Investigating The Influence Of Attentiveness On Motor Imagery Performance

Abstract

Although much research has focused on motor imagery, the mental rehearsal of movement, little has examined the influence cognitive deficits have on its performance. Recent findings have shown that motor imagery is multidimensional, being comprised of three components: generation, maintenance, and manipulation. Given an apparent link between the cognitive functions of executive attention and working memory to the components, it stands that a deficit in these would impair motor imagery. This study investigates the influence of attention and working memory on motor imagery performance. Although it was hypothesized that lower attentiveness would lead to poorer motor imagery performance, the findings did not confirm this. The study did reveal that working memory capacity may have a significant impact on the manipulation component of motor imagery. The results suggest that the attentiveness scores within the study sample do not reach a severe enough level of inattentiveness to visibly impact motor imagery.