Imagery Ability Research Articles

Effect of Auditory Neurofeedback Training on Upper Extremity Function and Motor Imagery Ability in a Stroke Patient: A Single Case Study

Methods: A stroke patient with a left putaminal hemorrhage participated in this study. This study consisted of baseline and intervention periods (4 weeks each). The participant performed standard rehabilitation during the baseline period, and auditory neurofeedback training with motor imagery in addition to standard rehabilitation during the intervention period. The Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), Motor Activity Log (MAL), Hand Laterality Judgement Task (HLJT), Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire-10 (KVIQ-10) scores were measured before (Pre1) and after (Pre 2) the baseline period, and then after the intervention period (Post). Results: The shoulder/elbow/forearm subscale of the FMA, the amount of use and quality of movement subscales of the MAL, the accuracy and reaction time of the HLJT, and the visual and kinesthetic subscales of the KVIQ-10 improved in the Post compared with the Pre1 and Pre 2. Conclusion: This study suggests that auditory neurofeedback training contributes to improving upper extremity function and motor imagery ability in stroke patients.

Involuntary Autobiographical Memory and Future Thought Predicting Hallucination Proneness

Involuntary (spontaneously arising) autobiographical memories and involuntary future thoughts are common in daily life, but their frequency and emotional intensity vary among individuals. Theories of hallucination in schizophrenia have hypothesized a key role for involuntary memories; however, this idea has been little examined. We report two studies, designed to address the role of involuntary mental events in relation to hallucination proneness. Both studies showed that the self-reported frequency of involuntary memories and future projections was a robust predictor of hallucination proneness, even when controlling for measures of unwanted thoughts and rumination (Study 1) and measures of depression, dissociation, executive functions, imagery abilities, and personality (Study 2). In Study 1, the emotional intensity of involuntary memories and future projections also predicted hallucination proneness. The findings open a new avenue of research addressing the role of involuntary autobiographical memories and future projections in relation to hallucination and psychosis.

The Effects of Mental Imagery Abilities on Diagram-Drawing Skills in the Field of Physics and Effective Learning Strategies

The Effects of Mental Imagery Abilities on Diagram-Drawing Skills in the Field of Physics and Effective Learning Strategies

Subjective Vividness of Kinesthetic Motor Imagery Is Associated With the Similarity in Magnitude of Sensorimotor Event-Related Desynchronization Between Motor Execution and Motor Imagery

In the field of psychology, it has been well established that there are two types of motor imagery such as kinesthetic motor imagery (KMI) and visual motor imagery (VMI), and the subjective evaluation for vividness of motor imagery each differs across individuals. This study aimed to examine how the motor imagery ability assessed by the psychological scores is associated with the physiological measure using electroencephalogram (EEG) sensorimotor rhythm during KMI task. First, 20 healthy young individuals evaluated subjectively how vividly they can perform each of KMI and VMI by using the Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire (KVIQ). We assessed their motor imagery abilities by summing each of KMI and VMI scores in KVIQ (KMItotal and VMItotal). Second, in physiological experiments, they repeated two strengths (10 and 40% of maximal effort) of isometric voluntary wrist-dorsiflexion. Right after each contraction, they also performed its KMI. The scalp EEGs over the sensorimotor cortex were recorded during the tasks. The EEG power is known to decrease in the alpha-and-beta band (7–35 Hz) from resting state to performing state of voluntary contraction (VC) or motor imagery. This phenomenon is referred to as event-related desynchronization (ERD). For each strength of the tasks, we calculated the maximal peak of ERD during VC, and that during its KMI, and measured the degree of similarity (ERDsim) between them. The results showed significant negative correlations between KMItotal and ERDsim for both strengths (p < 0.05) (i.e., the higher the KMItotal, the smaller the ERDsim). These findings suggest that in healthy individuals with higher motor imagery ability from a first-person perspective, KMI efficiently engages the shared cortical circuits corresponding with motor execution, including the sensorimotor cortex, with high compliance.

The Study of Visual-Auditory Interactions on Lower Limb Motor Imagery.

