Different factors determining Motor Execution and Motor Imagery performance in a serial reaction time task with intrinsic variability

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: de Camargo, Patricia Silva, Cabral-Passos, Paulo Roberto, Helene, André Frazão
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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_version_ 1866909419076321280
author de Camargo, Patricia Silva
Cabral-Passos, Paulo Roberto
Helene, André Frazão
author_facet de Camargo, Patricia Silva
Cabral-Passos, Paulo Roberto
Helene, André Frazão
contents Motor imagery corresponds to the mental practice of simulating visual and kinesthetic aspects of a given motor task. This practice shares a similar neural substrate and correlated temporal scale with motor execution. Besides that, it can lead to performance improvements in the actual execution of the imagined task. Therefore it is important to understand functional differences and equivalences between motor imagery and motor execution. To tackle that we employed a finger-tapping serial reaction time task in two groups of participants, a Motor Execution (n=10) and a Motor imagery (n=10). The sequence of stimuli defining the task had 750 items composed of three distinct auditory stimuli. Also, this sequence had some intrinsic variability making some of the next items unpredictable. Each auditory stimulus was mapped to a single right hand finger in the Motor Imagery group. The Motor imagery group indicated the end of the imagination with a single response using the left hand. The results show improvement in performance of the Motor Imagery group throughout the task and that the duration of the motor imagery, indirectly measured by reaction times, are influenced by distinct factors than those of Motor Execution.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_05319
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Different factors determining Motor Execution and Motor Imagery performance in a serial reaction time task with intrinsic variability
de Camargo, Patricia Silva
Cabral-Passos, Paulo Roberto
Helene, André Frazão
Neurons and Cognition
Quantitative Methods
Motor imagery corresponds to the mental practice of simulating visual and kinesthetic aspects of a given motor task. This practice shares a similar neural substrate and correlated temporal scale with motor execution. Besides that, it can lead to performance improvements in the actual execution of the imagined task. Therefore it is important to understand functional differences and equivalences between motor imagery and motor execution. To tackle that we employed a finger-tapping serial reaction time task in two groups of participants, a Motor Execution (n=10) and a Motor imagery (n=10). The sequence of stimuli defining the task had 750 items composed of three distinct auditory stimuli. Also, this sequence had some intrinsic variability making some of the next items unpredictable. Each auditory stimulus was mapped to a single right hand finger in the Motor Imagery group. The Motor imagery group indicated the end of the imagination with a single response using the left hand. The results show improvement in performance of the Motor Imagery group throughout the task and that the duration of the motor imagery, indirectly measured by reaction times, are influenced by distinct factors than those of Motor Execution.
title Different factors determining Motor Execution and Motor Imagery performance in a serial reaction time task with intrinsic variability
topic Neurons and Cognition
Quantitative Methods
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.05319