title: Action observation versus motor imagery in learning a complex motor task: a short review of literature and a kinematics study.
abstract: Both motor imagery and action observation have been shown to play a role in learning or re-learning complex motor tasks. According to a well accepted view they share a common neurophysiological basis in the mirror neuron system. Neurons within this system discharge when individuals perform a specific action and when they look at another individual performing the same or a motorically related action. In the present paper, after a short review of literature on the role of action observation and motor imagery in motor learning, we report the results of a kinematics study where we directly compared motor imagery and action observation in learning a novel complex motor task. This involved movement of the right hand and foot in the same angular direction (in-phase movement), while at the same time moving the left hand and foot in an opposite angular direction (anti-phase movement), all at a frequency of 1Hz. Motor learning was assessed through kinematics recording of wrists and ankles. The results showed that action observation is better than motor imagery as a strategy for learning a novel complex motor task, at least in the fast early phase of motor learning. We forward that these results may have important implications in educational activities, sport training and neurorehabilitation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute and Vita Salute University, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gatti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tettamanti
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Gough
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Riboldi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marinoni
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Buccino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D059167:Mirror Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009039:Motion Perception; D009068:Movement; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012691:Serial Learning; D055815:Young Adult