Inertial properties of the arm are accurately predicted during motor imagery

In the present study, using the mental chronometry paradigm, we examined the hypothesis that during motor imagery the brain uses a forward internal model of arm inertial properties to predict the motion of the arm in different dynamic states. Seven subjects performed overt and covert arm movements with one (motion around the shoulder joint) and two (motion around both the shoulder and elbow joints) degrees of freedom in the horizontal plane. Arm movements were executed under two loading conditions: without and with an added mass (4kg) attached to the subject's right wrist. Additionally, movements were performed in two different directions, condition which implies changes in the arm inertia due to the inertial anisotropy of the arm. Our analysis was focused on the timing features of overt and covert movements measured by means of an electronic stopwatch. Durations of right-direction arm movements (low inertial resistance) were smaller compared to durations of left-direction arm movements (high inertial resistance). Additionally, loading the arm with an added mass of 4kg significantly changed the dynamics of motion: movements were indeed more prolonged under loaded conditions. In both cases, the duration of simulated movements mirrored that of overtly executed movements. Therefore, neither the inertial anisotropy of the arm nor the addition of an external mass affected the timing correspondence between overt and covert movement execution. These findings suggest that the brain internally represents the inertial properties of the arm and makes use of it both for sensorimotor control and for the generation of motor images.