On the equivalence of executed and imagined movements: evidence from lateralized motor and nonmotor potentials

The neural simulation theory assumes that motor imagery and motor execution draw on a shared set of mechanisms underlying motor cognition. Evidence is accumulating that motor imagery and motor execution have many common features. The extent of the similarity and whether it spreads into the preparation phase is however unclear. This study used electroencephalographic recordings to compare the effects of providing advance information about upcoming movements on preparatory processing in a motor imagery and execution paradigm. Event-related potential data were recorded in a priming task where participants were cued to perform simple or complex finger movements. We hypothesized that a high degree of functional similarity of motor imagery and motor execution should be reflected in similar alterations of lateralized preparatory activity. Lateralized preparatory activity was indeed very similar, showing both motor-related (lateralized readiness potential, LRP) and cognitive components (anterior directing-attention negativity or ADAN, late directing-attention positivity or LDAP). Dipole analysis revealed that LRP, ADAN, and LDAP sources were very comparable for motor imagination and execution. Results generally support the idea of common underlying functional networks subserving both the preparation for execution and imagery of movements. They also provide a broader context for this notion by revealing similarities in cognitive components associated with the movement tasks.