0000000000009091
AUTHOR
Charalambos Papaxanthis
Does order and timing in performance of imagined and actual movements affect the motor imagery process? The duration of walking and writing task.
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects on the duration of imagined movements of changes in timing and order of performance of actual and imagined movement. Two groups of subjects had to actually execute and imagine a walking and a writing task. The first group first executed 10 trials of the actual movements (block A) and then imagined the same movements at different intervals: immediately after actual movements (block I-1) and after 25 min (I-2), 50 min (I-3) and 75 min (I-4) interval. The second group first imagined and then actually executed the tasks. The duration of actual and imagined movements, recorded by means of an electronic stopwatch operated by the subj…
Motor cortical plasticity induced by motor learning through mental practice
Several investigations suggest that actual and mental actions trigger similar neural substrates. Motor learning via physical practice results in long-term potentiation (LTP)-like plasticity processes, namely potentiation of M1 and a temporary occlusion of additional LTP-like plasticity. However, whether this neuroplasticity process contributes to improve motor performance through mental practice remains to be determined. Here, we tested skill learning-dependent changes in primary motor cortex (M1) excitability and plasticity by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation in subjects trained to physically execute or mentally perform a sequence of finger opposition movements. Before and after …
Motor planning of arm movements is direction-dependent in the gravity field.
International audience; In the present study we analyzed kinematic and dynamic features of arm movements in order to better elucidate how the motor system integrates environmental constraints (gravity) into motor planning and control processes. To reach this aim, we experimentally manipulated the mechanical effects of gravity on the arm while maintaining arm inertia constant (i.e. the distribution of the mass around the shoulder joint). Six subjects performed single-joint arm movements (rotation around the shoulder joint) in both sagittal (upward, U, versus downward, D) and horizontal (left, L, versus right, R) planes, at different amplitudes and from different initial positions. Under thes…
Effect of mental fatigue on speed–accuracy trade-off
International audience; The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mental fatigue on the duration of actual and imagined goal-directed arm movements involving speed-accuracy trade-off. Ten participants performed actual and imagined point-to-point arm movements as accurately and as fast as possible, before and after a 90-min sustained cognitive task inducing mental fatigue, and before and after viewing a neutral control task (documentary movie) that did not induce mental fatigue. Target width and center-to-center target distance were varied, resulting in five different indexes of difficulty. Prior to mental fatigue, actual and imagined movement duration increased with the diffic…
Aging Affects the Mental Rotation of Left and Right Hands
BACKGROUND:Normal aging significantly influences motor and cognitive performance. Little is known about age-related changes in action simulation. Here, we investigated the influence of aging on implicit motor imagery. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Twenty young (mean age: 23.9+/-2.8 years) and nineteen elderly (mean age: 78.3+/-4.5 years) subjects, all right-handed, were required to determine the laterality of hands presented in various positions. To do so, they mentally rotated their hands to match them with the hand-stimuli. We showed that: (1) elderly subjects were affected in their ability to implicitly simulate movements of the upper limbs, especially those requiring the largest amplit…
Motor planning of vertical arm movements in healthy older adults: does effort optimization persist with aging?
AbstractSeveral sensorimotor modifications are known to occur with aging, possibly leading to adverse outcomes such as falls. Recently, some of those modifications have been proposed to emerge from motor planning deteriorations. Motor planning of vertical movements is thought to engage an internal model of gravity to anticipate its mechanical effects on the body-limbs and thus to genuinely produce movements that minimize muscle effort. This is supported, amongst other results, by direction-dependent kinematics where relative durations to peak accelerations and peak velocity are shorter for upward than for downward movements. The present study compares motor planning of fast and slow vertica…
Mental representation of arm motion dynamics in children and adolescents.
International audience; Motor imagery, i.e., a mental state during which an individual internally represents an action without any overt motor output, is a potential tool to investigate action representation during development. Here, we took advantage of the inertial anisotropy phenomenon to investigate whether children can generate accurate motor predictions for movements with varying dynamics. Children (9 and 11 years), adolescents (14 years) and young adults (21 years) carried-out actual and mental arm movements in two different directions in the horizontal plane: rightwards (low inertia) and leftwards (high inertia). We recorded and compared actual and mental movement times. We found th…
Hand trajectories of vertical arm movements in one- G and zero- G environments
The purpose of the present experiment was to study the way in which the central nervous system (CNS), represents gravitational force during vertical arm pointing movements. Movements in upward (against gravity) and downward (with gravity) directions, with two different mass loads (hand empty and with a hand-held 0.5-kg weight) were executed by eight subjects in a normal gravitational environment. Movements by two cosmonauts, in the two directions, were also tested in a state of weightlessness. Analyses focused upon finger trajectories in the saggital plane. Subjects in a normal gravitational environment showed curved paths for both directions and weight conditions. In addition, downward mov…
Hand trajectory formation during whole body reaching movements in man.
