Evaluation of Motor Learning on a Sequence of Manual Motor Gestures of Increasing Complexity Through the Mental Practise

Universidad Autonoma de Madrid

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Motor Activity

Treatments: Behavioral: Motor imagery; Behavioral: Action observation; Behavioral: Placebo intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03769974

4

Details and patient eligibility

About

The main objective of this research is to evaluate and quantify successes and errors, as well as execution time, in a sequence of manual motor gestures of increasing complexity through mental practice training (observation of actions and motor imagery).

Full description

The motor programs stored in the procedural memory systems allow the generation of motor mental images without the need for an external stimulus, although it has been demonstrated that providing visual information, prior to a task of imagination, facilitates it and causes a greater neurophysiological activity than if it were done in an isolated manner. Some studies have shown that in the short term, in complex motor tasks of foot and hand in a coordinated manner, the action observation training provokes a greater motor learning compared to the motor imagery strategy.

However, these studies have only assessed short-term memory immediately after the intervention. No study has so far evaluated these improvements in motor learning through action observation training and motor imagery on consecutive days, nor has it been evaluated with short to medium-term follow-up.

It is therefore that there is a lack in the current scientific literature regarding which isolated method, without physical practice, of mental practice on motor learning is the most effective when exposed both on consecutive days, as well as to short-medium-term follow-up.

Enrollment: 45 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 60 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age between 18 and 60
• Healthy and with no pain subjects

Exclusion criteria

• Any cognitive impairment that hindered viewing of audiovisual material. Difficulty understanding or communicating.
• Presence of systemic pathology, Central Nervous System or rheumatic disease.
• Inadequate understanding of the Spanish language to follow instructions for measuring and treatment.
• Collaboration of pregnant women.
• Underage subjects
• Subjects with pain at the time of the study

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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45 participants in 3 patient groups, including a placebo group

Motor imagery

Experimental group

Description:

A group of healthy subjects who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria established for the study to which a first-person kinesthetic motor imagery training will be conducted on a sequence of manual motor gestures of increasing complexity for four consecutive days. The tasks of motor imagery will be 2 series of 30 seconds for each of the 12 manual positions to remember

Treatment:

Behavioral: Motor imagery

Action observation

Experimental group

Description:

A group of healthy subjects who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria established for the study to which a first-personaction observation training will be conducted on a sequence of manual motor gestures of increasing complexity for four consecutive days. The tasks of action observation will be 2 series of 30 seconds for each of the 12 manual positions to remember in video format.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Action observation

Placebo group

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

A group of healthy subjects who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria established for the study to which an imagery training and placebo observation, inspired by a rural landscape, will be given for four consecutive days. This group will carry out the observation and imagination of a landscape during 2 series of 30 seconds for each manual motor sequence to remember.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Placebo intervention