Cognitive Motor Rehabilitation: Imagination and Observation of Motor Actions

Abstract

Motor rehabilitation can be considered as a learning process in which lost skills should be restored, and new ones should be acquired on the basis of physical training. But is exercise always necessary to achieve these goals? Many authors have shown that motor imagery and observation lead to the activation of the same brain areas as their physical counterparts, and that they can cause the same plastic changes in the motor system as real physical training. The review presents data on the use of motor imagery and observation as a substitute for physical action in motor rehabilitation, on the community of their neural substrates, as well as on the behavioral and neurophysiological use of these methods in healthy people and in clinical practice.