End-effector trajectory formation was studied during a reaching movement using the whole body. The movements of various parts of the body were measured with the optoelectronic ELITE system. Wrist reaching movement paths showed noticeable curvatures. The analysis of various marker onset latencies revealed that the wrist was the last to move, always after the head, knee or trunk, suggesting a subordinate role of the focal component with respect to the primary role of the equilibrium component. These results suggest that reaching wrist movements are subjected to whole-body equilibrium constraints in addition to constraints placed upon end-effector kinematics or the dynamic optimization of uppe…
Effects of movement direction upon kinematic characteristics of vertical arm pointing movements in man
Vertical arm pointing movements in two directions (upwards and downwards), imposing two different loads (unload and 0.5 kg) and speeds (normal and fast) have been studied in six subjects. Movements were recorded using an optoelectronic system. Data analysis concentrated upon finger-tip kinematics. Significant effects of movement direction were recorded upon velocity profiles. The acceleration time, computed relative to total movement time, was greater for downward movements than for upward movements. In contrast however, no effects of load or speed were observed. Movement time was not affected by movement direction or load, for both speeds tested. These results suggest different planning pr…
Comparison of actual and imagined execution of whole-body movements after a long exposure to microgravity
Five cosmonauts were tested 30 days before a six-month space flight and also on the 2nd and the 6th day after their return to Earth. Cosmonauts performed and imagined a task that involved climbing two stairs to step onto a platform, jumping down with both feet and walking normally for a distance of 4 m. Durations of actual and imagined movements were measured by an electronic stopwatch. Results indicated that cosmonauts performed actual and imagined movements with similar durations before and after the space flight. However, the 2nd day after their return to Earth, cosmonauts significantly increased the durations of both actual and imagined movements. The durations of the imagined and actua…
Smart switching in feedforward control of grip force during manipulation of elastic objects
AbstractSwitching systems are common in artificial control systems. Here, we suggest that the brain adopts a switched feedforward control of grip forces during manipulation of objects. We measured how participants modulated grip force when interacting with soft and rigid virtual springs when stiffness varied nearly continuously between trials. We identified a sudden phase transition between two forms of feedforward control that differed in the timing of the synchronization between the anticipated load force and the applied grip force. The switch occurred several trials after a threshold stiffness level. These results suggest that in the control of grip force, the brain acts as a switching c…
Motor imagery
International audience; Before participating in a space mission, astronauts undergo parabolic-flight and underwater training to facilitate their subsequent adaptation to weightlessness. Unfortunately, similar training methods can't be used to prepare re adaptation to planetary gravity. Here, we propose a quick, simple and inexpensive approach that could be used to prepare astronauts both for the absence and for the renewed presence of gravity. This approach is based on motor imagery (MI), a process in which actions are produced in working memory without any overt output. Training protocols based on MI have repeatedly been shown to modify brain circuitry and to improve motor performance in h…
Muscle fatigue affects mental simulation of action.
International audience; Several studies suggest that when subjects mentally rehearse or execute a familiar action, they engage similar neural and cognitive operations. Here, we examined whether muscle fatigue could influence mental movements. Participants mentally and actually performed a sequence of vertical arm movements (rotation around the shoulder joint) before and after a fatiguing exercise involving the right arm. We found similar durations for actual and mental movements before fatigue, but significant temporal discrepancies after fatigue. Specifically, mental simulation was accelerated immediately after fatigue, while the opposite was observed for actual execution. Furthermore, act…
Sensorimotor adaptation of point-to-point arm movements after spaceflight: the role of internal representation of gravity force in trajectory planning.
International audience; After an exposure to weightlessness, the central nervous system operates under new dynamic and sensory contexts. To find optimal solutions for rapid adaptation, cosmonauts have to decide whether parameters from the world or their body have changed and to estimate their properties. Here, we investigated sensorimotor adaptation after a spaceflight of 10 days. Five cosmonauts performed forward point-to-point arm movements in the sagittal plane 40 days before and 24 and 72 h after the spaceflight. We found that, whereas the shape of hand velocity profiles remained unaffected after the spaceflight, hand path curvature significantly increased 1 day after landing and return…
Prolonged exposure to microgravity modifies limb endpoint kinematics during the swing phase of human walking
Many neurophysiological and behavioural studies suggested that the lower limb endpoint might be a centrally represented variable within the gravity reference frame and effectively controlled during the locomotion. This investigation examines the effects of prolonged exposure to microgravity upon lower limb endpoint kinematics. Seven cosmonauts were tested before and the 2nd day after a 6 month orbital mission. The spatio-temporal patterns of the limb extremity (malleolus) were analysed during the swing phase of the walk using a motion analysis system. Paths and velocity profiles of endpoint displacements were computed and compared for both the pre- and post-flight walking sessions. The resu…
Frontoparietal cortex and cerebellum contribution to the update of actual and mental motor performance during the day
AbstractActual and imagined movement speed increases from early morning until mid-afternoon. Here, we investigated the neural correlates of these daily changes. Fifteen subjects performed actual and imagined right finger opposition movement sequences at 8 am and 2 pm. Both actual and imagined movements were significantly faster at 2 pm than 8 am. In the morning, actual movements significantly activated the left primary somatosensory and motor areas, and bilaterally the cerebellum; in the afternoon activations were similar but reduced. Contrast analysis revealed greater activity in the cerebellum, the left primary sensorimotor cortex and parietal lobe in the morning than in the afternoon. Im…