In order to improve the activation of the mirror neuron system and the ability of the visual-cued motor imagery further, the multi-stimuli-cued unilateral lower limb motor imagery is studied in this paper. The visual-auditory evoked pathway is proposed and the sensory process is studied. To analyze the visual-auditory interactions, the kinesthetic motor imagery with the visual-auditory stimulus, visual stimulus and no stimulus are involved. The motor-related rhythm suppression is applied on quantitative evaluation. To explore the statistical sensory process, the causal relationships among the functional areas and the event-related potentials are investigated. The results have demonstrated the outstanding performances of the visual-auditory evoked motor imagery on the improvement of the mirror neuron system activation and the motor imagery ability. Besides, the abundant information interactions among functional areas and the positive impacts of the auditory stimulus in the motor and the visual areas have been revealed. The possibility that the sensory processes evoked by the visual-auditory interactions differ from the one elicited by kinesthetic motor imagery, has also been indicated. This study will promisingly offer an efficient way to motor rehabilitation, thus favorable for hemiparesis and partial paralysis patients.

The effects of different types of imagery delivery on basketball free-throw shooting performance and self-efficacy

ObjectivesA number of factors can affect imagery training effectiveness, including the procedural methods by which imagery is delivered. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of three different imagery-training methods, namely routine imagery (unchanged scene in all sessions), progressive imagery (layering from simple scene to more complex images), retrogressive imagery (starting with a fully detailed scene then removing contextual factors), and a control condition on free-throw shooting performance and self-efficacy of basketball players. DesignIndependent groups experimental design. MethodWe randomly assigned 49 limited-skilled basketball players with moderate imagery ability into three different imagery conditions, or a control condition. Imagery participants listened to their assigned audiotaped imagery 3 times a week for 4 weeks. We assessed participants' free-throw shooting before the intervention and after each intervention week and their free-throw self-efficacy before the intervention, after Week 2, and after Week 4. ResultsA significant difference between conditions was found, F (3, 44) = 4.33, p = .009, ηp2 = .23, with moderate effect size, as well as an interaction effect, F (6.63, 97.31) = 3.45, p = .003, ηp2 = .19, with moderate effect size. The post-hoc LSD tests showed that the retrogressive imagery condition improved their free-throw shooting performance significantly more than participants in the progressive condition in Week 3 (p = .015) and Week 4 (p < .001). ConclusionsPlayers with limited skills seem to benefit more from the retrogressive imagery delivery method than routine or progressive imagery.

Spatial Intelligence and Students’ Achievement to Support Creativity on Visuospatial-Based Learning

This research intended to know how the spatial intelligence and students' achievement support the creativity of prospective student teachers. This study was conducted on the subject of plant anatomy with visuospatial-based learning. The visuospatial-based learning model used in this study is called the wimba learning model. The method of this research was a quantitative /quasi-experiment with the pre- and post-test group design. The population was fourth-semester students in four classes of Biology Education who took Plant Anatomy course in 2017 in a university situated a small town, West Java, Indonesia. The sample of this research was two classes picked using the purposive sampling regarding their homogenous sampling of having the same relative ability. The treatments for each class was that the use of the deductive and inductive approach. The variables measured were spatial intelligence, students’ achievement and creativity of TCIA (Test of Creative Imagery Abilities). The data processing adopting multiple correlation tests with SPSS was to see the relationship between the variables. The results showed that spatial intelligence and students’ achievement could support creativity at a moderate level, indicated by the value of Rdeductive = 0,451 and Rinductive = 0,474, Rinductive &gt; Rdeductive, which meant that the inductive approach was better to support creativity. In conclusion, spatial intelligence and students’ achievement could support creativity, especially the inductive approach. The results of this study could be useful to improve the creativity of prospective biology teachers.

The Representation of Imagery of the City: The Impact of Studies and Imagery Ability

AbstractThis study aimed to assess the impact of the type of undergraduate studies and the ability to form mental images on representations of city imagery. A total of 291 Architecture and Business Studies undergraduates participated in the study. Participants completed a 5‐min task of drawing their own mental map of a city. The number of point marks, line marks, and area marks drawn and the system of representation were assessed. Business Studies undergraduates represented more point marks using a point than Architecture undergraduates, whereas the latter drew more point marks in plan and in 3D than the former. The ability to form spatial images had no influence on the number of point, line, or area marks drawn. Significant differences between women and men were observed in the 3D representations, and in the configuration.

