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Referências sobre ensaio mental ("mental rehearsal")

Items 1 - 35 of 35

1: Methods. 2008 Aug;45(4):336-41. Epub 2008 Jun 2.

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Imaging motor imagery: methodological issues related to expertise.

Milton J, Small SL, Solodkin A.

Joint Science Department, The Claremont Colleges, 925 North Mills Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711, USA. jmilton@jsd.claremont.edu

Mental imagery (MI) is the mental rehearsal of movements without overt execution. Brain imaging techniques have made it possible to identify the brain regions that are activated during MI and, for voluntary motor tasks involving hand and finger movements, to make direct comparison with those areas activated during actual movement. However, the fact that brain activation differs for different types of imagery (visual or kinetic) and depends on the skill level of the individual (e.g., novice or elite athlete) raises a number of important methodological issues for the design of brain imaging protocols to study MI. These include instructing the subject concerning the type of imagery to use, objective measurement of skill level, the design of motor tasks sufficiently difficult to produce a range of skill levels, the effect of different environments on skill level (including the imaging device), and so on. It is suggested that MI is more about the neurobiology of the development of motor skills that have already been learned, but not perfected, than it is about learning motor skills de novo.

Publication Types:

PMID: 18762138 [PubMed - in process]

2: Exp Brain Res. 2008 Jan;184(1):105-13. Epub 2007 Sep 12.

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Visuo-motor learning with combination of different rates of motor imagery and physical practice.

Allami N, Paulignan Y, Brovelli A, Boussaoud D.

Institut des Sciences Cognitives L2C2, CNRS/Université de Lyon UMR5230, 67 bd pinel, 69675, Bron Cedex, France.

Sports psychology suggests that mental rehearsal facilitates physical practice in athletes and clinical rehabilitation attempts to use mental rehearsal to restore motor function in hemiplegic patients. Our aim was to examine whether mental rehearsal is equivalent to physical learning, and to determine the optimal proportions of real execution and rehearsal. Subjects were asked to grasp an object and insert it into an adapted slot. One group (G0) practiced the task only by physical execution (240 trials); three groups imagined performing the task in different rates of trials (25%, G25; 50%, G50; 75%, G75), and physically executed movements for the remaining trials; a fourth, control group imagined a visual rotation task in 75% of the trials and then performed the same motor task as the others groups. Movement time (MT) was compared for the first and last physical trials, together with other key trials, across groups. All groups learned, suggesting that mental rehearsal is equivalent to physical motor learning. More importantly, when subjects rehearsed the task for large numbers of trials (G50 and G75), the MT of the first executed trial was significantly shorter than the first executed trial in the physical group (G0), indicating that mental practice is better than no practice at all. Comparison of the first executed trial in G25, G50 and G75 with the corresponding trials in G0 (61, 121 and 181 trials), showed equivalence between mental and physical practice. At the end of training, the performance was much better with high rates of mental practice (G50/G75) compared to physical practice alone (G0), especially when the task was difficult. These findings confirm that mental rehearsal can be beneficial for motor learning and suggest that imagery might be used to supplement or partly replace physical practice in clinical rehabilitation.

Publication Types:

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

PMID: 17849109 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

3: Br J Health Psychol. 2008 Sep;13(Pt 3):513-24. Epub 2007 Jul 23.

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Use of mental simulations to change theory of planned behaviour variables.

Armitage CJ, Reidy JG.

Centre for Research in Social Attitudes, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. c.j.armitage@sheffield.ac.uk

OBJECTIVES: The predictive validity of the theory of planned behaviour is well established, but much less is known about: (a) whether there are causal relationships between key components of the model and (b) how to go about changing the theory of planned behaviour variables. This study tested the ability of outcome and process simulations to change variables specified in the theory of planned behaviour in relation to blood donation. DESIGN: Participants (N=146) were randomized to one of four conditions: outcome simulation only, process simulation only, process-plus-outcome simulation and a distractor control condition. The dependent variables were state anxiety, and intention attitude, subjective norm and perceived control from the theory of planned behaviour. METHODS: Participants were asked to empty their mind and visualize themselves: (a) after donating blood (outcome manipulation), (b) preparing to donate blood (process manipulation), (c) both preparing to donate blood and after having donated blood (process-plus-outcome manipulation) or (d) both preparing to get a high mark and after having got a high mark on their course (control condition). Following mental rehearsal, participants completed the dependent variables. RESULTS: There were no main effects of outcome simulation, but process simulation successfully increased intention, subjective norm and perceived control. There was also a significant outcome simulation x process simulation interaction for attitude. The effect of the process manipulation on intention was mediated by subjective norm and perceived control. CONCLUSIONS: The findings show promise for the use of mental simulations in changing cognitions and further research is required to extend the present findings to other health behaviours.

Publication Types:

Randomized Controlled Trial

PMID: 17650364 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

: ICA-based classification scheme for EEG-based brain-computer interface: the role of mental practice and concentration skills.

Erfanian A, Erfani A.

Dept. of Biomed. Eng., Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Iran Univ. of Sci. & Technol., Tehran, Iran. erfanian@iust.ac.ir

This article explores the use of independent component analysis (ICA) approach to design a new EEG-based brain-computer interface (BCI) for natural control of prosthetic hand grasp. ICA is a useful technique that allows blind separation of sources, linearly mixed, assuming only the statistical independence of these sources. This suggests the possibility of using ICA to separate different independent brain activities during motor imagery into separate components. This work provides a natural basis for developing an efficient BCI based on single-source data obtained by independent component analysis of multi-channel EEG. The tasks to be discriminated are the imagination of hand grasping and opening and the resting state. The results indicate that the proposed scheme can improve the classification accuracy of the EEG patterns. Imagery is the essential part of the most EEG-based communication systems. Thus, the quality of mental rehearsal, the degree of imagined effort, and mind controllability should have a major effect on the performance of EEG-based BCI. We are going to examine the role of mental practice and concentration skills on the performance of BCI. The surprising results indicate that mental training has a significant effect on the performance of BCI over the primary motor cortex, temporal, and frontal areas. This supports the hypothesis that mental practice is an effective method for performance enhancement and motor skill learning.

