Lutz Rafer S
Department of HHPR, Baylor University, P.O. Box 97313, Waco, TX 76798-7313, USA.
Behav Brain Res. 2003 Mar 18;140(1-2):149-63. doi: 10.1016/s0166-4328(02)00313-3.
Two studies were conducted in an attempt to examine inflow and outflow processing by examining covert muscle excitation during motor imagery (MI) and its correlation with motor task performance. Examining 80 novice dart throwers in Experiment 1, MI produced greater levels of covert excitation at the dominant biceps in comparison to control imagery (CI). In addition, covert excitation correlated significantly with imagery ability and imagery vividness. This excitation, however, did not predict motor task acquisition or retention. Experiment 2 attempted to manipulate pre-imagery relaxation states by giving 104 novice dart performers a relaxation task or a distraction task before imagery sessions. MI resulted in improved task retention and resulted in significantly greater covert muscle excitation at the frontalis in comparison to CI. The relaxation condition, however, did not yield greater levels of muscular relaxation in comparison to the distraction condition, and did not yield greater imagery vividness or motor performance. Finally, covert muscle excitation did not predict motor acquisition or retention error. Results suggest that covert excitation is a byproduct of the central generation of the image that does not relate meaningfully to motor skill acquisition or retention gains.
进行了两项研究，试图通过检查运动想象（MI）期间的隐蔽肌肉兴奋及其与运动任务表现的相关性来研究输入和输出处理。在实验1中，对80名新手飞镖投掷者进行检查，与对照想象（CI）相比，运动想象在优势二头肌处产生了更高水平的隐蔽兴奋。此外，隐蔽兴奋与想象能力和想象生动性显著相关。然而，这种兴奋并不能预测运动任务的习得或保持。实验2试图通过在想象训练前给104名新手飞镖表演者一个放松任务或一个分心任务来操纵想象前的放松状态。与对照想象相比，运动想象导致任务保持得到改善，并且在前额肌处产生了显著更高的隐蔽肌肉兴奋。然而，与分心条件相比，放松条件并没有产生更高水平的肌肉放松，也没有产生更高的想象生动性或运动表现。最后，隐蔽肌肉兴奋并不能预测运动习得或保持误差。结果表明，隐蔽兴奋是图像中枢生成的副产品，与运动技能的习得或保持提高没有有意义的关联。
