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Journal Articles Experimental Psychology Year : 2014

The Embodied Nature of Motor Imagery Processes Highlighted by Short-Term Limb Immobilization

Abstract

We investigated the embodied nature of motor imagery processes through a recent use-dependent plasticity approach, a short-term limb immobilization paradigm. A splint placed on the participants’ left-hand during a brief period of 24 h was used for immobilization. The immobilized participants performed two mental rotation tasks (a hand mental rotation task and a number mental rotation task) before (pre-test) and immediately after (post-test) the splint removal. The control group did not undergo the immobilization procedure. The main results showed an immobilization-induced effect on left-hand stimuli, resulting in a lack of task-repetition benefit. By contrast, accuracy was higher and response times were shorter for right-hand stimuli. No immobilization-induced effects appeared for number stimuli. These results revealed that the cognitive representation of hand movements can be modified by a brief period of sensorimotor deprivation, supporting the hypothesis of the embodied nature of motor simulation processes.
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hal-02077246 , version 1 (22-03-2019)

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Aurore Meugnot, Yves Almécija, Lucette Toussaint. The Embodied Nature of Motor Imagery Processes Highlighted by Short-Term Limb Immobilization. Experimental Psychology, 2014, 61 (3), pp.180-186. ⟨10.1027/1618-3169/a000237⟩. ⟨hal-02077246⟩
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