Motor imagery ability in stroke patients with and without neglect: A pilot control case series study

Individuals with stroke may experience sensory-motor deficit and/or neglect, with possible reduction in motor imagery ability (MI). To date, no study completely investigated MI ability in the same individual using measures adapted to clinical setting. This study aims to investigate MI ability in stroke patients with or without neglect as compared to aged-matched healthy individuals. We assessed explicit MI (EMI) using 3 questionnaires (Movement Imagery Questionnaire-RS–MIQ-RS, Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire-20–KVIQ-20, Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire-2) and 2 tests (Time Up and Go, Box and Block test), measuring (i) vividness, (ii) electrodermal activity and (iii) temporal equivalence between MI and physical practice (PP). We also assessed implicit MI (IMI) using a hand laterality judgment task, measuring response time and percentage of correct responses. We recruited a total of 12 stroke patients including one patient with neglect (experimental group, EG) and 12 healthy subjects (control group, CG). For EMI, comparison between EG and CG showed no significant decrease in vividness and electrodermal activity but an increase in MI duration regarding PP for both KVIQ and MIQ-RS. For IMI, comparison revealed similar response time but a significant decrease in percentage of correct responses for EG. Interestingly, the patient with neglect exhibited similar IMI performance to the one of other patients but the lowest vividness and the longest MI duration regarding PP for EMI. Stroke patients without neglect have reduced MI ability but seem still able to imagine movements. Conversely, neglect may sharply decrease EMI while sparing IMI. Although further interpretation should be formulated with caution given the small number of patients, one could likely include stroke patients without neglect in MI rehabilitation programs as suggested by other studies, but definitive exclusion from MI programs in case of neglect requires further investigations.

Relationship between motor imagery ability and motor function of hemiplegic upper limbs and their use in stroke patients

We quantitatively examined the motor imagery ability using bimanual circle-line coordination task (BCT) in stroke patients and clarified the relationship between motor imagery ability and motor function of hemiplegic upper limbs and amount of the use of paralyzed limbs. Thirty-one stroke patients participated. Tasks included unimanual-line (UL) which involved drawing a straight line on the non-paralyzed side, and imagery circle-line (ICL) which involved drawing a straight line on the non-paralyzed side, during imagery drawing on the paralyzed side using a tablet PC. Each task was carried out in 3 sets of 12 seconds. Drawn linear trajectory was decomposed at every cycle and ovalization was calculated using the formula: Ovalization Index (OI) = Standard deviation of X axis/Standard deviation of Y axis × 100(%). The value obtained by subtracting OI of UL from OI of ICL was defined as the ability of motor imagery (ImageOI). Fugl–Meyer motor assessment (FMA), amount of use (AOU), and quality of motion (QOM) of motor activity log (MAL) were the 3 variables used for cluster analysis. The explanation variable was Image OI, parametric variables were AOU and QOM, and the objective variable was FMA, and mediation analysis was performed. Cluster 1 (FMA < 26 points) and Cluster 2 (FMA ≥ 26 points) were formed. In Cluster 2, significant single correlations were found between ImageOI and FMA, AOU, and QOM. When AOU and QOM were mediated between ImageOI and FMA, there was no significant direct correlation between ImageOI and FMA, and a significant indirect effect of AOU and QOM was observed ( P < 0.01, bootstrap method). In stroke patients with moderate to mild movement disorder, the motor imagery ability directly affects the amount of use of hemiplegic upper limbs and their quality of motion in daily life. Moreover, it indirectly influences the motor functions via those parameters.

Process Dissociation Procedure Improves Assessment of Motor Imagery Ability Using Implicit Sequence Learning

For motor imagery (MI) to be effective for motor learning and rehabilitation, one must be able to perform it. The covert nature of MI makes it difficult to objectively assess MI ability. Assessment of MI ability is particularly pertinent in clinical populations, where brain damage can preclude the ability to perform it. To aid assessment of MI ability, we developed MiScreen, a mobile application that uses MI-based training through which individuals implicitly learn. The logic behind MiScreen is that if an individual can learn via MI, they must be able to perform it. Here we apply process dissociation procedure (PDP) to the data resulting from the MI-based training underlying MiScreen to address the limitations of MiScreen that reduce its applicability. Our results show that the use of PDP increases the number of users for which MiScreen would be applicable, demonstrating added value. Incongruence between PDP and current analysis procedures highlights the need for future work to identify the optimal analysis that best represents MI-based learning, and thus MI ability.

Movement imagery as a predictor of online control in typically developing children

ABSTRACTThe ability to mentally represent actions is suggested to play a role in the online control of movement in healthy adults. Children’s movement imagery ability and online control have been shown to develop at similar nonlinear rates. The current study investigated the relationship between movement imagery and online control in children by comparing implicit and explicit movement imagery measures with the ability to make online trajectory corrections. Imagery ability was a significant predictor of children’s online control of movement once general reaching efficiency was controlled for. These findings extend the proposed relationship between movement imagery and online control.