Neurophysiological insights on flexibility improvements through motor imagery
International audience; The efficacy of motor imagery (MI) practice to facilitate muscle stretching remains controversial and the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms unexplored. We evaluated the effects of MI practice during a sit-and reach task. Healthy participants were randomly assigned to a MI practice (n = 15) or Control (n = 15) group and completed 2 blocks of 5 sit-and-reach trials. During the first block (B1), participants performed 5 maximal stretching trials of 10s. During the second block (B2), trials were divided into two consecutive parts: i) reproducing the maximum performance of B1 (10s, B2 part 1), and ii) attempting to outperform the maximum performance of B1 (10s, B2 …
Similar planning strategies for whole-body and arm movements performed in the sagittal plane
The present paper looks for kinematic similarities between whole-body and arm movements executed in the sagittal plane. Eight subjects performed sit-to-stand (STS) and back-to-sit (BTS) movements at their preferred speed in the sagittal plane. Kinematics analysis focused on shoulder motion revealed that STS was composed of a straight, forward displacement followed by a curved, upward displacement while BTS was characterized by a curved, downward and straight, backward displacement. Curvature of the upward displacement was significantly greater than the downward one. Analysis of shoulder-velocity profiles showed that movement duration was significantly longer for BTS compared with STS and th…
Daily modulation of the speed–accuracy trade-off
International audience; Goal-oriented arm movements are characterized by a balance between speed and accuracy. The relation between speed and accuracy has been formalized by Fitts’ law and predicts a linear increase in movement duration with task constraints. Up to now this relation has been investigated on a short-time scale only, that is during a single experimental session, although chronobiological studies report that the motor system is shaped by circadian rhythms. Here, we examine whether the speed–accuracy trade-off could vary during the day. Healthy adults carried out arm-pointing movements as accurately and fast as possible toward targets of different sizes at various hours of the …
Changes in cortico-spinal excitability following uphill versus downhill treadmill exercise
International audience; An acute bout of aerobic exercise induces neuroplasticity in the motor cortex. Moreover, paired associative stimulation (PAS) is known to induce neuroplasticity in M1. However, the possible influence of the type of exercise on the neuroplastic changes remains unknown. The present study investigated the effects of two different modes of muscle contraction produced during locomotor exercise on changes in corticospinal (CS) excitability. Subjects performed two 30-min treadmill exercises at an intensity corresponding to 60% of their maximal heart rate with either a +10% (uphill) or -10% (downhill) slope. These exercises were followed or not by paired associative stimulat…
Improvement and generalization of arm motor performance through motor imagery practice
This study compares the improvement and generalization of arm motor performance after physical or mental training in a motor task requiring a speed-accuracy tradeoff. During the pre- and post-training sessions, 40 subjects pointed with their right arm as accurately and as fast as possible toward targets placed in the frontal plane. Arm movements were performed in two different workspaces called right and left paths. During the training sessions, which included only the right path, subjects were divided into four training groups (n = 10): (i) the physical group, subjects overtly performed the task; (ii) the mental group, subjects imagined themselves performing the task; (iii) the active cont…
Visual gravity influences arm movement planning.
International audience; When submitted to a visuomotor rotation, subjects show rapid adaptation of visually guided arm reaching movements, indicated by a progressive reduction in reaching errors. In this study, we wanted to make a step forward by investigating to what extent this adaptation also implies changes into the motor plan. Up to now, classical visuomotor rotation paradigms have been performed on the horizontal plane, where the reaching motor plan in general requires the same kinematics (i.e., straight path and symmetric velocity profile). To overcome this limitation, we considered vertical and horizontal movement directions requiring specific velocity profiles. This way, a change i…
Mentally Simulated Motor Actions in Children
The present study investigated the effects of age and arm preference on motor imagery ability. Children (groups: 6.5, 8.3, and 10.1 years) and young adults (22.4 years) physically or mentally performed a drawing motor task with the right or the left arm. Imagery ability, accessed by the timing correspondence between executed and imagined movements, was poor at 6 and 8 years but improved at age 10, and was robust in adults. The arm condition had no influence on imagery ability. We suggest that maturation of parietal and prefrontal cortices during development may contribute to improvement of action representation.
Motor learning without doing: trial-by-trial improvement in motor performance during mental training.
Although there is converging experimental and clinical evidences suggesting that mental training with motor imagery can improve motor performance, it is unclear how humans can learn movements through mental training despite the lack of sensory feedback from the body and the environment. In a first experiment, we measured the trial-by-trial decrease in durations of executed movements (physical training group) and mentally simulated movements (motor-imagery training group), by means of training on a multiple-target arm-pointing task requiring high accuracy and speed. Movement durations were significantly lower in posttest compared with pretest after both physical and motor-imagery training. …
Elderly adults delay proprioceptive reweighting during the anticipation of collision avoidance when standing.
The ability to reweight visual and proprioceptive information is critical for maintaining postural stability in a dynamic environment. In this study, we examined whether visual anticipation of collision avoidance (AV) while standing could facilitate the down-weighting of altered proprioception in young and elderly adults. Twelve young (24.91 ± 6.44 years) and 12 elderly (74.8 ± 6.42 years) participants stood upright for 180 s under two task conditions: (a) quiet stance (QS) and (b) standing while anticipating virtual objects to be avoided. In order to disrupt the accuracy of proprioceptive input participants were exposed to bilateral Achilles tendon vibration during the middle 60 s of stand…
Decline in motor prediction in elderly subjects: right versus left arm differences in mentally simulated motor actions.