PMID: 17271653 [PubMed]

5: BMC Neurol. 2006 Oct 26;6:39.

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Recovery of hand function through mental practice: a study protocol.

Ietswaart M, Johnston M, Dijkerman HC, Scott CL, Joice SA, Hamilton S, Macwalter RS.

School of Psychology and Sport Sciences, Northumbria University, Northumberland Building, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK. magdalena.ietswaart@northumbria.ac.uk

BACKGROUND: The study aims to assess the therapeutic benefits of motor imagery training in stroke patients with persistent motor weakness. There is evidence to suggest that mental rehearsal of movement can produce effects normally attributed to practising the actual movements. Imagining hand movements could stimulate the redistribution of brain activity, which accompanies recovery of hand function, thus resulting in a reduced motor deficit. METHODS/DESIGN: A multi-centre randomised controlled trial recruiting individuals between one and six months post-stroke (n = 135). Patients are assessed before and after a four-week evaluation period. In this trial, 45 patients daily mentally rehearse movements with their affected arm under close supervision. Their recovery is compared to 45 patients who perform closely supervised non-motor mental rehearsal, and 45 patients who are not engaged in a training program. Motor imagery training effectiveness is evaluated using outcome measures of motor function, psychological processes, and level of disability. DISCUSSION: The idea of enhancing motor recovery through the use of motor imagery rehabilitation techniques is important with potential implications for clinical practice. The techniques evaluated as part of this randomised controlled trial are informed by the current understanding in cognitive neuroscience and the trial is both of scientific and applied interest.

Publication Types:

PMID: 17067370 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

PMCID: PMC1635559

: Electro-encephalogram based brain-computer interface: improved performance by mental practice and concentration skills.

Mahmoudi B, Erfanian A.

Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Narmak, Tehran, Iran.

Mental imagination is the essential part of the most EEG-based communication systems. Thus, the quality of mental rehearsal, the degree of imagined effort, and mind controllability should have a major effect on the performance of electro-encephalogram (EEG) based brain-computer interface (BCI). It is now well established that mental practice using motor imagery improves motor skills. The effects of mental practice on motor skill learning are the result of practice on central motor programming. According to this view, it seems logical that mental practice should modify the neuronal activity in the primary sensorimotor areas and consequently change the performance of EEG-based BCI. For developing a practical BCI system, recognizing the resting state with eyes opened and the imagined voluntary movement is important. For this purpose, the mind should be able to focus on a single goal for a period of time, without deviation to another context. In this work, we are going to examine the role of mental practice and concentration skills on the EEG control during imaginative hand movements. The results show that the mental practice and concentration can generally improve the classification accuracy of the EEG patterns. It is found that mental training has a significant effect on the classification accuracy over the primary motor cortex and frontal area.

PMID: 17028907 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

7: Adv Exp Med Biol. 2006;578:185-90.

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NIRS-detected changes in the motor cortex during mental rehearsal of physical activity (imaginary exercise).

Cooper CE, Pryor D, Hall C, Griffin M.

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, England.

Publication Types:

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

PMID: 16927691 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

8: Adv Exp Med Biol. 2006;578:191-6.

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NIRS-detected changes in the arm during mental rehearsal of physical activity (imaginary exercise).

Cooper CE, Blannin M, Hall C, Griffin M.

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, England.

Publication Types:

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

PMID: 16927692 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

9: Int J Psychophysiol. 2006 Jun;60(3):304-14. Epub 2005 Sep 8.

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Moderate-to-heavy alcohol intake is associated with differences in synchronization of brain activity during rest and mental rehearsal.

de Bruin EA, Stam CJ, Bijl S, Verbaten MN, Kenemans JL.

Utrecht Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Psychopharmacology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. E.A.deBruin@pharm.uu.nl

In alcohol-dependent individuals, synchronization of brain activity is different from that in non-alcohol-dependent individuals as reflected by EEG differences at alpha and beta frequencies (8-30 Hz). These EEG differences may not only be related to long-term alcohol intake but also to genetic factors that are associated with alcohol dependence. Thus, it is not known what the pure effect of long-term alcohol intake on synchronization of brain activity is. Therefore, we investigated whether EEG synchronization differs between light (0.5-6 drinks per week), moderate (7-20 drinks per week), and heavy (21-53 drinks per week) drinkers. All participants (49 males and 47 females) were free of a personal and family history of alcohol dependence. Eyes-closed EEG was recorded at rest and during mental rehearsal of pictures. EEG synchronization was determined by computing Synchronization Likelihood for six frequency bands (0.5-4 Hz, 4-8 Hz, 8-12 Hz, 12-20 Hz, 20-30 Hz, 30-45 Hz). Both male and female heavy drinkers displayed a loss of lateralization in alpha (8-12 Hz) and slow-beta (12-20 Hz) synchronization. In addition, moderately and heavily drinking males had lower fast-beta (20-30 Hz) synchronization than lightly drinking males. It is concluded that both male and female drinkers who drink 21 alcoholic drinks per week or more have impaired synchronization of brain activity during rest and mental rehearsal at alpha and beta frequencies as compared to individuals who drink less. As individuals with a personal or family history of alcohol dependence were excluded, the confounding effects of genetic factors related to alcohol dependence on synchronization of brain activity were minimized.

