Development of a motor imagery strategy to improve motor skills that have reached a plateau and elucidation of its mechanism

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K19873
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 59010:Rehabilitation science-related
• Research Institution: Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Science
• Principal Investigator: Aoyama Toshiyuki 茨城県立医療大学, 保健医療学部, 准教授 (30516571)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 運動イメージ想起 / 運動観察 / 運動スキル / 経頭蓋磁気刺激

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether motor imagery under optimal task difficulty could further improve motor skills that had reached a plateau, and to further elucidate the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying this improvement. The results showed that motor imagery training while observing at a slightly higher level of motor skills than the subject's own motor skills was more effective in improving motor performance. However, there was no significant difference in corticospinal tract excitability, one of the biomarker of neurophysiological change, between the groups. This suggests that corticospinal tract excitability change is not involved in the improvement of motor skill using this method. Therefore, further investigation including excitability changes in inhibitory neural circuits is needed.

Free Research Field

理学療法学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

リハビリテーションやスポーツのトレーニングにおいて，運動スキルの改善が停滞する場面がある。このことは運動スキルのプラトーと呼ばれるが，有効な解決法は確立されていなかった。本研究により，自身の運動スキルよりもやや高いスキルの運動課題を遂行している場面を観察しながら運動イメージ想起を実施することによって，プラトーに近い運動スキルがさらに改善することが示されことは，リハビリテーションやスポーツのトレーニングにおけるプラトーの問題を解決するための有用な手段として役立つ可能性がある。