The Neurophysiological Foundations of Mental and Motor Imagery

About this Book

• Include contributions from the most famous researchers in the field of imagery research, providing the reader with an integrative and complementary viewpoint of the imagery experience
• Covers the different applications of imagery in learning, training and clinical rehabilitation, providing a guiding framework for imagery studies and assisting the reader in developing more effective imagery interventions
• Contains practical applications as well as theoretical approaches, helping the reader to fully understand and appreciate the imagery process
• Provides a state of the art review of this field of research, providing in-depth reviews, meta-analyses, and research syntheses which will contribute to summarize our knowledge and spur new research

Mental imagery is the ability to form perceptual-like representations of objects or events on the basis of information stored in memory. Motor imagery is often used when the human body is involved, where subjects imagine the body moving or manipulating objects. The use of mental practice, including motor imagery for the rehabilitation of patients with cerebral motor impairments, is one of the most active areas in the field of motor imagery research. Such data provide evidence for imagery as a method in stroke rehabilitation, leading to reliable reconstruction of neural networks and thus to functional recovery.
In recent years, our understanding of imagery has advanced greatly thanks to functional imaging studies using, for example, PET and fMRI. There is now ample evidence that a common neural substrate (albeit not identical) underlies mental imagery and visual perception, on the one hand, and motor performance and motor imagery, on the other.

This book, the first of its kind, examines three main aspects of mental imagery. In the first part, the chapters address the neural basis of mental and motor imagery, the relationships between mental imagery and perception, and between motor imagery and physical execution. In the second part, the chapters focus on the evaluation of mental/motor imagery accuracy, including both central and peripheral nervous system recordings. The final chapters address the effects of mental practice on motor recovery after stroke.

Providing a state of the art review along with in-depth summaries, meta-analyses, and research syntheses, this book will be important for those in the fields of cognitive neuroscience, physiology, and rehabilitation.

Readership: Neuroscientists and cognitive neuroscientists; neurologists; rehabilitation specialists

Table of Contents

Marc Jeannerod: Preface
Introduction

SECTION 1: The neural substrates of mental and motor imagery
Stephen M. Kosslyn, Giorgio Ganis and William L. Thompson: Multimodal Images in the Brain
Poirel N., Zago L., Petit L. and Mellet E.: Neural bases of topographical representation in humans: Contribution of neuroimaging studies
M. Lotze and K. Zentgraf: Contribution of the primary motor cortex to motor imagery
Cathy M Stinear: Corticospinal facilitation during motor imagery

SECTION 2: Neurophysiological correlates of motor imagery
Christa Neuper & Gert Pfurtscheller: EEG Characteristics during Motor Imagery
Aymeric Guillot, Florent Lebon and Christian Collet: Electromyographic activity during motor imagery
C Collet and A Guillot: Autonomic nervous system activities during imagined movements
Aymeric Guillot, Magali Louis, and Christian Collet: Neurophysiological substrates of motor imagery ability

SECTION 3: Motor imagery in rehabilitation
H.C. Dijkerman, M. Ietswaart and M. Johnston: Motor imagery and the rehabilitation of movement disorders: an overview
S.J. Page: An overview of the effectiveness of motor imagery after stroke: A neuroimaging approach
Francine Malouin, Carol L. Richards, Philip L. Jackson, Julien Doyon: Motor imagery for optimising the reacquisition of locomotor skills after cerebral damage
Dickstein R. and Tamir R.: Motor Imagery Practice in Individuals with Parkinson's Disease
Luís Aureliano Imbiriba, Sylvia Joffily, Erika Carvalho Rodrigues, Claudia D. Vargas.: Blindness and motor imagery
G. Pfurtscheller and C. Neuper: EEG-based brain-computer communication

SECTION 4: Motor imagery in learning processes
Aymeric Guillot, Ursula Debarnot, Magali Louis, Nady Hoyek, Christian Collet: Motor imagery and motor performance: evidence from the sport science literature
Tadhg MacIntyre and Aidan Moran: Meta-imagery Processes Among Elite Sports Performers
R.E. Sapien and R.G. Rogers: The use of motor imagery in teaching surgical skills lessons from sports training
Paul S.Holmes, Jennifer Cumming and Martin G. Edwards: Movement Imagery, Observation, and Skill
Philip Jackson and Amélie M. Achim: From the mental representation of pain and emotions to empathy

Author Information

Edited by Aymeric Guillot, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France, and Christian Collet, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France

Reviews

"This book provides an intriguing look at an oft-neglected area of mental imagery research. The theoretical and practical applications are well laid out and provide a balanced viewpoint on the cuurent state of the science in this field." - Christoper J. Graver, Doody's Notes