This study investigates the effects of age upon the temporal features of executed and imagined movements performed with the dominant (D; right) and nondominant (ND; left) arms. Thirty right-handed subjects were divided into two groups: (i) the young group (n=15; mean age: 22.5+/-2.5 years) and (ii) the elderly group (n=15; mean age: 70.2+/-2.2 years). The motor task, involving arm pointing movements among four pairs of targets (.5cm, 1cm, 1.5cm and 2cm), imposed strong spatiotemporal constraints. During overt performance, young and elderly subjects modulated movement duration according to the size of targets, despite the fact that movement speed decreased with age as well as in the left arm…
Corticospinal Modulations during Motor Imagery of Concentric, Eccentric, and Isometric Actions
PURPOSE It is not known yet whether the neurophysiological specificity of eccentric, concentric, and isometric contractions can also be observed when these are mentally simulated. Therefore, our aim was to assess corticospinal excitability during motor imagery (MI) of different contraction types and to test whether a passive movement during MI could have additional effects. METHODS Twelve young participants imagined contractions of the wrist flexors, firstly with the arm motionless (static mode) and second, with a congruent passive movement (wrist extension during eccentric MI and wrist flexion during concentric MI). Motor-evoked potentials (MEP) and H-reflexes were elicited in flexor carpi…
Arm end-point trajectories under normal and micro-gravity environments.
Abstract The purpose of the present experiment was to study the way in which the CNS represents gravitational force during vertical arm pointing movements. Movements in upward and downward directions were executed by two cosmonauts in normal-gravity and weightlessness. Analyses focused upon finger kinematics in the sagittal plane. In normal-gravity, downward direction movements showed smaller curvatures and greater relative times to peak velocity ( AT MT ) when compared with upward direction movements. Data from the weightlessness experiments showed that whilst downward movements decreased their curvature during space flight, curvatures of upward movements changed slightly. Furthermore, AT …
Spinal plasticity with motor imagery practice.
KEY POINTS: While a consensus has now been reached on the effect of motor imagery (MI) – the mental simulation of an action – on motor cortical areas, less is known about its impact on spinal structures. The current study, using H‐reflex conditioning paradigms, examined the effect of a 20 min MI practice on several spinal mechanisms of the plantar flexor muscles. We observed modulations of spinal presynaptic circuitry while imagining, which was even more pronounced following an acute session of MI practice. We suggested that the small cortical output generated during MI may reach specific spinal circuits and that repeating MI may increase the sensitivity of the spinal cord to its effects. T…
Inertial properties of the arm are accurately predicted during motor imagery
Abstract In the present study, using the mental chronometry paradigm, we examined the hypothesis that during motor imagery the brain uses a forward internal model of arm inertial properties to predict the motion of the arm in different dynamic states. Seven subjects performed overt and covert arm movements with one (motion around the shoulder joint) and two (motion around both the shoulder and elbow joints) degrees of freedom in the horizontal plane. Arm movements were executed under two loading conditions: without and with an added mass (4 kg) attached to the subject’s right wrist. Additionally, movements were performed in two different directions, condition which implies changes in the ar…
Direction-dependent activation of the insular cortex during vertical and horizontal hand movements
International audience; The planning of any motor action requires a complex multisensory processing by the brain. Gravity - immutable on Earth - has been shown to be a key input to these mechanisms. Seminal fMRI studies performed during visual perception of falling objects and self-motion demonstrated that humans represent the action of gravity in parts of the cortical vestibular system; in particular, the insular cortex and the cerebellum. However, little is known as to whether a specific neural network is engaged when processing non-visual signals relevant to gravity. We asked participants to perform vertical and horizontal hand movements without visual control, while lying in a 3T-MRI sc…
Mentally represented motor actions in normal aging. I. Age effects on the temporal features of overt and covert execution of actions.
The present study examines the temporal features of overt and covert actions as a function of normal aging. In the first experiment, we tested three motor tasks (walking, sit-stand-sit, arm pointing) that did not imply any particular spatiotemporal constraints, and we compared the duration of their overt and covert execution in three different groups of age (mean ages: 22.5, 66.2 and 73.4 years). We found that the ability of generating motor images did not differentiate elderly subjects from young subjects. Precisely, regarding overt and covert durations, subjects presented similarities for the walking and pointing tasks and dissimilarities for the stand-sit-stand task. Furthermore, the tim…
Laterality effects in motor learning by mental practice in right-handers.
Converging evidences suggest that mental movement simulation and actual movement production share similar neurocognitive and learning processes. Although a large body of data is available in the literature regarding mental states involving the dominant arm, examinations for the nondominant arm are sparse. Does mental training, through motor-imagery practice, with the dominant arm or the nondominant arm is equally efficient for motor learning? In the current study, we investigated laterality effects in motor learning by motor-imagery practice. Four groups of right-hander adults mentally and physically performed as fast and accurately as possible (speed/accuracy trade-off paradigm) successive…
Modular Control of Pointing beyond Arm's Length
Hand reaching and bipedal equilibrium are two important functions of the human motor behavior. However, how the brain plans goal-oriented actions combining target reaching with equilibrium regulation is not yet clearly understood. An important question is whether postural control and reaching are integrated in one single module or controlled separately. Here, we show that postural control and reaching motor commands are processed by means of a modular and flexible organization. Principal component and correlation analyses between pairs of angles were used to extract global and local coupling during a whole-body pointing beyond arm's length. A low-dimensional organization of the redundant ki…
Mentally represented motor actions in normal aging: III. Electromyographic features of imagined arm movements.
