Influence of Imagery Training on Adjusting the Pressure of Fin Swimmers, Improving Sports Performance and Stabilizing Psychological Quality

This study analyzed the effects of imagery training on athletes’ imagery ability, physical anxiety and athletic performance. This study employed a mixed research approach. Snowball sampling was used to select 55 fin swimmers with imagery training experience and formal competition participation. Basic statistics were obtained, and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (PPMCC) analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26.0, and the results were compared with the opinions of three experts and were tested using multivariate validation methods. The results revealed that although imagery training can help athletes improve their performance and significantly reduce their anxiety during the competition, athletes can still make mistakes due to internal and environmental factors and even have negative thoughts that lead to their reduced likelihood of competition participation. By strengthening strategic and technical imagery training, we can help our fin swimmers perform at a higher level, achieve their goals, and improve overall satisfaction with their competition process and performance.

Gymnasts' Ability to Modulate Sensorimotor Rhythms During Kinesthetic Motor Imagery of Sports Non-specific Movements Superior to Non-gymnasts

Previous psychological studies using questionnaires have consistently reported that athletes have superior motor imagery ability, both for sports-specific and for sports-non-specific movements. However, regarding motor imagery of sports-non-specific movements, no physiological studies have demonstrated differences in neural activity between athletes and non-athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in sensorimotor rhythms during kinesthetic motor imagery (KMI) of sports-non-specific movements between gymnasts and non-gymnasts. We selected gymnasts as an example population because they are likely to have particularly superior motor imagery ability due to frequent usage of motor imagery, including KMI as part of daily practice. Healthy young participants (16 gymnasts and 16 non-gymnasts) performed repeated motor execution and KMI of sports-non-specific movements (wrist dorsiflexion and shoulder abduction of the dominant hand). Scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded over the contralateral sensorimotor cortex. During motor execution and KMI, sensorimotor EEG power is known to decrease in the α- (8–15 Hz) and β-bands (16–35 Hz), referred to as event-related desynchronization (ERD). We calculated the maximal peak of ERD both in the α- (αERDmax) and β-bands (βERDmax) as a measure of changes in corticospinal excitability. αERDmax was significantly greater in gymnasts, who subjectively evaluated their KMI as being more vivid in the psychological questionnaire. On the other hand, βERDmax was greater in gymnasts only for shoulder abduction KMI. These findings suggest gymnasts' signature of flexibly modulating sensorimotor rhythms with no movements, which may be the basis of their superior ability of KMI for sports-non-specific movements.

Developing Musical Imagery

Research into the development of musical imagery ability has remained stagnant in both the fields of aural skills pedagogy and cognitive science. This article integrates scholarship from both disciplines to provide a way forward for both the study and practice of imagery development. Analysis of North American pedagogical practices provides a foundation for the types and functions of activities used to affect imagery ability, while newly designed measurement techniques in the cognitive sciences are shown to have promising implications for assessing change in imagery ability over time. Following consideration of insights from both fields, this article consolidates them by developing a model of imagery development. Framed through the lens of expertise acquisition and skilled memory performance, this model has implications for approaches to imagery in the aural skills classroom and for empirical studies of imagery development in music cognition.

Gymnasts' ability for general motor imagery evaluated by bioelectric sensorimotor rhythms

Introduction: Previous psychological studies using questionnaires have consistently reported that athletes have superior motor imagery ability, both for sports-specific movements and general movements. However, regarding general motor imagery, no physiological studies have demonstrated differences in neural activity between athletes and non-athletes. Gymnasts may be a suitable population for investigating this issue because they are likely to have particularly superior motor imagery ability due to their frequent usage of motor imagery as part of daily practice. Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to examine differences in bioelectric sensorimotor rhythms during kinesthetic motor imagery of general movements between gymnasts and non-gymnasts. Methods: Healthy young participants (16 gymnasts and 16 non-gymnasts) performed repeated motor execution and motor imagery of general movements (wrist dorsiflexion and shoulder abduction of the dominant hand). Scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded over the contralateral sensorimotor cortex. During motor execution and motor imagery, sensorimotor EEG power is known to decrease in the α- (8-15 Hz) and β-bands (16-35 Hz), referred to as event-related desynchronization (ERD). We calculated the maximal peak of ERD both in the α- (αERDmax) and β-bands (βERDmax) as a measure of changes in corticospinal excitability. Results: ERD magnitude during motor imagery was significantly greater in gymnasts, who subjectively evaluated their motor imagery as being more vivid. In particular, αERDmax was greater in gymnasts compared with non-gymnasts for both motor imagery tasks, whereas βERDmax was greater in gymnasts only for shoulder abduction imagery. Conclusion: We observed gymnasts' signature of flexibly modulating sensorimotor rhythm with no movement, which may be the basis of their superior general motor imagery ability.