This paper concerns how motor actions are neurally represented and coded. Action planning and motor preparation can be studied using a specific type of representational activity, motor imagery. A close functional equivalence between motor imagery and motor preparation is suggested by the positive effects of imagining movements on motor learning, the similarity between the neural structures involved, and the similar physiological correlates observed in both imaging and preparing. The content of motor representations can be inferred from motor images at a macroscopic level, based on global aspects of the action (the duration and amount of effort involved) and the motor rules and constraints which predict the spatial path and kinematics of movements. A more microscopic neural account calls for a representation of object-oriented action. Object attributes are processed in different neural pathways depending on the kind of task the subject is performing. During object-oriented action, a pragmatic representation is activated in which object affordances are transformed into specific motor schemas (independently of other tasks such as object recognition). Animal as well as human clinical data implicate the posterior parietal and premotor cortical areas in schema instantiation. A mechanism is proposed that is able to encode the desired goal of the action and is applicable to different levels of representational organization.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0140525X00034026

The representing brain: Neural correlates of motor intention and imagery

Forward models for physiological motor control

Dual coding theory (DCT) explains human behavior and experience in terms of dynamic associative processes that operate on a rich network of modality-specific verbal and nonverbal (or imagery) representations. We first describe the underlying premises of the theory and then show how the basic DCT mechanisms can be used to model diverse educational phenomena. The research demonstrates that concreteness, imagery, and verbal associative processes play major roles in various educational domains: the representation and comprehension of knowledge, learning and memory of school material, effective instruction, individual differences, achievement motivation and test anxiety, and the learning of motor skills. DCT also has important implications for the science and practice of educational psychology — specifically, for educational research and teacher education. We show not only that DCT provides a unified explanation for diverse topics in education, but also that its mechanistic framework accommodates theories cast in terms of strategies and other high-level psychological processes. Although much additional research needs to be done, the concrete models that DCT offers for the behavior and experience of students, teachers, and educational psychologists further our understanding of educational phenomena and strengthen related pedagogical practices.

/pdf/dual-coding-theory-and-education-10gagx8p9i.pdf

Dual coding theory and education

Theoretical accounts of the speed-accuracy trade-off in rapid movement have usually focused on within-moveme nt error detection and correction, and have consistently ignored the possibility that motor-output variability might be predictably related to movement amplitude and movement time. This article presents a theory of motor-output variability that accounts for the relationship among the movement amplitude, movement time, the mass to be moved, and the resulting movement error. Predictions are derived from physical principles; empirical evidence supporting the principles is presented for three movement paradigms (single-aiming responses, reciprocal movements, and rapid-timing tasks); and the theory and data are discussed in terms of past theoretical accounts and future research directions. Examining the current level of understanding about the production and control of motor responses, many would no doubt be tempted to say that we have not come very far since the early writings of Woodworth (1899) and Hollingworth (1909). These writers were concerned with the basic laws of limb movements (analogous, perhaps to the basic laws of motion that were the cornerstone of physics) that denned the relationship between the simplest aspects of motor

Motor-output variability: a theory for the accuracy of rapid motor acts.

Prologue PART 1: The Need for a Theory of Cognitive Evolution Mental Architecture as an Emergent Phenomenon Culture as Evidence for Cognitive Structure The Organization of This Book PART 2:

Origins of the Modern Mind: Three Stages in the Evolution of Culture and Cognition

The effects of an imagery training program on imagery ability, imagery use, and figure skating performance were investigated. In addition, the influence of imagery training on skating performance was compared to verbalization training. The study employed two groups of figure skaters, an imagery training group, and a verbalization training group. All skaters were assessed for movement imagery ability, their use of imagery, and their skating performance prior to and following a 16-week training period. During this training period the imagery and verbal groups received instruction and guidance in the use of their respective types of mental practice. The imagery group improved in visual movement imagery ability and showed several changes in imagery use. Specifically, they were more likely to use imagery in practice, had more structured imagery practice sessions, and could more easily visualize and feel certain aspects of their skating performance compared to the verbalization group, In terms of perfo...

The effect of an imagery training program on imagery ability, imagery use, and figure skating performance

In this study, we examined the relationship between imagery ability, as measured by the Movement Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ), and the acquisition, retention, and reacquisition of movements. Based on their MIQ scores, 10 subjects were selected for the following imagery groups: high visual/high kinesthetic (HH), high visual/low kinesthetic (HL), and low visual/low kinesthetic (LL). The subjects learned four movements to a criterion level. Before each trial, subjects kinesthetically imaged the movement about to be produced. Following each acquisition trial, subjects were provided visual feedback. The acquisition phase was followed by a 2-day retention interval, a retention test consisting of three trials on each movement (no feedback provided), and a reacquisition phase. The HH group acquired the movements in the least number of trials, the LL group required the greatest number of trials, and the HL group required an intermediate number of trials. The data for the reacquisition phase showed the same trend. There was only weak evidence for a relationship between imagery ability and the retention of the movements. These findings support the position that high imagery ability facilitates the acquisition, but probably not the short term retention, of movements.

/pdf/imagery-ability-and-the-acquisition-and-retention-of-2dr79e0jxx.pdf

Imagery ability and the acquisition and retention of movements

This paper examines the relationship between imagery and the acquisition of motor skills. Since most of the research in the motor domain has considered imagery under the topic of mental practice, a comparison between imagery and mental practice is first drawn. Then the basic mental practice paradigm is outlined and research on the effects of imagery is summarized. Factors influencing the use of imagery are considered, including the task, the imagery instructions, and individual imagery abilities. Implications for employing imagery in the teaching of motor skills are discussed and, finally, an approach to studying imagery and motor skills is put forward.

Eric Buckolz

Papers

The effect of an imagery training program on imagery ability, imagery use, and figure skating performance

Imagery ability and the acquisition and retention of movements

Imagery and the acquisition of motor skills.

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and their ability to disengage ongoing attentional focus: More on inhibitory function

On the ability of children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) to inhibit response initiation: The simon effect