Temporal characteristics of imagined and actual walking in frail older adults.

Mental chronometry, commonly used to evaluate motor imagery ability, measures the imagined time required for movements. Previous studies investigating mental chronometry of walking have investigated healthy older adults. However, mental chronometry in frail older adults has not yet been clarified. To investigate temporal characteristics of imagined and actual walking in frail older adults. We investigated the time required for imagined and actual walking along three walkways of different widths [width(s): 50, 25, 15cm × length: 5m] in 29 frail older adults and 20 young adults. Imagined walking was measured with mental chronometry. We observed significantly longer imagined and actual walking times along walkways of 50, 25, and 15cm width in frail older adults compared with young adults. Moreover, temporal differences (absolute error) between imagined and actual walking were significantly greater in frail older adults than in young adults along walkways with a width of 25 and 15cm. Furthermore, we observed significant differences in temporal differences (constant error) between frail older adults and young adults for walkways with a width of 25 and 15cm. Frail older adults tended to underestimate actual walking time in imagined walking trials. Our results suggest that walkways of different widths may be a useful tool to evaluate age-related changes in imagined and actual walking in frail older adults.

Reliability and Validity of the Japanese Version of the Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire (KVIQ).

In this study, we aimed to (1) translate the English version of the Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire (KVIQ), which assesses motor imagery ability, into Japanese, and (2) investigate the reliability and validity of the Japanese KVIQ. We enrolled 28 healthy adults in this study. We used Cronbach’s alpha coefficients to assess reliability reflected by the internal consistency. Additionally, we assessed validity reflected by the criterion-related validity between the Japanese KVIQ and the Japanese version of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-Revised (MIQ-R) with Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the KVIQ-20 were 0.88 (Visual) and 0.91 (Kinesthetic), which indicates high reliability. There was a significant positive correlation between the Japanese KVIQ-20 (Total) and the Japanese MIQ-R (Total) (r = 0.86, p < 0.01). Our results suggest that the Japanese KVIQ is an assessment that is a reliable and valid index of motor imagery ability.

Imagery ability: the individual difference gradient and novel training methods (Commentary on Kraeutner etal. (2018)).

Imagery ability: the individual difference gradient and novel training methods (Commentary on Kraeutner etal. (2018)).

Seeing action simulation as it unfolds: The implicit effects of action scenes on muscle contraction evidenced through the use of a grip-force sensor

Action simulation is a cognitive process that mentally simulates a motor act without performing it in the true external world. Simulation mechanisms play a key role in perceiving, feeling and understanding actions executed by others. However, very little is known about the process dynamics because of the absence of a behavioral tool to probe directly the action simulation process as it unfolds.Twenty-seven healthy adults were required to hold a force sensor in a relaxed pinch-grip while viewing action videos of different intensities: wait (null); touch (low); move (medium); crush (high). When contrasting the variations in grip force (GFv) across conditions, results indicated that GFv started to increase and peaked respectively 200 and 400 ms after the moment of effector-object contact. In the wait condition, GFv remained flat throughout the trial confirming an absence of simulation engagement. Peak GFv was greater for the high and medium than for the low intensity videos suggesting greater brain activity overflow to the peripheral motor system when simulating more effortful body movements. These effects were negatively correlated with the motor imagery abilities of the participants, with greater GFv in the poor imagers as determined by the Movement Imagery Questionnaire.Our results confirm the possibility of using a non-invasive grip force sensor to detect not only when individuals are cognitively engaged in action simulation but also to reveal the dynamics of the process. With various sets of videos, this paradigm offers new perspectives in the study of action simulation and its role in human cognition.

