The Effect of Motor Imagery Dosage on Motor Learning in Healthy Adults, A Pilot Study
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- Enrollment
- 27
- Locations
- 4
- Primary Endpoint
- Time
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the effects of different durations of Motor Imagery (MI) practice and physical practice on motor performance enhancement in healthy adults. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Does Motor Imagery (MI) practice improve motor performance?
- How do different doses of MI practice (low vs. high) compare to no MI practice in enhancing motor performance?
Participants:
- Be randomly assigned to one of three groups: no MI practice (control group), low dose MI practice (6 minutes per session), or high dose MI practice (12 minutes per session).
- Complete nine sessions over three weeks, practicing a timed mirror tracing task.
- Have their performance measured in each session by the time taken to complete the task and the number of errors made.
Compared the control group, low dose MI group, and high dose MI group to see if there are significant differences in motor performance enhancement, aiming to determine the effectiveness of MI and the optimal dose for practice.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Other
- Masking
- Single (Participant)
Masking Description
The participants were blinded about which group they were allocated (control or intervention)
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to 35 Years (Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •no history of motor dysfunction, coordination disorders, or surgical procedures in the past 6 months
- •scored 4 or less on the Movement Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ) on the non-dominant hand.
Exclusion Criteria
- •Played the target task in the past 6 months
- •Subjects were ambidextrous
Arms & Interventions
control group (CG)
Physically performed the task once per session. No MI. The physical task is a mirror tracing game that requires participants to trace a star shape viewed through a mirror, going as fast as possible while staying within the lines.
Intervention: NO motor imagery training (Other)
low-dose group (LD)
In addition to physically performing the motor task once in session 1, then they performed MI for 6 minutes (2 min x 3 sets) per session. MI for this study took the form of non-guided first-person mental practice. First-person imagery was explained to each participant where they imagined performing the target skill through their own eyes rather than if they were a bystander watching someone else do the task (third person).
Intervention: Motor imagery training (Other)
high-dose group (HD)
In addition to physically performing the motor task once in session 1, then MI for 12 minutes (2 min x 6 sets) per session. The MI technique was the same as the LD group.
Intervention: Motor imagery training (Other)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Time
Time Frame: Time was measured at the end of each session, with intervals of 3 session/week for 3 weeks with total of 9 sessions. So, the research ended up with 9 reading for the time.
The time to complete the physical tracing task was measured from when the investigator said 'GO' until the participant returned the pen to the starting point. The physical tracing task is a mirror tracing game that requires participants to trace a star shape viewed through a mirror, going as fast as possible while staying within the lines.
Errors
Time Frame: Errors were counted at the end of each session, with intervals of 3 session/week for 3 weeks with total of 9 sessions. So, the research ended up with 9 reading for the time.
Errors were operationally defined as each time the pen went outside of the shape lines while doing the physical tracing task. Crossing a line and returning to the original trace was counted as one error. Errors were counted by the number of times the pen went outside the lines.
Secondary Outcomes
No secondary outcomes reported
Investigators
Ahmed Mahmoud Kadry
Associate Professor of Physical Therapy
Kafrelsheikh University