Sensory features of mental images in the framework of human actions

Krüger, Britta; Zabicki, Adam; Grosse, L.; Naumann, Tim; Munzert, Jörn

doi:10.1016/j.concog.2020.102970

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…This effect could indeed be linked to the nature of the task, assuming that participants generated an image of the target grid as well as their moving hand during motor imagery and/or eye movements during imagery. In this regard, Krüger et al 66 recently investigated task-dependent imagery modality in a large group of participants. Their data showed that for a large set of imagined actions, the sensory impression of a motor image could be explained by the environmental demands of the action.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practice modality of motor sequences impacts the neural signature of motor imagery

Krüger

Hettwer

Zabicki

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Motor imagery is conceptualized as an internal simulation that uses motor-related parts of the brain as its substrate. Many studies have investigated this sharing of common neural resources between the two modalities of motor imagery and motor execution. They have shown overlapping but not identical activation patterns that thereby result in a modality-specific neural signature. However, it is not clear how far this neural signature depends on whether the imagined action has previously been practiced physically or only imagined. The present study aims to disentangle whether the neural imprint of an imagined manual pointing sequence within cortical and subcortical motor areas is determined by the nature of this prior practice modality. Each participant practiced two sequences physically, practiced two other sequences mentally, and did a behavioural pre-test without any further practice on a third pair of sequences. After a two-week practice intervention, participants underwent fMRI scans while imagining all six sequences. Behavioural data demonstrated practice-related effects as well as very good compliance with instructions. Functional MRI data confirmed the previously known motor imagery network. Crucially, we found that mental and physical practice left a modality-specific footprint during mental motor imagery. In particular, activation within the right posterior cerebellum was stronger when the imagined sequence had previously been practiced physically. We conclude that cerebellar activity is shaped specifically by the nature of the prior practice modality.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practice modality of motor sequences impacts the neural signature of motor imagery

Krüger

Hettwer

Zabicki

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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“…Consistent with these findings, our results showed a larger parietal and occipital activation when participants imagined themselves walking, compared to when they actually walked and when they simply mentally counted. These results indicate that the imagery condition required the active maintenance of action simulation as well as a dynamic integration of visual and kinaesthetic sensory information associated with the motor imagery of one's body moving in the environment (Krüger et al, 2020(Krüger et al, , 2022. Taken together, therefore, current findings suggest that motor imagery involves cognitive mechanisms that go beyond the mere encoding of motor information and point toward the multisensory nature of motor imagery (Dahm, 2020;Kraeutner et al, 2020;Krüger et al, 2022;Frank et al, 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Neural correlates of motor imagery and execution in real-world dynamic behavior: evidence for similarities and differences

Mustile,

Kourtis,

Edwards

et al. 2024

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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A large body of evidence shows that motor imagery and action execution behaviors result from overlapping neural substrates, even in the absence of overt movement during motor imagery. To date it is unclear how neural activations in motor imagery and execution compare for naturalistic whole-body movements, such as walking. Neuroimaging studies have not directly compared imagery and execution during dynamic walking movements. Here we recorded brain activation with mobile EEG during walking compared to during imagery of walking, with mental counting as a control condition. We asked 24 healthy participants to either walk six steps on a path, imagine taking six steps, or mentally count from one to six. We found beta and alpha power modulation during motor imagery resembling action execution patterns; a correspondence not found performing the control task of mental counting. Neural overlap occurred early in the execution and imagery walking actions, suggesting activation of shared action representations. Remarkably, a distinctive walking-related beta rebound occurred both during action execution and imagery at the end of the action suggesting that, like actual walking, motor imagery involves resetting or inhibition of motor processes. However, we also found that motor imagery elicits a distinct pattern of more distributed beta activity, especially at the beginning of the task. These results indicate that motor imagery and execution of naturalistic walking involve shared motor-cognitive activations, but that motor imagery requires additional cortical resources.

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“…Therefore, employing MI techniques may well be beneficial for some autistic people, although an individual approach is likely to be most appropriate. Indeed, MI ability in typical populations is variable ( Moran et al, 2012 ; Cumming and Eaves, 2018 ) and influenced by multiple factors such as sporting and dance experience, MI practice, motor and cognitive ability and tactile discrimination ( Isaac and Marks, 1994 ; Arvinen-Barrow et al, 2007 ; Pelletier et al, 2018 ; Krüger et al, 2020 ; Dhouibi et al, 2021 ; Mao et al, 2022 ). Therefore, future research examining MI ability and impact of MI training on motor coordination in autistic populations will need to take into account individual differences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motor imagery in autism: a systematic review

Gowen,

Edmonds,

Poliakoff

2024

Front. Integr. Neurosci.

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IntroductionMotor Imagery (MI) is when an individual imagines performing an action without physically executing that action and is thought to involve similar neural processes used for execution of physical movement. As motor coordination difficulties are common in autistic individuals it is possible that these may affect MI ability. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the current knowledge around MI ability in autistic individuals.MethodsA systematic search was conducted for articles published before September 2023, following PRISMA guidance. Search engines were PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Wiley Online Library and PsyArXiv. Inclusion criteria included: (a) Original peer-reviewed and pre-print publications; (b) Autistic and a non-autistic group (c) Implicit or explicit imagery tasks (d) Behavioral, neurophysiological or self-rating measures, (e) Written in the English language. Exclusion criteria were (a) Articles only about MI or autism (b) Articles where the autism data is not presented separately (c) Articles on action observation, recognition or imitation only (d) Review articles. A narrative synthesis of the evidence was conducted.ResultsSixteen studies across fourteen articles were included. Tasks were divided into implicit (unconscious) or explicit (conscious) MI. The implicit tasks used either hand (6) or body (4) rotation tasks. Explicit tasks consisted of perspective taking tasks (3), a questionnaire (1) and explicit instructions to imagine performing a movement (2). A MI strategy was apparent for the hand rotation task in autistic children, although may have been more challenging. Evidence was mixed and inconclusive for the remaining task types due to the varied range of different tasks and, measures conducted and design limitations. Further limitations included a sex bias toward males and the hand rotation task only being conducted in children.DiscussionThere is currently an incomplete understanding of MI ability in autistic individuals. The field would benefit from a battery of fully described implicit and explicit MI tasks, conducted across the same groups of autistic children and adults. Improved knowledge around MI in autistic individuals is important for understanding whether MI techniques may benefit motor coordination in some autistic people.

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Sensory features of mental images in the framework of human actions

Cited by 4 publications

References 52 publications

Practice modality of motor sequences impacts the neural signature of motor imagery

Practice modality of motor sequences impacts the neural signature of motor imagery

Neural correlates of motor imagery and execution in real-world dynamic behavior: evidence for similarities and differences

Motor imagery in autism: a systematic review

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