Department of Psychology, University of Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany.
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3UD, Oxford, UK.
Sci Rep. 2017 Oct 18;7(1):13430. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-13795-1.
Imagery plays an important role in our life. Motor imagery is the mental simulation of a motor act without overt motor output. Previous studies have documented the effect of motor imagery practice. However, its translational potential for patients as well as for athletes, musicians and other groups, depends largely on the transfer from mental practice to overt physical performance. We used bilateral transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over sensorimotor areas to modulate neural lateralization patterns induced by unilateral mental motor imagery and the performance of a physical motor task. Twenty-six healthy older adults participated (mean age = 67.1 years) in a double-blind cross-over sham-controlled study. We found stimulation-related changes at the neural and behavioural level, which were polarity-dependent. Specifically, for the hand contralateral to the anode, electroencephalographic activity induced by motor imagery was more lateralized and motor performance improved. In contrast, for the hand contralateral to the cathode, hemispheric lateralization was reduced. The stimulation-related increase and decrease in neural lateralization were negatively related. Further, the degree of stimulation-related change in neural lateralization correlated with the stimulation-related change on behavioural level. These convergent neurophysiological and behavioural effects underline the potential of tDCS to improve mental and physical motor performance.
表象在我们的生活中扮演着重要的角色。运动表象是在没有明显运动输出的情况下对运动行为的心理模拟。先前的研究已经记录了运动表象练习的效果。然而，其在患者以及运动员、音乐家和其他群体中的转化潜力在很大程度上取决于从心理练习到明显的身体表现的转移。我们使用双侧经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）来调节由单侧运动表象和物理运动任务引起的感觉运动区的神经偏侧化模式。26 名健康的老年人（平均年龄 67.1 岁）参与了一项双盲交叉假对照研究。我们发现了与刺激相关的神经和行为水平的变化，这些变化是极性依赖的。具体来说，对于与阳极相对应的手，由运动表象引起的脑电图活动更加偏侧化，运动表现得到改善。相比之下，对于与阴极相对应的手，半球偏侧化减少。刺激相关的神经偏侧化的增加和减少呈负相关。此外，神经偏侧化的刺激相关变化程度与行为水平的刺激相关变化程度相关。这些神经生理学和行为学效应的一致性强调了 tDCS 改善心理和身体运动表现的潜力。
