitory Influence ◽  
Motor Practice ◽  
Cross Education ◽  
Handgrip Contractions

Stroke is a leading cause of severe disability that often presents with unilateral motor impairment. Conventional rehabilitation approaches focus on motor practice of the affected limb and aim to suppress brain activity in the contralesional hemisphere to facilitate ipsilesional hemispheric neuroplasticity subserving motor recovery. Previous research has also demonstrated that exercise of the less-affected limb can promote motor recovery of the affected limb through the interlimb transfer of the trained motor task, termed cross-education. One of the leading theories for cross-education proposes that the interlimb transfer manifests from ipsilateral cortical activity during unimanual motor tasks, and that this ipsilateral cortical activity results in motor related neuroplasticity giving rise to contralateral improvements in motor performance. Conversely, exercise of the less-affected limb promotes contralesional brain activity which is typically viewed as contraindicated in stroke recovery due to the interhemispheric inhibitory influence onto the ipsilesional hemisphere. High-force unimanual handgrip contractions are known to increase ipsilateral brain activation in control participants, but it remains to be determined if this would be observed in participants with stroke. Therefore, this study aimed to determine how parametric increases in handgrip force during repeated contractions with the less-affected limb impacts brain activity bilaterally in participants with stroke and in a cohort of neurologically intact controls. In this study, higher force contractions were found to increase brain activation in the ipsilesional/ipsilateral hemisphere in both groups (p = .002), but no between group differences were observed. These data suggest that high-force exercise with the less-affected limb may promote ipsilesional cortical plasticity to promote motor recovery of the affected-limb in participants with stroke.

Use of Imagery Practice for Improving a Motor Skill

1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R. Surburg ◽  
David L. Porretta ◽  
Vins Sutlive
Keyword(s):  
Mental Retardation ◽  
Motor Skill ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Mild Mental Retardation ◽  
Physical Practice ◽  
Cognitive Demands ◽  
Cognitive Loading ◽  
Secondary Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of imagery practice as supplementary practice in the performance of a throwing task. A secondary purpose was to ascertain if different cognitive demands of a motor task affected the use of this supplementary practice. Forty adolescents with mild mental retardation were randomly assigned to the following groups: low cognitive loading-physical practice, low cognitive loading-imagery and physical practice, high cognitive loading-physical practice, high cognitive loading-imagery and physical practice. Subjects engaged in seven practice sessions during which performance scores of a throwing task were recorded. Groups supplemented with imagery practice were superior in performance to nonimagery groups. A higher cognitive loading of the task did not enhance the use of this type of supplementary practice more than a lower loading. The results of this study reflect the efficacy of imagery practice as a means to improve motor performance of students with mild mental retardation.

The Effect of Kinesthetic Stimulation on Acquisition and Retention of a Gross Motor Skill

1995 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tal Jarus ◽  
Yael Loiter
Keyword(s):  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Motor Skill ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Movement Pattern ◽  
Gross Motor ◽  
Feedback Information ◽  
Stimulus Group ◽  
Motor Skill Acquisition ◽  
Stable Representation ◽  
And Performance

The role of kinesthetic stimulation in motor learning and performance of a gross motor task was investigated. Forty healthy female adult volunteers, ages 20 to 30 years old, were required to learn a gross motor task involving the kicking of a ball. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two training groups, a kinesthetic stimulus group or a non-kinesthetic stimulus group. Results indicated that kinesthetic stimulation during practice and retention phases seemed to enhance task acquisition. Kinesthetic stimulation may have provided important feedback information for the learners that might have enabled them to make the necessary adjustments during performance. In addition, it appears that the stimulation affected the motor memory processes and left a more stable representation of the movement pattern. The use of continuous pressure as a means of kinesthetic stimulation for the facilitation of motor skill acquisition is recommended, although further research is required in order to generalize these findings to the clinic.

scholarly journals Action observation versus motor imagery in learning a complex motor task: A short review of literature and a kinematics study

2013 ◽  
Vol 540 ◽  
pp. 37-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Gatti ◽  
A. Tettamanti ◽  
P.M. Gough ◽  
E. Riboldi ◽  
L. Marinoni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Action Observation ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Complex Motor

scholarly journals Hemodynamic Signal Changes During Motor Imagery Task Performance Are Associated With the Degree of Motor Task Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoki Iso ◽  
Takefumi Moriuchi ◽  
Kengo Fujiwara ◽  
Moemi Matsuo ◽  
Wataru Mitsunaga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Region Of Interest ◽  
Imagery Task ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Hb Concentration

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate whether oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) generated during a motor imagery (MI) task is associated with the motor learning level of the task.MethodsWe included 16 right-handed healthy participants who were trained to perform a ball rotation (BR) task. Hemodynamic brain activity was measured using near-infrared spectroscopy to monitor changes in oxy-Hb concentration during the BR MI task. The experimental protocol used a block design, and measurements were performed three times before and after the initial training of the BR task as well as after the final training. The BR count during training was also measured. Furthermore, subjective vividness of MI was evaluated three times after NIRS measurement using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS).ResultsThe results showed that the number of BRs increased significantly with training (P < 0.001). VAS scores also improved with training (P < 0.001). Furthermore, oxy-Hb concentration and the region of interest (ROI) showed a main effect (P = 0.001). An interaction was confirmed (P < 0.001), and it was ascertained that the change in oxy-Hb concentrations due to training was different for each ROI. The most significant predictor of subjective MI vividness was supplementary motor area (SMA) oxy-Hb concentration (coefficient = 0.365).DiscussionHemodynamic brain activity during MI tasks may be correlated with task motor learning levels, since significant changes in oxy-Hb concentrations were observed following initial and final training in the SMA. In particular, hemodynamic brain activity in the SMA was suggested to reflect the MI vividness of participants.

scholarly journals Leveraging the effector independent nature of motor imagery when it is paired with physical practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah N. Kraeutner ◽  
Jennifer L. McArthur ◽  
Paul H. Kraeutner ◽  
David A. Westwood ◽  
Shaun G. Boe
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Physical Practice ◽  
Training Performance ◽  
Time Points ◽  
New Information ◽  
Dart Throwing

AbstractWhile considered analogous to physical practice, the nature of imagery-based skill acquisition—specifically whether or not both effector independent and dependent encoding occurs through motor imagery—is not well understood. Here, motor imagery-based training was applied prior to or after physical practice-based training to probe the nature of imagery-based skill acquisition. Three groups of participants (N = 38) engaged in 10 days of training of a dart throwing task: 5 days of motor imagery prior to physical practice (MIP-PP), motor imagery following physical practice (PP-MIP), or physical practice only (PP-PP). Performance-related outcomes were assessed throughout. Brain activity was measured at three time points using fMRI (pre/mid/post-training; MIP-PP and PP-MIP groups). In contrast with physical practice, motor imagery led to changes in global versus specific aspects of the movement. Following 10 days of training, performance was greater when motor imagery preceded physical practice, although remained inferior to performance resulting from physical practice alone. Greater activation of regions that support effector dependent encoding was observed mid-, but not post-training for the PP-MIP group. Findings indicate that changes driven by motor imagery reflect effector independent encoding, providing new information regarding how motor imagery may be leveraged for skill acquisition.

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