Motor imagery: The relation between age and imagery capacity

The imagination of motor actions forms not only a theoretical challenge for cognitive neuroscience but may also be seen as a novel therapeutic tool in neurological rehabilitation, in that it can be used for relearning motor control after damage to the motor system. However, since the majority of reh...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human movement science 2007-04, Vol.26 (2), p.203-211
Main Authors: Mulder, Th, Hochstenbach, J.B.H., van Heuvelen, M.J.G., den Otter, A.R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age
Age Factors
Aged
Aging - physiology
Aptitude
Biological and medical sciences
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Imagination
Male
Mental practice
Middle Aged
Motor imagery
Practice (Psychology)
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Rehabilitation
Surveys and Questionnaires
Vertebrates: body movement. Posture. Locomotion. Flight. Swimming. Physical exercise. Rest. Sports
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The imagination of motor actions forms not only a theoretical challenge for cognitive neuroscience but may also be seen as a novel therapeutic tool in neurological rehabilitation, in that it can be used for relearning motor control after damage to the motor system. However, since the majority of rehabilitation patients consist of older individuals it is relevant to know whether the capacity of mental imaging is compromised by age. Scores on the vividness of movement imagery questionnaire were obtained for 333 participants, divided in three age groups. Results showed that elderly participants were slightly worse in motor imagery capacity than younger participants, particularly in relation to motor imagery from an internal (first person) perspective. Furthermore, a possible relation between the level of physical activities and motor imagery capacity is discussed.
ISSN:0167-9457
1872-7646
DOI:10.1016/j.humov.2007.01.001