No abstract

Motor imagery (MI) and action observation (AO) have traditionally been viewed as two separate techniques, which can both be used alongside physical practice to enhance motor learning and rehabilitation. Their independent use has largely been shown to be effective, and there is clear evidence that the two processes can elicit similar activity in the motor system. Building on these well-established findings, research has now turned to investigate the effects of their combined use. In this article, we first review the available neurophysiological and behavioral evidence for the effects of combined action observation and motor imagery (AO+MI) on motor processes. We next describe a conceptual framework for their combined use, and then discuss several areas for future research into AO+MI processes. In this review, we advocate a more integrated approach to AO+MI techniques than has previously been adopted by movement scientists and practitioners alike. We hope that this early review of an emergent body of research, along with a related set of research questions, can inspire new work in this area. We are optimistic that future research will further confirm if, how, and when this combined approach to AO+MI can be more effective in motor learning and rehabilitation settings, relative to the more traditional application of MI or AO independently.

Imagery and observation are multicomponential, involving individual difference characteristics that modify the processes. The authors propose that both imagery and observation function by offering effective routes to access and reinforce neural networks for skilled performance. The neural isomorphism with overt behaviors offers a tempting mechanism to explain the beneficial outcomes of the 2 processes. However, several limitations related to imagery indicate the possibility that imagery may not be as efficacious as the literature would indicate. The authors propose observation-based approaches to offer more valid and effective techniques in sport psychology and motor control.

We tested the predictions of Attentional Control Theory (ACT) by examining the effect of anxiety on attention control and the subsequent influence on both performance effectiveness and performance efficiency within a perceptual-motor context. A sample (N ϭ 16) of elite shotgun shooters was tested under counterbalanced low (practice) and high (competition) anxiety conditions. A head-mounted, corneal reflection system allowed point of gaze to be calculated in relation to the scene, while motion of the gun was evaluated using markers placed on the barrel which were captured by two stationary cameras and analyzed using optical tracking software. The quiet eye (QE) duration and onset were analyzed along with gun barrel displacement and variability; performance outcome scores (successful vs. unsuccessful) were also recorded. QE (Vickers, 1996) is defined as the final fixation or tracking gaze that is located on a specific location/object in the visual display for a minimum of 100 ms. Longer QE durations have been linked to successful performance in previous research involving aiming tasks. Participants demonstrated shorter quiet eye durations, and less efficient gun motion, along with a decreased performance outcome (fewer successful trials) under high compared with low anxiety conditions. The data support the predictions of ACT with anxiety disrupting control processes such that goal-directed attention was compromised, leading to a significant impairment in performance effectiveness.

The aim of this study was to test the conflicting predictions of processing efficiency theory (PET) and the conscious processing hypothesis (CPH) regarding effort's role in influencing the effects of anxiety on a golf putting task. Mid-handicap golfers made a series of putts to target holes under two counterbalanced conditions designed to manipulate the level of anxiety experienced. The effort exerted on each putting task was assessed though self-report, psychophysiological (heart rate variability) and behavioural (pre-putt time and glances at the target) measures. Performance was assessed by putting error. Results were generally more supportive of the predictions of PET rather than the CPH as performance was maintained for some performers despite increased state anxiety and a reduction in processing efficiency. The findings of this study support previous research suggesting that both theories offer useful theoretical frameworks for examining the relationship between anxiety and performance in sport.

The aim of this study was to examine the proposal that pre-shot occipital electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha-power reactivity would not only associate with, but also have a causal role in, the relative success of performance outcome in expert air-pistol shooting. Six expert air-pistol shooters performed a sixty-shot match, individually, while electroencephalograms were captured from occipital and anterior-temporal electrode sites during the aiming period (3 x 2 s epochs) before shot release. The five best shots and five worst shots were selected for each shooter on the basis of four shot quality indicators, and pre-shot EEG alpha power for best shots was compared with that of worst shots. Occipital EEG alpha power was found to increase during epochs 1-3 before best shots, but to decrease before worst shots; it was significantly greater during the final pre-shot epoch of best shots. This finding suggests that visual attention to the pistol and target was gradually suppressed during the pre-shot period of best shots, whereas it gradually increased before worst shots. In addition, significantly greater EEG alpha power was found at the left than at the right anterior-temporal site, lending support to the robust findings of previous target-sport studies. We conclude that the participants were able to shoot at the target with greatest success when not having maximal visual attention on where the pistol was aimed and that suppression of visual attention during the final seconds of the pre-shot period is a necessary prerequisite for automatic shot execution, as controlled by mechanisms of intention.

Overall, stable gun motion and a longer quiet eye duration seem critical to a successful performance in all three shotgun disciplines.

Recent studies have begun to elucidate the neural correlates of evidence accumulation in perceptual decision making, but few of them have used a combined modeling-electrophysiological approach to studying evidence accumulation. We introduce a multivariate approach to EEG analysis with which we can perform a comprehensive search for the neural correlate of dynamics predicted by accumulator models. We show that the dynamics of evidence accumulation are most strongly correlated with ramping of oscillatory power in the 4–9 Hz theta band over the course of a trial, although it also correlates with oscillatory power in other frequency bands. The rate of power decrease in the theta band correlates with individual differences in the parameters of drift diffusion models fitted to individuals’ behavioral data.