Publication Types:

PMID: 16150505 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

10: Mov Disord. 2005 Nov;20(11):1488-95.

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Corticospinal excitability during motor imagery of a simple tonic finger movement in patients with writer's cramp.

Quartarone A, Bagnato S, Rizzo V, Morgante F, Sant'Angelo A, Crupi D, Romano M, Messina C, Berardelli A, Girlanda P.

Department of Neurosciences, Psychiatric and Anaesthesiological Sciences, University of Messina, Italy. angelo.quartarone@unime.it

Motor imagery (MI) is the mental rehearsal of a motor act without overt movement. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we tested the effect of MI on corticospinal excitability in patients with writer's cramp. In 10 patients with writer's cramp and 10 healthy controls, we applied focal TMS over each primary motor area and recorded motor evoked potentials (MEPs) from contralateral hand and arm muscles while participants imagined a tonic abduction of the index finger contralateral to the stimulated hemisphere. In healthy controls and patients, the MEP amplitude in the relaxed first dorsal interosseus muscle (FDI) showed a muscle-specific increase during MI; however, the increase was less pronounced in patients than in healthy controls. In addition, in patients but not in controls, the MEP amplitude also increased in hand and forearm muscles not involved in the imagined movement. This abnormal spread of facilitation was observed in the affected and unaffected upper limb. MI of simple hand movements is less efficient and less focussed in patients with writer's cramp than it is in normal subjects.

Publication Types:

Comparative Study

PMID: 16078218 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

11: Nature. 2004 Oct 21;431(7011):993-6.

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Neural correlates of mental rehearsal in dorsal premotor cortex.

Cisek P, Kalaska JF.

Département de physiologie, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128 Succursale Centreville, Montréal, Québec, H3C 3J7, Canada.

Behavioural and imaging studies suggest that when humans mentally rehearse a familiar action they execute some of the same neural operations used during overt motor performance. Similarly, neural activation is present during action observation in many of the same brain regions normally used for performance, including premotor cortex. Here we present behavioural evidence that monkeys also engage in mental rehearsal during the observation of sensory events associated with a well-learned motor task. Furthermore, most task-related neurons in dorsal premotor cortex exhibit the same activity patterns during observation as during performance, even during an instructed-delay period before any actual observed motion. This activity might be a single-neuron correlate of covert mental rehearsal.

Publication Types:

PMID: 15496925 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

12: Neuroreport. 2004 Sep 15;15(13):2067-70.

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ERP evidence of MI activation without motor response execution.

Galdo-Alvarez S, Carrillo-de-la-Peña MT.

Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain. sgaldo@usc.es

There has been controversy concerning the activity of the primary motor cortex (MI) during the mental rehearsal of movement (motor imagination). In this study we found that the lateralized readiness potential (LRP), an event-related potential probably generated in MI, appeared with similar latencies during both trials requiring execution of hand movements and trials requiring only their mental rehearsal, regardless of whether misleading pre-cues that increased latency were employed. However, LRPs obtained during imagination trials had smaller amplitudes. We conclude that MI is involved in motor imagination as well as in preparing overt movement, and that in overt movement the LRP sums neural activity common to these two situations and neural activity exclusive to overt movement.

Publication Types:

Comparative Study

PMID: 15486483 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

13: Percept Mot Skills. 2004 Aug;99(1):51-62.

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Mental and physical practice schedules in acquisition and retention of novel timing skills .

Overdorf V, Page SJ, Schweighardt R, McGrath RE.

Department of Exercise and Movement Sciences, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ 07470, USA.

Research has indicated that random physical practice of a motor skill enhances effects of long-term learning more than blocked practice. Moreover, the use of mental rehearsal coupled with physical practice has been shown to accelerate motor skill acquisition in many different contexts and is better than no practice at all. Others have found that some mental rehearsal strategies are better than others for maximizing performance. This study examined how combinations of mental and physical practice schedules affected the learning of a coincidence timing task. 30 college students were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups involving combinations of imagery and physical practice. Three tasks were utilized, each involving a particular speed (slow, medium, fast) on the Bassin Anticipation Timer. Conclusions were based on a three-way analysis of variance, using type of mental practice, type of physical practice, and sex as between-group factors, conducted separately for acquisition and retention trials. Type of physical practice was significantly related to performance. On the acquisition trials, random practice was associated with larger mean errors than blocked practice; however, the reverse was true for retention trials. There was no significant effect of type of mental practice in either the acquisition or retention phase. Sex was significantly related to performance for the retention trials only, where the 15 men made smaller errors than the 15 women.

Publication Types:

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

PMID: 15446630 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

14: Clin Rehabil. 2004 Aug;18(5):538-49.

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Does motor imagery training improve hand function in chronic stroke patients? A pilot study.

Dijkerman HC, Ietswaart M, Johnston M, MacWalter RS.

Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands. H.C.Dijkerman@fss.uu.nl

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of motor imagery training for arm function in chronic stroke patients. The relation between mental processes such as attentional and perceived personal control over recovery, and motor imagery was additionally investigated. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: Twenty patients with long-term motor impairments (mean two years post stroke), were assessed before and after four weeks of training. Ten patients mentally rehearsed movements with their affected arm. Their recovery was compared with patients who performed nonmotor imagery (n =5), or who were not engaged in mental rehearsal (n=5). SETTING: Patients were recruited from the stroke database of Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. Assessment and training were performed at the patients' home. INTERVENTIONS: The motor imagery group was asked to practise daily imagining moving tokens with their affected arm. The nonmotor imagery group rehearsed visual imagery of previously seen pictures. All patients practised physically moving the tokens. MAIN MEASURES: The following variables were assessed before and after training: motor function (training task, pegboard and dynamometer), perceived locus of control, attention control and ADL independence. RESULTS: All patient groups improved on all motor tasks except the dynamometer. Improvement was greater for the motor imagery group on the training task only (average of 14% versus 6%). No effect of motor imagery training was found on perceived or attentional control. CONCLUSIONS: Motor imagery training without supervision at home may improve performance on the trained task only. The relation between movement imagery, attention and perceived personal control over recovery remained unclear.

