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Motor imagery (MI) is the mental representation of a movement without its execution. It activates internal representations of the movement without external stimulus through different memory‐related processes. Although acute stress is frequent in the population and affects supraspinal structures essential for memory functionality, it is still unknown how that stress affects MI capacity and temporal congruence (TC) between execution and movement imagination. This study aimed to discover how acute stress may influence MI capacity and TC in the subscales of internal and external visual imagery and kinesthetic imagery. A double‐blind, randomized trial was conducted. Sixty‐two young, healthy subjects (mean age = 20.65 [2.54]; 39 females and 23 males) unfamiliar with the assessment and uses of MI were recruited. Participants were assigned by stratified randomization to the stress group or the control group. Stress was induced by the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST), while the control group performed the MAST control protocol. MI capacity and TC were assessed before (t1) and after (t2) MAST stress or control using the Movement Imagery Questionnaire‐3 (MIQ‐3). Electrodermal activity and heart rate variability were further recorded as control variables to assess stress induction. Thirty subjects in the stress group and 26 subjects in the control group were analyzed. No significant group differences were observed when comparing MI capacity or TC in any subscales. These findings suggest that acute stress does not significantly affect MI capacity or TC in young, healthy, non‐experienced MI subjects. MI could thus be a relevant helpful technique in stressful situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is compelling evidence that motor imagery contributes to improved motor performance, and recent work showed that dynamic motor imagery (dMI) might provide additional benefits by comparison with traditional MI practice. However, the efficacy of motor imagery in different states of physical fatigue remains largely unknown, especially as imagery accuracy may be hampered by the physical fatigue states elicited by training. We investigated the effect of static motor imagery (sMI) and dMI on free-throw accuracy in 10 high-level basketball athletes, both in a non-fatigued state (Experiment 1) and immediately after an incremental running test completed until exhaustion (20m shuttle run-test–Experiment 2). We collected perceived exhaustion and heart rate to quantify the subjective experience of fatigue and energy expenditure. We found that dMI brought better shooting performance than sMI, except when athletes were physically exhausted. These findings shed light on the conditions eliciting optimal use of sMI and dMI. In particular, considering that the current physical state affects body representation, performing dMI under fatigue may result in mismatches between actual and predicted body states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]