Mental Practice of Action

Mental practice refers to use of visuo-motor imagery, or mental imagery with the purpose of improving motor behavior. Visuo-motor imagery requires the use of one’s imagination to simulate an action. It has come to the fore due to the relevance of imagery in enhancing sports performance. Although imagery has been described as a pillar of sport psychology practice, its foundations lie in research from other academic domains, including cognitive science, neurophysiology and even clinical neuropsychology.

The basis for the use of mental practice comes from an array of empirical research that includes chronometric explorations of actual and imagined actions [Decety, J., Jeannerod, M., & Prablanc, C. (1989). The timing of mentally represented actions. Behavioral Brain Research. 34, 35-42.] [Gentili, R., Cahouet, V., Ballay, Y. Papaxanthis, C. (2004). Inertial properties of the arm are accurately predicted during motor imagery. Behavioural Brain Research. 155, 231-239.] . In this mental chronometric paradigm, similarities between the duration times of actual and imagined movement are found, and are considered to reflect motor processes involved in action preparation and programming. Research also demonstrates that there are cases when imagined movement durations are dissimilar when the task is particularly novel such as spring board dives [Reed, C. (2002). Chronometric comparisons of imagery to action: Visualizing versus physically performing springboard dives. Memory & Cognition. 30, 1169-1178.] . There is also an impressive number of studies using functional neuroimaging techniques, such as positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging, that demonstrate that cortical and subcortical regions involved in motor control are activated when an individual mentally simulate an action [Decety, J., & Stevens, J. (2008). Action representation and its role in social interaction. In K.D. Markman, W.M.P. Klein & J.A. Suhr (Eds.), The Handbook of Imagination and Mental Simulation. New York: Psychology Press. ] .

Mental practice has been used to rehabilitate motor deficits in a variety of neurological disorders [Jackson, P.L., Lafleur, M., Malouin, F., Richards, C., & Doyon, J. (2001). Potential role of mental practice using motor imagery in neurologic rehabilitation. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 82, 1133-1141. ] . Mental practice of action seems to improve balance in individuals with multiple sclerosis [Fansler, C. L., Poff, C. L., & Shepard, K. F. (1985). Effects of mental practice on balance in elderly women. Physical Therapy. 65, 1332-1337.] and balance in elderly women (Fansler, Poff, & Shepard, 1985). For instance, mental practice has been used with success in combination with actual practice to rehabilitate motor deficits in a patient with sub-acute stroke [Page, S. J., Levine, P., Sisto, S. A., & Johnston, M. V. (2001). Mental practice combined with physical practice for upper-limb motor deficit in subacute stroke. Physical Therapy. 81, 1455-1462.] .

While the literature has evolved within sport psychology [Morris, T., Spittle, M., & Watt, A. P. (2005). Imagery in sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.] and cognitive neuroscience [Kosslyn, S.M., Thompson, W.L., & Ganis, G. (2006). The Case for Mental Imagery. Oxford: Oxford University Press.] on mental imagery, cross-fertilization of research is still rare. However, a new emerging field called motor cognition, which is concerned with understanding the computational mechanisms and their neural underpinnings associated with action and its functional role in social cognition [Decety, J., & Sommerville, J. (2007). Motor cognition and mental simulation. In S.M. Kosslyn & E. Smith (Eds.), Cognitive Psychology: Mind and Brain (pp. 451-481). New York: Prentice Hall.] , includes imagery within its remit and offers the potential for research at the interface of these two domains. One approach that has emerged is the use of elite participants in the sport context as experts in human movement. This is essentially a paradigmatic shift away from the traditional neuroscience model of studying those with neurological deficits, and augmenting it by studying experts (e.g., athletes). It has been suggested that this paradigm offers great potential for understanding imagery and action [MacIntyre, T., & Moran, A. P. (2007). Motor Cognition and Imagery: Debunking Myths in Applied Sport Psychology. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention, San Francisco, August, 20th] . While the field of motor cognition is embryonic, the parallel field of social cognition has a more developed empirical and theoretical base.

ee also

* Cognitive neuropsychology
* Social cognition
* Motor cognition
* Social neuroscience

elected works

* Caeyenberghs, K., van Roon, D., Swinnen, S.P., & Smits-Engelsman, B.C. (2008). "Deficits in executed and imagined aiming performance in brain-injured children." Brain and Cognition, Epub ahead of time.
* Holmes, P., & Calmels, C. (2008). "A neuroscientific review of imagery and observation use in sport." Journal of Motor Behavior, 40, 433-445.
* Malouin, F., Richards, C.L., Jackson, P.L., Dumas, F., Doyon, J. (2003). "Brain activations during motor imagery of locomotor-related tasks: a PET study." Human Brain Mapping, 19, 47-62.
* Thobois, S., Dominey, P.F., Decety, J., Pollak, P.P., Gregoire, M.C., Le Bars, P.D., & Broussolle, E. (2000). "Motor imagery in normal subjects and in asymmetrical Parkinson's disease: a PET study." Neurology, 55, 996-1002.
* Verbunt, J.A., Seelen, H.A., Ramos, F.P., Michielsen, B.H,, Wetzelaer, W.L., & Moennekens, M. (2008). "Mental practice-based rehabilitation training to improve arm function and daily activity performance in stroke patients: a randomized clinical trial." BMC Neurology, April 11, 8:7.

References