Brain activation during execution and motor imagery of novel and skilled sequential hand movements

Abstract

This experiment used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare functional neuroanatomy associated with executed and imagined hand movements in novel and skilled learning phases. We hypothesized that 1 week of intensive physical practice would strengthen the motor representation of a hand motor sequence and increase the similarity of functional neuroanatomy associated with executed and imagined hand movements. During fMRI scanning, a right-hand self-paced button press sequence was executed and imagined before (NOVEL) and after (SKILLED) 1 week of intensive physical practice (n = 54; right-hand dominant). The mean execution rate was significantly faster in the SKILLED (3.8 Hz) than the NOVEL condition (2.5 Hz) (P < 0.001), but there was no difference in execution errors. Activation foci associated with execution and imagery was congruent in both the NOVEL and SKILLED conditions, though activation features were more similar in the SKILLED versus NOVEL phase. In the NOVEL phase, activations were more extensive during execution than imagery in primary and secondary cortical motor volumes and the cerebellum, while during imagery activations were greater in the striatum. In the SKILLED phase, activation features within these same volumes became increasingly similar for execution and imagery, though imagery more heavily activated premotor areas, inferior parietal lobe, and medial temporal lobe, while execution more heavily activated the precentral/postcentral gyri, striatum, and cerebellum. This experiment demonstrated congruent activation of the cortical and subcortical motor system during both novel and skilled learning phases, supporting the effectiveness of motor imagery-based mental practice techniques for both the acquisition of new skills and the rehearsal of skilled movements.

The relationship between corticospinal excitability during motor imagery and motor imagery ability

“…However, these differences dissipate when assessing imagery of more general motor skills, unrelated to their sport [10,12]. It has been demonstrated that intensive physical practice and subsequent improvement in the performance of a motor skill also alters the pattern of neural activation during motor imagery [13], and taken with our knowledge of the imagery ability of elite athletes, this indicates that task experience can influence imagery ability and accompanying neural activation. However, it is unclear whether the differences in activation in athletes compared to novice performers are related to the vividness of the motor images per se or that the changes in neural activation have occurred as a result of motor learning.…”

Overt and imagined singing of an Italian aria

“…PascualLeone (2003) proved that mental practice has not only the capacity to improve performance it also changes the size of the cortical representation of the motor cortex over time. Motor imagery can improve the dynamics of motor performance (Yaguez et al, 1998) and the velocity and smoothness of sequential movements trajectories (Lacourse et al, 2005). Yet mental music rehearsal does not only include motor, kinesthetic and auditory imagery but also emotional aspects of the piece rehearsed, which involves three components: a semantic meaning component, a stimulus component and a response component that defines the imagined emotion (Lang, 1979).…”

Complexity and familiarity enhance single-trial detectability of imagined movements with electroencephalography

“…Furthermore, we speculate that the role of action familiarity in modulation of the SMR is that individuals must have some experienced executing an action in order to perform motor imagery of that action reliably (see Olsson & Nyberg, 2010), but other factors, such as the complexity of the particular imagined action, determine how robust the brain response will be for that action. In fact, in studies of short-term motor learning, brain responses to motor imagery are enhanced following overt practice of novel actions (e.g., Lacourse et al, 2005;Baeck et al, 2012). For this reason, although this work only examined familiar imagery among highly experienced athletes and musicians, we propose that it is worthwhile to select an imagery task based on a person's skills and interests to attempt to ensure a reliable brain response during motor imagery, regardless of the person's level of expertise in executing the action.…”