Stimulus Preference and Mental Imagery: Influencing the Way Sexual Stimuli are Viewed and the Intensity of Subjective Sexual Arousal

Background: The connection between mental imagery and feelings of presence within a film has not yet been investigated in sex research in relation to observational stance (imagining oneself as either a spectator or participant while viewing a film). Several studies have shown that people who take a participant stance when viewing a sexual film are more likely to report greater subjective sexual arousal (SSA). Research on observational stance has also found that viewing a preferred stimulus is predictive of taking a participant stance. Despite this, very few studies have allowed participants to select their own stimuli.&#x0D; Methodology: Sexual films that were researcher-selected or participant-selected will be presented to women and men, while continuously measuring their SSA. Information will be collected about observational stance and vividness of mental imagery via questionnaires.&#x0D; Expected Results:&#x0D; 1. Greater mental imagery ability will be associated with adopting a participant stance.&#x0D; 2. The relationship between mental imagery ability and taking a participant stance will be stronger for participant-selected sexual stimuli than for researcher-selected sexual stimuli.&#x0D; 3. Taking a participant stance will be associated with greater SSA.&#x0D; 4. The relationship between taking a participant stance and SSA will be stronger for participant-selected sexual stimuli than for researcher-selected stimuli.&#x0D; Conclusions: This project is the first to examine the relationship between mental imagery and observational stance for sexual stimuli, and is among the first to allow participants to self-select stimuli. Results of this project will encourage the development of standardized procedures for providing participants with optimal sexual stimulation.

The role of first person perspective and vivid imagery in memory for written narratives

ABSTRACTThe use of visualisation techniques in teaching has enabled students to improve their memory and comprehension of written narratives. Psychological research reveals how various factors can influence visualisation and learning, including; adopting a character’s perspective; constructing self-related images; multi-sensory text representing episodic events; and imagery ability. These factors were explored using narratives that represented real events, which contained subjective and objective information. University students (age range 18–25 years) recalled the narratives in a first person, third person and neutral perspective. In the first person perspective, information was connected to their sense of ‘self’, which improved memory. Additionally, the first person perspective improved memory for subjective and objective information for high imagery ability individuals and subjective information for low imagery ability individuals. Overall, the findings suggest that visualisation, first person perspective and narratives representing real experiences improve memory and comprehension. Implications for practice are also discussed.

Effects of Relaxing and Arousing Music during Imagery Training on Dart-Throwing Performance, Physiological Arousal Indices, and Competitive State Anxiety.

Music that is carefully selected to match the requirements of activities and the characteristics of individuals has been shown to produce significant impacts on performance enhancement (Priest et al., 2004). There is also evidence that music can enhance imagery (Grocke and Wigram, 2007), although few studies have investigated the effects of music on imagery in the context of sport skills. In the present study, the effects of relaxing and arousing music during imagery on dart-throwing performance, physiological arousal indices, and competitive state anxiety, were investigated among 63 novice dart throwers. Participants had moderate-to-high imagery ability and were randomly assigned to unfamiliar relaxing music (URM), unfamiliar arousing music (UAM), or no music (NM) groups. Performance was assessed by 40 dart throws at a concentric circles dartboard before and after 12 imagery sessions over 4 weeks. Measures of galvanic skin response (GSR), peripheral temperature (PT), and heart rate (HR) were taken during imagery sessions 1 and 12, and the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 Revised (CSAI-2R) was administered prior to the pre- and post-intervention performance task. Dart-throwing gain scores were significantly higher for URM than for UAM and NM, with no significant difference between UAM and NM (URM = 37.24 ± 5.66, UAM = 17.57 ± 5.30, and NM = 13.19 ± 6.14, F2,62 = 5.03, p = 0.01, η2 = 0.14). GSR, PT, and HR reflected lower arousal for URM than for UAM or NM. Significant decreases in somatic anxiety were evident for URM and UAM but not NM. Significant decreases in cognitive anxiety were evident for URM and NM but not UAM. Significant increases in self-confidence were evident for URM but not UAM or NM. Performance improved in all three conditions but URM was associated with the largest performance gain, the lowest physiological indices of arousal, and the most positive CSAI-2R profiles. Listening to relaxing music during imagery may have benefits for performance in other fine motor skills.

Arithmetic, working memory, and visuospatial imagery abilities in children with poor geometric learning

Many children fail in geometric learning, but factors underlying these failures have not been explored in detail. The present study addresses this issue by comparing fifth and sixth-grade children who had good or poor geometric learning, and were otherwise comparable on verbal intelligence, gender and age. Results showed that children with poor geometric learning have deficits in both arithmetic and geometric problem solving but they are more impaired in the latter. Results also showed that poor geometric learners have weaknesses in working memory, calculation, and visuospatial mental imagery. The results from logistic regressions pointed out that mental imagery skills and arithmetic problem solving ability had the highest discriminatory power in distinguishing between the two groups. Theoretical and practical implications of this research for designing interventions to help poor geometric learners are discussed.