2025-05-19 マックス・プランク研究所(MPI)
Participants in the study made arm movements while sitting in an exoskeleton robot. © MPI CBS
<関連情報>
- https://www.mpg.de/24739039/motor-learning-through-mental-imagery
- https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2423642122
運動イメージは想像された動作を超えたパフォーマンスを高める Motor imagery enhances performance beyond the imagined action
Magdalena Gippert, Pei-Cheng Shih, Tobias Heed
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Published:May 13, 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2423642122
Significance
Specific cueing movements embedded within a sequence can influence execution and learning of individual segments. We investigated whether the facilitative effect of linked prior movements could also be achieved by imagining the prior movements. Indeed, motor imagery of prior reaching movements allowed motor learning in an established motor adaptation paradigm. Our results go beyond a simple demonstration that motor imagery resembles performance of an actual movement in the brain by showing that imagined movements can also enhance performance of different linked movements. In addition, we show that the strength of neural activity during a basic motor imagery task is associated with motor adaptation. Our results indicate effective use cases of motor imagery in sports and rehabilitation.
Abstract
Motor imagery is frequently utilized to improve the performance of specific target movements in sports and rehabilitation. In this study, we show that motor imagery can facilitate learning of not only the imagined target movements but also sequentially linked overt movements. Hybrid sequences comprising imagined and physically executed segments allowed participants to learn specific movement characteristics of the executed segments when they were consistently associated with specific imagined segments. Electrophysiological recordings revealed that the degree of event-related synchronization in the alpha and beta bands during a basic motor imagery task was correlated with imagery-evoked motor learning. Thus, both behavioral and neural evidence indicate that motor imagery’s benefits extend beyond the imagined movements, improving performance in linked overt movements. This provides decisive evidence for the functional equivalence of imagined and overt movements and suggests applications for imagery in sports and rehabilitation.
