INVESTIGATING MOTOR INHIBITION IN MOTOR IMAGERY

Abstract

Motor leaning can be achieved via motor execution and motor imagery (MI), where the difference is the lack of overt movement in MI. Many theories exist as to the timing and source of this motor inhibition, however no one theory has been proven. This project addressed this gap in the literature by examining the timing and source of the inhibition of overt movement in MI. We hypothesized that in MI, inhibition would be seen in the motor cortex, resulting from mechanisms involved in generating the simulation of movement mediated by the supplementary motor area (SMA). Through analysis of neuroimaging data, we confirmed the presence of motor inhibition in MI, and conclude that this inhibition likely occurred during the motor planning process. However, SMA was not the source of this inhibition, as decreased activity was also observed in premotor regions. These findings are discussed in the context of motor inhibition theories.