Publication Types:

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

PMID: 15293488 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

15: Cereb Cortex. 2005 Feb;15(2):131-40. Epub 2004 Jul 6.

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What disconnection tells about motor imagery: evidence from paraplegic patients.

Alkadhi H, Brugger P, Boendermaker SH, Crelier G, Curt A, Hepp-Reymond MC, Kollias SS.

Institute of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Zurich, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland.

Brain activation during motor imagery has been the subject of a large number of studies in healthy subjects, leading to divergent interpretations with respect to the role of descending pathways and kinesthetic feedback on the mental rehearsal of movements. We investigated patients with complete spinal cord injury (SCI) to find out how the complete disruption of motor efferents and sensory afferents influences brain activation during motor imagery of the disconnected feet. Eight SCI patients underwent behavioral assessment and functional magnetic resonance imaging. When compared to a healthy population, stronger activity was detected in primary and all non-primary motor cortical areas and subcortical regions. In paraplegic patients the primary motor cortex was consistently activated, even to the same degree as during movement execution in the controls. Motor imagery in SCI patients activated in parallel both the motor execution and motor imagery networks of healthy subjects. In paraplegics the extent of activation in the primary motor cortex and in mesial non-primary motor areas was significantly correlated with the vividness of movement imagery, as assessed by an interview. The present findings provide new insights on the neuroanatomy of motor imagery and the possible role of kinesthetic feedback in the suppression of cortical motor output required during covert movements.

Publication Types:

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

PMID: 15238440 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

16: Cereb Cortex. 2004 Nov;14(11):1246-55. Epub 2004 May 27.

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Fine modulation in network activation during motor execution and motor imagery.

Solodkin A, Hlustik P, Chen EE, Small SL.

Department of Neurology and Brain Research Imaging Center, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. solodkin@uchicago.edu

Motor imagery, the 'mental rehearsal of motor acts without overt movements', involves either a visual representation (visual imagery, VI) or mental simulation of movement, associated with a kinesthetic feeling (kinetic imagery, KI). Previous brain imaging work suggests that patterns of brain activation differ when comparing execution (E) with either type of imagery but the functional connectivity of the participating networks has not been studied. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and structural equation modeling, this study elucidates the inter-relationships among the relevant areas for each of the three motor behaviors. Our results suggest that networks underlying these behaviors are not identical, despite the extensive overlap between E and KI. Inputs to M1, which are facilitatory during E, have the opposite effect during KI, suggesting a physiological mechanism whereby the system prevents overt movements. Finally, this study highlights the role of the connection of superior parietal lobule to the supplementary motor area in both types of motor imagery.

Publication Types:

PMID: 15166100 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

: Improving computer skill training: behavior modeling, symbolic mental rehearsal, and the role of knowledge structures.

Davis FD, Yi MY.

Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville 72701, USA. fdavis@walton.uark.edu

Effective computer skill training is vital to organizational productivity. Two experiments (N = 288) demonstrated that the behavior modeling approach to computer skill training could be substantially improved by incorporating symbolic mental rehearsal (SMR). SMR is a specific form of mental rehearsal that establishes a cognitive link between visual images and symbolic memory codes. As theorized, the significant effects of SMR on declarative knowledge and task performance were shown to be fully mediated by changes in trainees' knowledge structures. The mediational role of knowledge structures is expected to generalize to other training interventions and cognitive skill domains. Our findings have the immediate implications that practitioners should use SMR for improving the effectiveness of computer skill training. (c) 2004 APA

PMID: 15161409 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

18: Eur J Neurosci. 2003 Dec;18(12):3375-87.

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Effector-independent representations of simple and complex imagined finger movements: a combined fMRI and TMS study.

Kuhtz-Buschbeck JP, Mahnkopf C, Holzknecht C, Siebner H, Ulmer S, Jansen O.

Institute of Physiology, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Olshausenstr. 40, D 24098 Kiel, Germany. kuhtz@physiologie-uni-kiel.de

Kinesthetic motor imagery and actual execution of movements share a common neural circuitry. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used in 12 right-handed volunteers to study brain activity during motor imagery and execution of simple and complex unimanual finger movements of the dominant and the nondominant hand. In the simple task, a flexible object was rhythmically compressed between thumb, index and middle finger. The complex task was a sequential finger-to-thumb opposition movement. Premotor, posterior parietal and cerebellar regions were significantly more active during motor imagery of complex movements than during mental rehearsal of the simple task. In 10 of the subjects, we also used transcranial magnetic brain stimulation to examine corticospinal excitability during the same motor imagery tasks. Motor-evoked potentials increased significantly over values obtained in a reference condition (visual imagery) during imagery of the complex, but not of the simple movement. Imagery of finger movements of either hand activated left dorsal and ventral premotor areas and the supplementary motor cortex regardless of task complexity. The effector-independent activation of left premotor areas was particularly evident in the simple motor imagery task and suggests a left hemispherical dominance for kinesthetic movement representations in right-handed subjects.

Publication Types:

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

PMID: 14686911 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

: The hypnotic belay in alpine mountaineering: the use of self-hypnosis for the resolution of sports injuries and for performance enhancement.

Morton PA.

