Rowe Juliet M, Cramer Brooke C, Boe Shaun G
Laboratory for Brain Recovery and Function, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
School of Physiotherapy, Dalhousie University, Rm 407, 4th Floor Forrest Building 5869 University Avenue, PO Box 15000, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
Psychol Res. 2025 May 28;89(3):104. doi: 10.1007/s00426-025-02138-9.
Recent evidence suggests that motor imagery is insufficient for updating internal models, essential for predicting and refining overt movement outcomes. The covert nature of motor imagery limits exposure to errors, perhaps preventing the updating of internal models. To explore this, 90 participants were exposed to a prism that shifted vision leftward, completing 20 physical pointing trials followed by either 230 more physical pointing trials [physical practice (PP)], 230 imagined pointing trials [physical practice motor imagery (PP-MI)], 230 unrelated task trials [physical practice control (PP-CTRL)], or no further trials [physical practice none (PP-None)]. We hypothesized that if exposure to errors is needed for motor imagery to update internal models, then PP-MI would exhibit aftereffects, characterized by pointing opposite to the prism shift (i.e., rightwards), similar to PP, but differing from PP-CTRL and PP-None. After prism exposure, all groups showed significant aftereffects (PP: 4.73° ± 2.12°, PP-MI: 2.62 ± 1.61, PP-CTRL: 2.58 ± 1.53, PP-None: 3.11 ± 1.68), however there were no significant differences in the magnitude of aftereffects between PP-MI, and PP-CTRL/PP-None. Our findings demonstrate that motor imagery alone is insufficient for updating internal models, even when participants are initially exposed to errors under a prism shift. This further reinforces that motor imagery is not a direct simulation of overt movement, as proposed by Motor Simulation Theory- the foundation for its use in rehabilitation. Deepening our understanding of how learning occurs through motor imagery is crucial for enhancing its effectiveness in practical applications like rehabilitation.
近期证据表明，运动想象不足以更新内部模型，而内部模型对于预测和优化明显的运动结果至关重要。运动想象的隐蔽性限制了对错误的暴露，这可能会阻碍内部模型的更新。为了探究这一点，90名参与者被置于一个使视觉向左偏移的棱镜前，先完成20次实际指向试验，随后进行以下操作之一：再进行230次实际指向试验[实际练习(PP)]、230次想象指向试验[实际练习运动想象(PP-MI)]、230次不相关任务试验[实际练习对照(PP-CTRL)]或不再进行试验[实际练习无(PP-None)]。我们假设，如果运动想象要更新内部模型需要暴露于错误之中，那么PP-MI会表现出后效，其特征是指向与棱镜偏移方向相反（即向右），类似于PP，但与PP-CTRL和PP-None不同。在棱镜暴露后，所有组均显示出显著的后效(PP: 4.73°±2.12°，PP-MI: 2.62±1.61，PP-CTRL: 2.58±1.53，PP-None: 3.11±1.68)，然而PP-MI与PP-CTRL/PP-None之间后效的大小没有显著差异。我们的研究结果表明，即使参与者最初在棱镜偏移下暴露于错误之中，仅靠运动想象也不足以更新内部模型。这进一步强化了运动想象并非如运动模拟理论所提出的那样是对明显运动的直接模拟，而运动模拟理论是其在康复中应用的基础。加深我们对通过运动想象进行学习的理解，对于提高其在康复等实际应用中的有效性至关重要。