Abstract Motor imagery is a cognitive process during which subjects mentally simulate movements without actually performing them. Here, we investigated the temporal and electromyographic (EMG) features of imagined arm movements in healthy elderly adults. Twelve young (mean age: 24.0 ± 1.3 years) and 12 elderly (mean age: 67.0 ± 4.5 years) participants executed and mentally simulated, with their right and left arms and as fast and as accurately as possible, arm pointing movements between three targets located in the frontal plane. We used the mental chronometry paradigm as an indicator of the accuracy of the motor imagery process (i.e. isochrony between executed and imagined movements) and t…
The Temporal Structure of Vertical Arm Movements
Import JabRef | WosArea Life Sciences and Biomedicine - Other Topics; International audience; The present study investigates how the CNS deals with the omnipresent force of gravity during arm motor planning. Previous studies have reported direction-dependent kinematic differences in the vertical plane; notably, acceleration duration was greater during a downward than an upward arm movement. Although the analysis of acceleration and deceleration phases has permitted to explore the integration of gravity force, further investigation is necessary to conclude whether feedforward or feedback control processes are at the origin of this incorporation. We considered that a more detailed analysis of…
Modèles internes et imagerie motrice
L’imagerie motrice (IM) est la representation mentale d’une action, sans production concomitante de mouvement. Les techniques d’enregistrement et de stimulation du systeme nerveux central ont montre au cours de ces trois dernieres decennies que l’IM partageait des sites d’activation corticale et sous-corticale avec l’action reellement executee. Cette similitude, sans pour autant etre parfaitement identique, se retrouve aussi dans les activations peripheriques nerveuses et vegetatives. De plus, le travail mental est un element facilitateur de l’apprentissage, favorisant l’amelioration de la performance. Certains courants de pensee attribuent les mecanismes sous-jacents de l’IM et les benefic…
The representation of gravitational force during drawing movements of the arm
The purpose of the present experiment was to study the way in which the central nervous system (CNS) represents gravitational force (GF) during vertical drawing movements of the arm. Movements in four different directions: (a) upward vertical (0 degrees), (b) upward oblique (45 degrees), (c) downward vertical (180 degrees) and (d) downward oblique (135 degrees), and at two different speeds, normal and fast, were executed by nine subjects. Data analysis focused upon arm movement kinematics in the frontal plane and gravitational torques (GTs) exerted around the shoulder joint. Regardless of movement direction, subjects showed straight-line paths for both speed conditions. In addition, movemen…
Interhemispheric inhibition is dynamically regulated during action observation
International audience; It is now well established that the motor system plays a pivotal role in action observation and that the neurophysiological processes underlying perception and action overlaps. However, while various experiments have shown a specific facilitation of the contralateral motor cortex during action observation, no information is available concerning the dynamics of interhemispheric interactions. The aim of the present study was, therefore, to assess interhemispheric inhibition during the observation of others' actions. We designed a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) experiment in which we measured both corticospinal excitability and interhemispheric inhibition, this…
Application of intermittent galvanic vestibular stimulation reveals age-related constraints in the multisensory reweighting of posture
In this study we examined the effects of intermittent short-duration Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS) during a multisensory perturbation of posture in young and elderly adults. Twelve young (24.91 +/- 6.44 years) and eleven elderly (74.8 +/- 6.42 years) participants stood upright under two task conditions: (a) quiet standing and (b) standing while receiving pseudo-randomly presented bipolar 2 s GVS pulses. In both conditions, sensory reweighting was evoked by visual surround oscillations (20 cm, 0.3 Hz) and Achilles tendon vibration (3 mm, 80 Hz), concurrently delivered during the middle 60 s of standing. Intermittent GVS decreased the excessive postural sway induced by the concurrent …
Action Representation in Patients with Bilateral Vestibular Impairments
During mental actions subjects feel themselves performing a movement without any corresponding motor output. Although broad information is available regarding the influence of central lesions on action representation, little is known about how peripheral damages affect mental events. In the current study, we investigated whether lack of vestibular information influences action representation. Twelve healthy adults and twelve patients with bilateral vestibular damage actually performed and mentally simulated walking and drawing. The locomotor paths implied one (first walking task) and four (second walking task) changes in the walking direction. In the drawing task, participants drew on a she…
The influence of eye movements on the temporal features of executed and imagined arm movements.
The very close coordination between eye and hand indicates that eye movements are parts of the neural processes underlying the planning and control of arm movements. Eye movements are fundamental during observed actions and play a functional role in visual mental imagery. However, the role of eye movements during imagined actions is still unknown. Here, we report the timing features of eye and arm pointing movements for nine healthy participants in four conditions: Executed movements with orientation saccades (Eyes Free) or with no saccades (Eyes Motionless), and Imagined movements with Eyes Free or with Eyes Motionless. The first result was a facilitation effect of saccades upon both execu…
Temporal features of imagined locomotion in normal aging.
Motor imagery is the ability to mentally simulate a movement without executing it. Previous investigations have reported a deterioration of this ability during complex arm movements in aged adults. In the present study, we aimed to extend these findings by investigating the temporal features of imagined precision gait in healthy elderly adults. Locomotion is a unique example of imagined movement because it involves simulated full-body movement and the concurrent updating of environmental spatial information. Nine young and nine older adults actually or mentally walked (walking distance: 5m) along three paths having different widths (15cm, 25cm, and 50cm). The narrowest path required balance…
Initial information prior to movement onset influences kinematics of upward arm pointing movements
International audience; To elaborate a motor plan and perform online control in the gravity field, the brain relies on priors and multisensory integration of information. In particular, afferent and efferent inputs related to the initial state are thought to convey sensorimotor information to plan the upcoming action. Yet it is still unclear to what extent these cues impact motor planning. Here we examined the role of initial information on the planning and execution of arm movements. Participants performed upward arm movements around the shoulder at three speeds and in two arm conditions. In the first condition, the arm was outstretched horizontally and required a significant muscular comm…
Does a Mental Training Session Induce Neuromuscular Fatigue?