The author, an experienced alpine mountaineer, sustained several traumatic climbing injuries over a two-year period. This article describes her multiple uses of self-hypnosis to deal with several challenges related to her returning to successful mountain climbing. She used self-hypnosis for physical healing and to enhance her motivation to resume climbing. While training for her next expedition, she successfully utilized self-hypnotic techniques to deal with acute stress and later post-traumatic symptoms that had emerged related to her climbing injuries. She describes her use of hypnotic ego-strengthening, mental rehearsal, age progression, and "Inner Strength" as well as active-alert trance states. Her successful summitting of Ecuador's Cotopaxi at 19,380 feet was facilitated by "The Hypnotic Belay" which permitted her to secure herself by self-hypnosis in addition to the rope used to secure climbers. In 1994, the author returned to the Cascade Mountains where she had been injured three years earlier and reached the summit of Mount Shuksan. This time she was secured by "The Hypnotic Belay".

PMID: 12894930 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

20: Neuroimage. 2002 Oct;17(2):999-1009.

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A H(2)(15)O positron emission tomography study on mental imagery of movement sequences--the effect of modulating sequence length and direction.

Boecker H, Ceballos-Baumann AO, Bartenstein P, Dagher A, Forster K, Haslinger B, Brooks DJ, Schwaiger M, Conrad B.

Neurologische Klinik, Technische Universität München, Klinikum rechts der Isar, D-81675 Munich, Germany.

Motor imagery is a state of mental rehearsal of single movements or movement patterns and has been shown to recruit motor networks overlapping with those activated during movement execution. We wished to examine whether the brain areas subserving control of sequential processes could be delineated by pure mental imagery, their activation levels reflecting the processing demands of a sequential task. We studied six right-handed volunteers (39.0 +/- 14 years) with H(2)(15)O positron emission tomography (PET) while they continuously mentally pursued with their right hand one of five sequences differing in complexity (i.e., increases in sequence length, single-finger repetitions, and reversals). Conditions were repeated twice, alternating with two rest scans. Each imagined single motor element was paced at a frequency of 1 Hz. Significant activation increases (P < 0.05, corrected) associated with imagination of right finger movement sequences (conditions I to V combined)--compared to the rest condition--were observed in left sensorimotor cortex (M1/S1) and the adjacent inferior parietal cortex. Further activation increases (P < 0.001, uncorrected) occurred in bilateral dorsal premotor (PMd) cortex, left caudal supplementary motor area, bilateral ventral premotor cortex, right M1, left superior parietal cortex, left putamen, and right cerebellum. Activation decreases occurred in bilateral prefrontal and right temporo-occipital cortex. Activation increases that correlated with sequence complexity were observed only in specific areas of the activated network, notably in left PMd, right superior parietal cortex, and right cerebellar vermis (P < 0.05, corrected). In conclusion, our study, by varying the sequence structure of imagined finger movements, identified task-related activity changes in parietopremotor-cerebellar structures, reflecting their role in mediating sequence control.

Publication Types:

PMID: 12377173 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

21: J Mot Behav. 2000 Sep;32(3):305-13.

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The effect of mental practice on performance in a sequential reaction time task.

Shanks DR, Cameron A.

Department of Psychology, University College London, England. d.shanks@ucl.ac.uk

The effect of mental practice on performance in a dot-location RT task was investigated. Participants (N = 40) were required either to mentally practice, physically practice, or do no practice on an RT task in which the signals appeared in a repeating sequence. Correct mental practice, as opposed to incorrect mental practice and no practice, was predicted to have a positive (enhancing) effect on performance of the RT task. Despite previous evidence that mental rehearsal does enhance performance in many perceptual-motor tasks, neither correct nor incorrect mental rehearsal affected subsequent sequence learning; that is, no mental practice effect was observed. That surprising result is discussed in terms of motivational, psychoneuromuscular, separate memory systems, and transfer-appropriate processing explanations of mental practice.

Publication Types:

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

PMID: 10975278 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

: Professional cricketers' perceptions of the importance of antecedents influencing repeatable good performance.

Thelwell RC, Maynard IW.

University College Chichester, Centre for Sport Science and Medicine, Bishop Otter College, West Sussex, UK.

This study examined whether there is overall agreement amongst professional cricketers on the factors which are most important for the occurrence of repeatable good performances in the sport. Also, the consistency of the rank-order of such variables was investigated across individuals and roles within the same sport. A total of 198 cricketers (100 batters and 98 bowlers) who play or have played first class cricket in the English County Championship completed a rank-order task, which enabled them to use their experiences to judge the importance of 15 selected performance-influencing variables. Cultural consensus analysis indicated that no one factor for either batters or bowlers was significantly more important, despite many batters and bowlers ranking the need for 'total self-confidence' highest. Whilst no over-all agreement was found for batters and bowlers in their ranking of variables, a group of similar 'core elements', e.g., total self-confidence, following a set prematch routine, set performance plans, optimal arousal, and using mental rehearsal, were highly ranked by both groups, which may be an important consideration for practitioners endeavoring to produce strategies that encourage more consistent and higher performance for cricketers.

PMID: 10833766 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

23: Physiol Behav. 1999 Mar;66(1):63-72.

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Imagery quality estimated by autonomic response is correlated to sporting performance enhancement.

Roure R, Collet C, Deschaumes-Molinaro C, Delhomme G, Dittmar A, Vernet-Maury E.

Université Lyon I. Emotion et Vigilance, Gis C.N.R.S. Sciences de la cognition, Villeurbanne, France.

