O'Shea Helen, Moran Aidan
School of Psychology, University College Dublin Dublin, Ireland.
Front Hum Neurosci. 2017 Feb 17;11:72. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00072. eCollection 2017.
Motor simulation theory (MST; Jeannerod, 2001) purports to explain how various action-related cognitive states relate to actual motor execution. Specifically, it proposes that motor imagery (MI; imagining an action without executing the movements involved) shares certain mental representations and mechanisms with action execution, and hence, activates similar neural pathways to those elicited during the latter process. Furthermore, MST postulates that MI works by rehearsing neural motor systems off-line via a hypothetical simulation process. In this paper, we review evidence cited in support of MST and evaluate its efficacy in understanding the cognitive mechanisms underlying MI. In doing so, we delineate the precise postulates of simulation theory and clarify relevant terminology. Based on our cognitive-level analysis, we argue firstly that the psychological mechanisms underlying MI are poorly understood and require additional conceptual and empirical analysis. In addition, we identify a number of potentially fruitful lines of inquiry for future investigators of MST and MI.
运动模拟理论（MST；让内罗德，2001）旨在解释各种与动作相关的认知状态如何与实际的运动执行相关联。具体而言，该理论提出，运动想象（MI；想象一个动作而不执行其中涉及的动作）与动作执行共享某些心理表征和机制，因此，会激活与后者过程中引发的神经通路相似的神经通路。此外，MST假设MI通过一个假设的模拟过程离线排练神经运动系统来发挥作用。在本文中，我们回顾了支持MST的证据，并评估其在理解MI背后的认知机制方面的功效。在此过程中，我们阐述了模拟理论的确切假设，并澄清了相关术语。基于我们的认知层面分析，我们首先认为，对MI背后的心理机制了解不足，需要更多的概念和实证分析。此外，我们为MST和MI的未来研究者确定了一些可能富有成果的研究方向。