ROZAND, V., F. LEBON, C. PAPAXANTHIS, and R. LEPERS. Does a Mental Training Session Induce Neuromuscular Fatigue? Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 46, No. 10, pp. 1981–1989, 2014. Mental training, as physical training, enhances muscle strength. Whereas the repetition of maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) induces neuromuscular fatigue, the effect of maximal imagined contractions (MIC) on neuromuscular fatigue remains unknown. Here, we investigated neuromuscular alterations after a mental training session including MIC, a physical training session including MVC, and a combined training session including both MIC and MVC of the elbow flexor muscles. Methods: Ten participants performed 80 MIC (d…
Discrete and effortful imagined movements do not specifically activate the autonomic nervous system.
International audience; BACKGROUND: The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is activated in parallel with the motor system during cyclical and effortful imagined actions. However, it is not clear whether the ANS is activated during motor imagery of discrete movements and whether this activation is specific to the movement being imagined. Here, we explored these topics by studying the baroreflex control of the cardiovascular system. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Arterial pressure and heart rate were recorded in ten subjects who executed or imagined trunk or leg movements against gravity. Trunk and leg movements result in different physiological reactions (orthostatic hypotension phenomenon) whe…
Discovering the Discriminating Power in Patient Test Features Using Visual Analytics: A Case Study in Parkinson’s Disease
Part 11: New Methods and Tools for Big Data Wokshop (MT4BD); International audience; This paper presents a novel methodology for selecting the most representative features for identifying the presence of the Parkinson’s Disease (PD). The proposed methodology is based on interactive visual analytic based on multi-objective optimisation. The implemented tool processes and visualises the information extracted via performing a typical line-tracking test using a tablet device. Such output information includes several modalities, such as position, velocity, dynamics, etc. Preliminary results depict that the implemented visual analytics technique has a very high potential in discriminating the PD …
Kinematic features of movement tunes perception and action coupling
How do we extrapolate the final position of hand trajectory that suddenly vanishes behind a wall? Studies showing maintenance of cortical activity after objects in motion disappear suggest that internal model of action may be recalled to reconstruct the missing part of the trajectory. Although supported by neurophysiological and brain imaging studies, behavioural evidence for this hypothesis is sparse. Further, in humans, it is unknown if the recall of internal model of action at motion observation can be tuned with kinematic features of movement. Here, we propose a novel experiment to address this question. Each stimulus consisted of a dot moving either upwards or downwards, and correspond…
The sensorimotor and cognitive integration of gravity.
In order to demonstrate that gravity is not only a load acting locally and continuously on the body limbs, but is also used by higher levels of the nervous system as a dynamic orienting reference for the elaboration of the motor act, a review of several experiments conducted both in 1 g and 0 g are presented. During various locomotor tasks, the strategy that consists of stabilizing the head with respect to gravity illustrates one of the solutions used by the CNS to optimize the control of dynamic equilibrium. A question which remains to be solved when considering experimental results obtained in weightlessness concerns, however, the maintenance of motor schema that has evolved under normal …
Kinematic and dynamic processes for the control of pointing movements in humans revealed by short-term exposure to microgravity.
The generation of accurate motor commands requires implicit knowledge of both limb and environmental dynamics. The action of gravity on moving limb segments must be taken into account within the motor command, and may affect the limb trajectory chosen to accomplish a given motor task. Exactly how the CNS deals with these gravitoinertial forces remains an open question. Does the CNS measure gravitational forces directly, or are they accommodated in the motor plan by way of internal models of physical laws? In this study five male subjects participated. We measured kinematic and dynamic parameters of upward and downward arm movements executed at two different speeds, in both normal Earth grav…
Prism adaptation by mental practice
International audience; The prediction of our actions and their interaction with the external environment is critical for sensorimotor adaptation. For instance, during prism exposure, which deviates laterally our visual field, we progressively correct movement errors by combining sensory feedback with forward model sensory predictions. However, very often we project our actions to the external environment without physically interacting with it (e.g., mental actions). An intriguing question is whether adaptation will occur if we imagine, instead of executing, an arm movement while wearing prisms. Here, we investigated prism adaptation during mental actions. In the first experiment, participa…
Perception, Observation et Action
L’observation d’actions est une caracteristique preponderante de l’Homme et de l’animal et participe grandement au developpement des habiletes motrices. Le fait de voir une tierce personne realiser un mouvement active le reseau des neurones miroirs, reconnus comme la base neurophysiologique de la comprehension des actions d’autrui. Dans cette revue, nous discutons, dans un premier temps, des reponses centrales et comportementales sous-jacentes a l’observation. Ensuite, nous decrivons les benefices et les limites d’un (re)apprentissage par observation. Enfin, nous presentons de nouvelles approches de la simulation d’actions combinant l’observation a d’autres operations mentales d’origine int…
Mentally represented motor actions in normal agingII. The influence of the gravito-inertial context on the duration of overt and covert arm movements
Here, we address the question of whether normal aging influences action representation by comparing the ability of 14 young (age: 23.6 +/- 2.1 years) and 14 older (age: 70.1 +/- 4.5 years) adults to mentally simulate arm movements under a varying dynamic context. We conducted two experiments in which we experimentally manipulated the gravity and inertial components of arm dynamics: (i) unloaded and loaded vertical arm movements, rotation around the shoulder joint, (ii) unloaded and loaded horizontal arm movements, rotations around the shoulder and elbow joints, in two directions (inertial anisotropy phenomenon). The main findings indicated that imagery ability was equivalent between the two…
L’adaptation optimale du mouvement humain au milieu gravitaire
International audience
Integration of Gravitational Torques in Cerebellar Pathways Allows for the Dynamic Inverse Computation of Vertical Pointing Movements of a Robot Arm
BackgroundSeveral authors suggested that gravitational forces are centrally represented in the brain for planning, control and sensorimotor predictions of movements. Furthermore, some studies proposed that the cerebellum computes the inverse dynamics (internal inverse model) whereas others suggested that it computes sensorimotor predictions (internal forward model).Methodology/principal findingsThis study proposes a model of cerebellar pathways deduced from both biological and physical constraints. The model learns the dynamic inverse computation of the effect of gravitational torques from its sensorimotor predictions without calculating an explicit inverse computation. By using supervised …
Influence of Delay Period Duration on Inhibitory Processes for Response Preparation.