It is now well established that mental imagery practice improves motor skills, but performance efficiency depends on many factors: the main one being individual differences. The aim of this study is to evaluate performance improvement with imagery quality estimated during ANS recording. Volleyball training ("receiving serve") afforded us the experimental paradigm. Subjects were required to pass an opponent's serve to a given team mate. The receiver's performance was evaluated from the accuracy of his pass to the targeted team mate. From these first test results, subjects were divided into two equivalent groups: imagers and controls. After mental practice the two groups were submitted to a posttest similar to the first one. During the pretest, posttest actual practice as well as the last session of corresponding mental rehearsal, six autonomic parameters were continuously recorded. Furthermore, and for the first time, a grade obtained from four different aspects of this response permits qualitative evaluation of each subject's mental imagery. This estimation, based on the well-established link between performance and autonomic response, is validated by the fact that good correlation was obtained between this grade and the performance improvement of each of the "imager" group subjects.

Publication Types:

Clinical Trial

PMID: 10222475 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

: Autonomic nervous system responses correlate with mental rehearsal in volleyball training.

Roure R, Collet C, Deschaumes-Molinaro C, Dittmar A, Rada H, Delhomme G, Vernet-Maury E.

Emotion-Cognition, Université Claude Bernard, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Lyon I, Villeurbanne, France.

The aim of this study was to assess objectively the processes of mental rehearsing (imagery) by measuring variations of the autonomic nervous system (or ANS responses) during an open-ended complex motor skill in two actual experiments (volleyball) and during mental rehearsing taking place between them. Comparison between pre- and post-test (volleyball) scores related to imagining and non-imagining performances revealed significant improvement in the former (chi2 = 20.9, P < 0.00001) while in the latter chi2 = 27, P < 0.9, NS. The ANS parameters (skin potential and resistance, skin temperature and heat clearance, instantaneous heart rate and respiratory frequency) were quantified by original techniques and indices. Results from a principal component analysis showed a strong correlation between the responses in actual tasks (pre- and post-test volleyball) and during mental imagery, since the same preferential variables appeared on the main axis in 87% of cases. Thus the same autonomic channels seemed to be used during the actual activity and during the mental imagery of this activity. So far as phasic results were concerned, the main finding was a differing development of skill between imagining and non-imagining volleyball players. No clear difference was seen between pre- and post-tests in non-imaginers, except an increase in the median of the duration of the response observed in heat clearance, m1 and m2 respectively [m1 = 5.8 (SD 4.1) s, m2 = 7.6 (SD 3.9) s, P < 0.001]. Conversely, for other ANS parameters, a significant decrease was seen in the post-test responses compared to pre-test responses in the imagining group [for instance, the median of the duration of the resistance responses decreased from m1 = 12.6 (SD 4.3) s, and m2 = 7.8 (SD 4.5) s, P < 0.0001 in imaginers, while no change was observed in non-imaginers: 9.6 (SD 6.0) s vs 9.5 (SD 6.1) s, NS] except in the duration of the heat clearance response where an increase was seen [m1 = 7.3 (SD 5.0) s vs m2 = 7.6 (SD 3.1) s, NS]. Compared to the non-imagining group, the latter result may also have been associated with a response decrease in the imagining group. Thus mental rehearsing induced a specific pattern of autonomic response: decreased amplitude, shorter duration and negative skin potentials compared to the control group. As this pattern was associated with better performance in the tests it can be suggested that in the case of open-ended motor activity, mental rehearsing may help in the construction of schema which can be reproduced, without thinking, in actual practice. Thus a neural information process might develop in the central nervous system changing from a parallel into a serial treatment.

PMID: 9694307 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

25: J Physiol. 1997 Nov 15;505 ( Pt 1):259-66.

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Mental rehearsal of motor tasks recruits alpha-motoneurones but fails to recruit human fusimotor neurones selectively.

Gandevia SC, Wilson LR, Inglis JT, Burke D.

Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Prince Henry and Prince of Wales Hospitals, Sydney, NSW, Australia. s.gandevia@unsw.edu.au

1. As mental rehearsal of movements activates multiple cortical areas associated with movement, we assessed whether this increases fusimotor drive and whether enhanced muscle spindle activity could contribute to the improvement in skill that accompanies mental rehearsal. 2. Microneurographic recordings were made from six muscle spindle afferents innervating extensor muscles in the forearm or tibialis anterior, which were selected because their discharge increased during very weak contractions. Activity was monitored while subjects imagined performing a range of activities including simple and complex movements involving the relevant muscles. 3. No activation of muscle spindle afferents occurred during imagined motor tasks without EMG. When the relevant muscles contracted during mental rehearsal, spindle discharge increased, much as in weak contractions. 4. Mental rehearsal increased background EMG in the involved muscles and also increased H reflex amplitude independently of EMG changes. 5. Although there was no evidence for selective fusimotor activation during imagined movement, skeletomotor activity and reflex excitability increased. Similar changes occur with preparation for movement following a cue. It is likely that mental rehearsal usually involves unintentional performance of the planned motor task.

Publication Types:

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

PMID: 9409487 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

PMCID: PMC1160109

26: Neuroimage. 1997 Oct;6(3):201-8.

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Involvement of primary motor cortex in motor imagery: a neuromagnetic study.

Schnitzler A, Salenius S, Salmelin R, Jousmäki V, Hari R.

Low Temperature Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki, FIN-02015 HUT, Finland.

