Behavioral improvements and brain functional alterations by motor imagery training

Motor imagery training is considered as an effective training strategy for motor skill learning and motor function rehabilitation. However, compared with studies of the neural mechanism underlying motor imagery, neuroimaging examinations of motor imagery training are comparatively few. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we designed a 2-week motor imagery training experiment, including execution and imagery tasks, to investigate the effectiveness of motor imagery training on the improvement of motor performance, as well as the neural mechanism associated with motor imagery training. Here, we examined the motor behavior, brain activation, and correlation between the behavior of the motor execution task and the brain activation across task-related region of interests (ROIs) in both pre- and post-test phases. Our results demonstrated that motor imagery training could improve motor performance. More importantly, the brain functional alterations induced by training were found in the fusiform gyrus for both tasks. These findings provide new insights into motor imagery training.

Research highlights
► Designing a motor imagery training experiment, including both execution and imagery tasks.
► Motor behavior was significantly improved by motor imagery training.
► Motor execution and imagery shared similar brain functional alterations in fusiform gyrus.