In this study, we examined the dynamics of inhibitory preparatory processes, using a delayed response task in which a cue signaled a left or right index finger (Experiment 1) or hand (Experiment 2) movement in advance of an imperative signal. In Experiment 1, we varied the duration of the delay period (200, 500, and 900 ms). When transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied 100 ms before the imperative, motor evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited in the first dorsal interosseous were strongly inhibited. For delays of 500 ms or longer, this inhibition was greater when the targeted muscle was selected compared with when it was not selected. In contrast, the magnitude of inhibition just aft…
Investigating centre of mass stabilisation as the goal of posture and movement coordination during human whole body reaching
In the light of experimental results showing significant forward centre of mass (CoM) displacements within the base of support, this study investigated if whole body reaching movements can be executed whilst keeping the CoM fixed in the horizontal axis. Using kinematic simulation techniques, angular configurations were recreated from experimental data imposing two constraints: a constant horizontal position of the CoM and an identical trajectory of the hand to grasp an object. The comparison between recorded and simulated trials showed that stabilisation of the CoM was associated with greater backward hip displacements, which became more marked with increasing object distance. This was in c…
Stimulation magnétique transcrânienne et imagerie motrice : corrélats neurophysiologiques de l’action mentalement simulée
La stimulation magnetique transcrânienne (SMT) est devenue en a peine trois decennies un outil scientifique experimental majeur dans l’etude du systeme nerveux chez l’homme. Dotee de nombreux atouts methodologiques (technique non-invasive et a haute resolution temporelle), la SMT est complementaire des outils d’exploration fonctionnelle du cerveau et elle a permis d’accumuler un nombre considerable de donnees dans le domaine des neurosciences cognitives et comportementales. Cet article de synthese presente les recentes avancees en cognition motrice et plus particulierement en imagerie motrice, un champ de recherche dans lequel la SMT a ete grandement utilisee pour explorer l’implication des…
Interhemispheric inhibition during mental actions of different complexity.
International audience; Several investigations suggest that actual and mental actions trigger similar neural substrates. Yet, neurophysiological evidences on the nature of interhemispheric interactions during mental movements are still meagre. Here, we asked whether the content of mental images, investigated by task complexity, is finely represented in the inhibitory interactions between the two primary motor cortices (M1s). Subjects' left M1 was stimulated by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) while they were performing actual or mental movements of increasing complexity with their right hand and exerting a maximum isometric force with their left thumb and index. Thus, we sim…
TIME-OF-DAY EFFECTS ON THE INTERNAL SIMULATION OF MOTOR ACTIONS: PSYCHOPHYSICAL EVIDENCE FROM POINTING MOVEMENTS WITH THE DOMINANT AND NON-DOMINANT ARM
It is well known that circadian rhythms modulate human physiology and behavior at various levels. However, chronobiological data concerning mental and sensorimotor states of motor actions are still lacking in the literature. In the present study, we examined the effects of time-of-day on two important aspects of the human motor behavior: prediction and laterality. Motor prediction was experimentally investigated by means of imagined movements and laterality by comparing the difference in temporal performance between right and left arm movements. Ten healthy participants had to actually perform or to imagine performing arm-pointing movements between two targets at different hours of the day …
Motor imagery and action observation following immobilization-induced hypoactivity: A narrative review.