Functional brain imaging studies have indicated that several cortical and subcortical areas active during actual motor performance are also active during imagination or mental rehearsal of movements. Recent evidence shows that the primary motor cortex may also be involved in motor imagery. Using whole-scalp magnetoencephalography, we monitored spontaneous and evoked activity of the somatomotor cortex after right median nerve stimuli in seven healthy right-handed subjects while they kinesthetically imagined or actually executed continuous finger movements. Manipulatory finger movements abolished the poststimulus 20-Hz activity of the motor cortex and markedly affected the somatosensory evoked response. Imagination of manipulatory finger movements attenuated the 20-Hz activity by 27% with respect to the rest level but had no effect on the somatosensory response. Slight constant stretching of the fingers suppressed the 20-Hz activity less than motor imagery. The smallest possible, kinesthetically just perceivable finger movements resulted in slightly stronger attenuation of 20-Hz activity than motor imagery did. The effects were observed in both hemispheres but predominantly contralateral to the performing hand. The attempt to execute manipulatory finger movements under experimentally induced ischemia causing paralysis of the hand also strongly suppressed 20-Hz activity but did not affect the somatosensory evoked response. The results indicate that the primary motor cortex is involved in motor imagery. Both imaginative and executive motor tasks appear to utilize the cortical circuitry generating the somatomotor 20-Hz signal. Copyright 1997 Academic Press.

Publication Types:

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

PMID: 9344824 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

27: J Neurophysiol. 1997 Mar;77(3):1325-37.

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Anatomy of motor learning. II. Subcortical structures and learning by trial and error.

Jueptner M, Frith CD, Brooks DJ, Frackowiak RS, Passingham RE.

Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology, Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom.

We used positron emission tomography to study motor learning by trial and error. Subjects learned sequences of eight finger movements. Tones generated by a computer told the subjects whether any particular move was correct or incorrect. A control condition was used in which the subjects generated moves, but there was no feedback to indicate success or failure, and so on learning occurred. In this condition (free selection) the subjects were required to make a finger movement on each trial and to vary the movements randomly over trials. The subjects had a free choice of which finger to move on any one trial. On this task there was no systematic change in responses over trials and no change in the response times. Two other conditions were included. In one the subjects repetitively moved the same finger on all trials and in a baseline condition the subjects heard the pacing tones and auditory feedback but made no movements. Comparing new learning with the free selection task, there was a small activation in the right prefrontal cortex. This may reflect the fact that in new learning, but not free selection, the subject rehearse past moves and adapt their responses accordingly. The caudate nucleus was strongly activated during new learning. It is suggested that this activity may be related either to mental rehearsal or to reinforcement of the movements as a consequence of the outcomes. The putamen was activated anteriorly on the free selection task and more posteriorly when the subjects repetitively made the same movement. It is suggested that the differences in the location of the peak activation in the striatum may represent the operation of different corticostriatal loops. The cerebellar nuclei (bilaterally) and vermis were more active in the new learning condition than during the performance of the free selection task. There was no difference in the activation of the cerebellum when the free selection task was compared with repetitive performance of the same movement. We tentatively suggest that the basal ganglia may be involved in the specification of movement on the basis of memory of either the movements or the outcomes, but that the cerebellum may be more directly involved in changes in the parameters of movement execution.

Publication Types:

PMID: 9084600 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

28: Behav Brain Res. 1997 Jan;82(2):159-67.

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Task-involvement and ego-involvement goals during actual and imagined movements: their effects on cognitions and vegetative responses.

Thill EE, Bryche D, Poumarat G, Rigoulet N.

Social Psychology of Cognition Laboratory, URA 1719, C.N.R.S., Blaise-Pascal University, Clermont-Ferrand, France.

It has been experimentally proven many times that the mental rehearsal of an activity not only improves motor performance but also has vegetative effects whose magnitude is correlated with the amount of imagined effort. These beneficial effects of mental imagery have been explained in terms of central programming structures capable of anticipating the metabolic demands of the task. Twenty-four subjects were asked to actually perform and also imagine an isometric contraction of the forearm under various goal conditions: a task-involving goal (8 subjects), an ego-involving goal (8 subjects), and no goal (8 subjects). During the contractions, electromyographic potential and heart rate were measured. Afterwards, the subjects were asked to indicate the amount of effort expended under different feedback conditions. The results showed no trace of electromyographic activity during the imagined contractions when the lack of movement was controlled using a force sensor. On the other hand, a significantly faster in heart rate was observed with a task- or ego-involving goal than with no goal, during both actual and imagined contraction. Similarly, as predicted, subjects said they applied less effort in the positive feedback condition, and more effort in the negative feedback condition with an ego-involving goal. The results are discussed in the light of goal theories, while regarding goals not only as serving to anticipate metabolic expenditures but also as promoting a self-image of competence, particularly in threatening, ego-involving situations.

Publication Types:

Clinical Trial

PMID: 9030397 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

29: Prog Behav Modif. 1996;30:137-64.

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Cognitive behavioral strategies in athletic performance enhancement.

Meyers AW, Whelan JP, Murphy SM.

Department of Psychology, Memphis State University, USA.

While we might debate the role of sport in our culture, its influence is certainly pervasive. Each day millions of Americans engage in some form of competition, training, or physical exercise. Such popularity and the value our culture places on competition have made sport a valid area of psychological inquiry. Within the cognitive behavioral model, sport psychology and, specifically, athletic performance enhancement have experienced vigorous growth over the past two decades. Behavior change strategies familiar to most cognitive behaviorists form the core of virtually all athletic performance enhancement interventions. Goal setting, imagery or mental rehearsal, relaxation training, stress management, self-monitoring, self-instruction, cognitive restructuring, and modeling interventions dominate this literature. Our examination of these performance enhancement programs, both through a qualitative review and the Whelan et al. (1989) meta-analysis, supports the efficacy of cognitive behavioral interventions for the enhancement of sport performance. First, the average effect size across the empirical literature indicates that these interventions are reliably effective. Furthermore, this positive result is observed across variations in treatment conditions, control conditions, and across different types of dependent measures. Evidence on goal setting, imagery, arousal management, cognitive self-regulation, and packaged programs specifically support the behavior change efficacy of these interventions. These findings are encouraging, but much work needs to be done. Few investigators cited in this review attend to crucial internal and external validity issues. Attention to treatment integrity, including training of behavior change agents, verification of intervention implementation, and verification of reception of the treatment, is sorely lacking. Psychological skill development and its relationship to performance improvements are rarely checked. Now that cognitive behavioral interventions appear to be reliably effective at posttreatment, we must have meaningful evaluation of maintenance of psychological skill and performance changes. Six-month, 12-month, and longer follow-up evaluations are necessary. We must also begin more detailed evaluations of these effective interventions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Publication Types:

Review

PMID: 7567674 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

30: Percept Mot Skills. 1994 Aug;79(1 Pt 2):627-41.

