Establishing the nature and processes of error-based learning via motor imagery

Imagining performing a movement helps with learning how to physically do the movement. This process, called motor imagery (MI), is thought to help with learning because the same things happen in the brain when you imagine movement as when you physically perform it. Our research suggests that MI is different from physical performance. Knowing how it is different is important. If we know how MI is different, we can use MI more effectively to help people learn new movements. Also, the new knowledge we gain tells us a lot about the ways learning can occur in the brain. We think there are two main differences between MI and physical performance. When you physically practice a movement you get very good at the specific things you practice - if you practice with your right hand, your right hand is really good, but doing the same movement with your left hand results in bad performance. When you practice through MI, performance of the movement is not as good, but you can transfer what you learned - that is you could use your left hand as well as your right. This ability to transfer what you learned makes us think that what you learn through MI is different from physical practice. The other difference is about how you learn. When you physically do a movement, information about how you did the movement is compared to how it was supposed to be done, allowing for errors to be detected and fixed. Because you actually never move in MI, it is not clear if errors are made, detected, and fixed - leading to the question of how MI can help with learning. The proposed projects look to find out more about the kind of learning that results from MI, and what the mechanism is for detecting errors and fixing them. In the first set of projects people will learn a movement through MI or physical practice. Throughout the learning we will test their performance to see if what they are learning is different. We will also record people's brain activity to find out which areas of the brain were active, and how this differs between MI and physical practice. We will also test different combinations of MI and physical practice to see if the kind of learning that MI helps with improves what we learn from physical practice. In the second set of projects we will explore if people make errors when they learn through MI. We will also record people's brain activity to find out what areas are involved in error detection in MI. Finally, using special equipment, we will turn down activity in parts of the brain for a short period of time to find out more about the way that learning occurs in MI. This research will allow us to confirm our ideas about the kind of learning that MI helps with and how learning through MI actually occurs. We need this kind of basic knowledge so we can figure out the best way to use MI to help with learning movement. This will make learning better in a wide range of areas that will ultimately have a positive impact on the health and performance of Canadians.