Abstract Background In sports, the risk of pathology or event that leads to an injury, a cessation of practice or even to an immobilization is high. The subsequent reduction of physical activity, or hypoactivity, induces neural and muscular changes that adversely affect motor skills and functional motor rehabilitation. Because the implementation of physical practice is difficult, if not impossible, during and immediately following injury or immobilization, complementary techniques have been proposed to minimize the deleterious impact of hypoactivity on neuromuscular function. Objective The current narrative review aimed to discuss the contributions of motor imagery and action observation, w…
Muscle effort is best minimized by the right-dominant arm in the gravity field
AbstractThe central nervous system (CNS) is thought to develop motor strategies that minimize various hidden criteria, such as end-point variance or effort. A large body of literature suggests that the dominant arm is specialized for such open-loop optimization-like processes whilst the non-dominant arm is specialized for closed-loop control. Building on recent results suggesting that the brain plans arm movements that takes advantage of gravity effects to minimize muscle effort, the present study tests the hypothesized superiority of the dominant arm motor system for effort minimization. Thirty participants (22.5 ± 2.1 years old; all right-handed) performed vertical arm movements between t…
Modulation of spinal excitability by a sub-threshold stimulation of M1 area during muscle lengthening
Abstract It is well known that the H-reflex amplitude decreases during passive muscle lengthening in comparison with passive shortening. However, this decrease in spinal synaptic efficacy observed during passive lengthening seems to be lesser during eccentric voluntary contraction. The aim of the present study was to examine whether spinal excitability during lengthening condition could be modulated by magnetic brain stimulation. H reflexes of the triceps surae muscles were elicited on 10 young healthy subjects, and conditioned by a sub-threshold transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). The conditioning stimulation was applied over the M1 area of triceps surae muscles at an intensity below …
Dominant vs. nondominant arm advantage in mentally simulated actions in right handers
Although plentiful data are available regarding mental states involving the dominant-right arm, the evidence for the nondominant-left arm is sparse. Here, we investigated whether right-handers can generate accurate predictions with either the right or the left arm. Fifteen adults carried out actual and mental arm movements in two directions with varying inertial resistance (inertial anisotropy phenomenon). We recorded actual and mental movement times and used the degree of their similarity as an indicator for the accuracy of motor imagery/prediction process. We found timing correspondences (isochrony) between actual and mental right arm movements in both rightward (low inertia resistance) …
The Relation between Geometry and Time in Mental Actions
Mental imagery is a cognitive tool that helps humans take decisions by simulating past and future events. The hypothesis has been advanced that there is a functional equivalence between actual and mental movements. Yet, we do not know whether there are any limitations to its validity even in terms of some fundamental features of actual movements, such as the relationship between space and time. Although it is impossible to directly measure the spatiotemporal features of mental actions, an indirect investigation can be conducted by taking advantage of the constraints existing in planar drawing movements and described by the two-thirds power law (2/3PL). This kinematic law describes one of th…
Comparison of motor strategies in sit-to-stand and back-to-sit motions between healthy and Alzheimer’s disease elderly subjects
We studied the kinematics of shoulder displacement during sit-to-stand and back-to-sit in 6 healthy elderly subjects and six elderly subjects with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease in order to elucidate the impact of Alzheimer's disease on motor planning and control processes. During sit-to-stand, Alzheimer's disease subjects reduced their forward displacement and started their upward displacement earlier than healthy elderly subjects. Furthermore, shoulder path curvatures were more pronounced for upward compared with downward displacement in healthy elderly group, in contrast with Alzheimer's disease group. Temporal analysis found that: 1) for both groups, profiles of velocity of sit-to…
Energy-related optimal control accounts for gravitational load: comparing shoulder, elbow, and wrist rotations.
International audience; Gaveau J, Berret B, Demougeot L, Fadiga L, Pozzo T, Papaxanthis C. Energy-related optimal control accounts for gravitational load: comparing shoulder, elbow, and wrist rotations. J Neurophysiol 111: 4-16, 2014. First published October 16, 2013; doi: 10.1152/jn.01029.2012.-We permanently deal with gravity force. Experimental evidences revealed that moving against gravity strongly differs from moving along the gravity vector. This directional asymmetry has been attributed to an optimal planning process that optimizes gravity force effects to minimize energy. Yet, only few studies have considered the case of vertical movements in the context of optimal control. What kin…
Gait-dependent motor memory facilitation in covert movement execution
In the current study, we examined whether sensorimotor information stored in short-term memory may influence the temporal features between overt and covert execution of human locomotor movements and, furthermore, to examine to what extent such influence may depend on the ongoing gait activity. The subjects (n=20) who participated in the experiment were separated in two groups and instructed to walk (overt execution) or imagine walking (covert execution) along three locomotor paths: horizontal, uphill and downhill. The subjects of the first group, labeled in block, performed all the covert trials before executing the corresponding overt trials, while the subjects of the second group, labeled…
Circadian Modulation of Mentally Simulated Motor Actions: Implications for the Potential Use of Motor Imagery in Rehabilitation
Background. Mental practice through motor imagery improves subsequent motor performance and thus mental training is considered to be a potential tool in neuromotor rehabilitation. Objective. The authors investigated whether a circadian fluctuation of the motor imagery process occurs, which could be relevant in scheduling mental training in rehabilitation programs. Methods. The executed and imagined durations of walking and writing movements were recorded every 3 hours from 8 AM to 11 PM in healthy participants. The authors made a cosinor analysis on the temporal features of these movements to detect circadian rhythms. Temporal differences between executed and imagined movements as well as …
The Inactivation Principle: Mathematical Solutions Minimizing the Absolute Work and Biological Implications for the Planning of Arm Movements
An important question in the literature focusing on motor control is to determine which laws drive biological limb movements. This question has prompted numerous investigations analyzing arm movements in both humans and monkeys. Many theories assume that among all possible movements the one actually performed satisfies an optimality criterion. In the framework of optimal control theory, a first approach is to choose a cost function and test whether the proposed model fits with experimental data. A second approach (generally considered as the more difficult) is to infer the cost function from behavioral data. The cost proposed here includes a term called the absolute work of forces, reflecti…