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Mental rehearsal in table tennis performance.

Lejeune M, Decker C, Sanchez X.

Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Liege, Belgium.

Effects of mental rehearsal were assessed on two measures of table tennis performance, counterattack forehand and counterattack backhand. Mental rehearsal combined with observational and physical techniques (N = 40) appeared to improve table tennis performance both qualitatively and quantitatively. Correlations suggested mental training effects cannot be explained only in terms of visual imagery.

Publication Types:

PMID: 7808903 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

31: Behav Brain Res. 1991 Oct 25;45(1):29-36.

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Relationship between mental imagery and sporting performance.

Deschaumes-Molinaro C, Dittmar A, Vernet-Maury E.

Laboratoire de Physiologie neurosensorielle, CNRS-University Claude Bernard/Lyon, Villeurbanne, France.

Simultaneous measurement of six autonomic nervous system (ANS) variable responses during mental rehearsal of an action, makes it possible to draw a parallel between mental imagery of a task and its actual execution. The experiment was carried out in the field during precision shooting competitions and in the laboratory for imagery activity, on 22 subjects. Results show that there is similarity of ANS response in the three situations: the period of concentration prior to shooting, actual shooting and mental representation of shooting. The ratio formed by ANS response during concentration and imagery of actual firing tends towards the value one, therefore towards some identity. All subjects may be classified around this value; it is worth noting that subject distribution around this value corresponds to performance value. It seems that the better the subject, the closer his concentration/shooting or imagery/actual shooting ratio is to the theoretical value one. These results show the utmost importance of the quality of mental representation for performance improvement. It can be supposed that subject classification above the theoretical value one corresponds to overflowing emotional reactivity in one of the two phases and that this interferes with accuracy; a placing below the theoretical value one shows a lack of similarity between mental representation and the action.

Publication Types:

Case Reports

PMID: 1764202 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

32: Br J Sports Med. 1986 Sep;20(3):103-6.

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An holistic approach to recovery from an overuse injury in a games player.

Nimmo MA, McLean D, Mutrie N, McKenzie S.

The management of a chronic injury to an international squash player is described. By good physiotherapeutic management and the involvement of an interdisciplinary team it was possible to make gains in the non-playing period. The rehabilitation period included physiological assessment on the basis of which a training programme was devised with target goals set throughout the period. Mental rehearsal of skills was included at all stages. As a result, the player's confidence was maintained and fitness levels improved. The long term prognosis has been good. The model could be applied to any sports injury.

Publication Types:

Case Reports

PMID: 3779335 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

PMCID: PMC1478357

: The problem of rehearsal or mental practice.

Mackay DG.

Psychology Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

The present study examines several methodological and conceptual problems which in the past have made it difficult to accept the hypothesis that mental practice facilitates behavioral skill. An experiment on skill in speech production is then reported which overcomes the methodological problems. Subjects practice producing a sentence at maximal rate either mentally (mental practice) or overtly (physical practice) and then produced a transfer sentence which was either related or unrelated. The maximal rate of speech was faster for related than unrelated transfer sentences, and the degree of transfer for the mental and physical practice conditions was equivalent. A theory was developed to explain these results and overcome the conceptual problems outlined in the introduction. Implications of the theory for several related phenomena are discussed: rehearsal, errors in action, automatization, control processes in motor skills, speed-up as a function of practice, the relative advantages of physical vs. mental practice, and the evoked potentials accompanying mental rehearsal of an action.

PMID: 15215074 [PubMed]

34: Percept Mot Skills. 1978 Dec;47(3 Pt 2):1195-9.

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"Inner" darts: effects of mental practice on performance of dart throwing.

Mendoza D, Wichman H.

To explore the effects of mental rehearsal on the performance of a motor skill, 32 college undergraduates were scored on dart-throwing ability and randomly assigned to one of 4 practice conditions: no-practice controls, mental rehearsal only, mental rehearsal with simulated dart-throwing motor movements, and direct physical practice. Following 6 days of mental or physical practice by the experimental groups, the performance level on the dart-throwing task was again measured for all subjects. Comparison of improvement showed statistically significant differences between the groups. Follow-up tests showed that all experimental groups differed significantly from the no-practice group, there were no significant differences between mental practice groups and direct physical practice resulted in improvements significantly higher than any other form of practice.

Publication Types:

PMID: 745897 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

: Psychomotor rehearsal: enhancement of rotary-pursuit tracking using a massed-training procedure.

Sterner RT, Carpp L.

Two groups of male volunteers (n = 8/group) performed 14 10-min. sessions of either alternate 30-sec. rotary-pursuit tracking and rehearsal of tracking or rotary-pursuit tracking and object-slide naming (nonrehearsal). Ten-min. problem-solving tasks separated these sessions. Results showed that subjects in the rotary-pursuit/mental rehearsal group displayed significantly enhanced tracking performance relative to those in the rotary-pursuit/object slide group, i.e., mean time-on-target scores of 12.8 sec. and 8.9 sec. per trial, respectively.

PMID: 840597 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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