Enhancing voluntary imitation through attention and motor imagery

Action observation activates brain areas involved in performing the same action and has been shown to increase motor learning, with potential implications for neurorehabilitation. Recent work indicates that the effects of action observation on movement can be increased by motor imagery or by directing attention to observed actions. In voluntary imitation, activation of the motor system during action observation is already increased. We therefore explored whether imitation could be further enhanced by imagery or attention. Healthy participants observed and then immediately imitated videos of human hand movement sequences, while movement kinematics were recorded. Two blocks of trials were completed, and after the first block participants were instructed to imagine performing the observed movement (Imagery group, N = 18) or attend closely to the characteristics of the movement (Attention group, N = 15), or received no further instructions (Control group, N = 17). Kinematics of the imitated movements were modulated by instructions, with both Imagery and Attention groups being closer in duration, peak velocity and amplitude to the observed model compared with controls. These findings show that both attention and motor imagery can increase the accuracy of imitation and have implications for motor learning and rehabilitation. Future work is required to understand the mechanisms by which these two strategies influence imitation accuracy.