Abstract
ABSTRACTPrevious studies of movement imagery have found inter-individual differences in the ability to imagine whole-body movements. The majority of these studies have used subjective scales to measure imagery ability, which may be confounded by other factors related to effort. Madan and Singhal [2013. Introducing TAMI: An objective test of ability in movement imagery. Journal of Motor Behavior, 45(2), 153–166. doi:10.1080/00222895.2013.763764] developed the Test of Ability in Movement Imagery (TAMI) to address these confounds by using a multiple-choice format with objectively correct responses. Here we developed a novel movement imagery questionnaire targeted at assessing movement imagery of fine-motor hand movements. This questionnaire included two subscales: Functionally-involved Movement (i.e., tool-related) and Isolated Movement (i.e., hand-only). Hand-dominance effects were observed, such that right-handed participants were significantly better at responding to right-hand questions compared to left-hand questions for both imagery types. A stronger handedness effect was observed for Functionally-involved Movement imagery, and it did not correlate with the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. We propose that the Functionally-involved Movement imagery subscale provides an objective hand imagery test that induces egocentric spatial processing and a greater involvement of memory processes, potentially providing a better skill-based measure of handedness.
Highlights
Mental imagery is broadly defined as the capacity to simulate both sensory processes and motor activity
We measured the correlation between laterality scores, operationalized as the difference between right- and left-hand performance, with the Laterality Quotient (LQ) of the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI) (Oldfield 1971)
A significant laterality effect was observed for both types of imagery processes, such that right-handed participants demonstrated greater performances for right-hand questions compared to left-hand questions
Summary
Mental imagery is broadly defined as the capacity to simulate both sensory processes and motor activity. Hand dominance describes the degree to which an individual prefers using their right or left hand when accomplishing typical motor actions (e.g., using a pen, scissors, or spoon). These effects occur because of the functional lateralization of various cognitive processes, including motoric action. There have been observations of increased activity in lateralized motor regions during language processing for hand-related verbs or functionally manipulable nouns, suggesting such abstract cognitive functions as language may be grounded by constructs of mental simulation such as motoric action and hand dominance (Willems et al 2011; Just et al 2010; Rueschemeyer et al 2010; Saccuman et al 2006). We measured the correlation between laterality scores, operationalized as the difference between right- and left-hand performance, with the Laterality Quotient (LQ) of the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI) (Oldfield 1971)
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