Abstract
Motor Imagery (MI) reproduces cognitive operations associated with the actual motor preparation and execution. Postural recordings during MI reflect somatic motor commands targeting peripheral effectors involved in balance control. However, how these relate to the actual motor expertise and may vary along with the MI modality remains debated. In the present experiment, two groups of expert and non-expert gymnasts underwent stabilometric assessments while performing physically and mentally a balance skill. We implemented psychometric measures of MI ability, while stabilometric variables were calculated from the center of pressure (COP) oscillations. Psychometric evaluations revealed greater MI ability in experts, specifically for the visual modality. Experts exhibited reduced surface COP oscillations in the antero-posterior axis compared to non-experts during the balance skill (14.90%, 95% CI 34.48–4.68, p < 0.05). Experts further exhibited reduced length of COP displacement in the antero-posterior axis and as a function of the displacement area during visual and kinesthetic MI compared to the control condition (20.51%, 95% CI 0.99–40.03 and 21.85%, 95% CI 2.33–41.37, respectively, both p < 0.05). Predictive relationships were found between the stabilometric correlates of visual MI and physical practice of the balance skill, as well as between the stabilometric correlates of kinesthetic MI and the training experience in experts. Present results provide original stabilometric insights into the relationships between MI and expertise level. While data support the incomplete inhibition of postural commands during MI, whether postural responses during MI of various modalities mirror the level of motor expertise remains unclear.
Highlights
Motor imagery (MI) is the mental representation of a movement without any overt execution (Jeannerod, 1994)
Analysis of the Arabesque Performance The linear mixed effects analysis with Aligned Rank Transform (ART) revealed that the main effect of GROUP did not affect the Surface of center of pressure (COP) oscillations (F(1, 26) = 0.43, p = 0.51, ηp2 = 0.01), ML-length (F(1, 26) = 0.56, p = 0.46, ηp2 = 0.02), and Length-by-surface (F(1, 26) = 0.11, p = 0.73, ηp2 = 0.00)
The Length-by-surface decrease pattern observed in experiment. A first group (EXPERTS) between CONTROL and VMI was absent in NON-EXPERTS (p(k = 3) = 0.04)
Summary
Motor imagery (MI) is the mental representation of a movement without any overt execution (Jeannerod, 1994). The cerebral networks recruited during MI largely overlap those recruited during the physical practice of the same action (e.g., Gerardin et al, 2000; Ehrsson et al, 2003; Hanakawa et al, 2008), including cortical structures such as premotor and primary motor. MI modalities refer to the sensory information focused during the mental representation. Visual and kinesthetic modalities involve partially distinct cerebral networks, with a more consistent involvement of sensorimotor and parietal structures during kinesthetic MI, and a more pronounced involvement of occipital cortical areas during visual MI (Guillot et al, 2009)
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