Imagined self-motion differs from perceived self-motion: evidence from a novel continuous pointing method.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Motor Control
• Spatial Cognition

Background:

• Debate exists on shared internal representations for actual vs. imagined movements.
• Few studies directly compare full-body actual and imagined movements.
• Self-motion perception is crucial for navigation and interaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• Characterize self-motion perception during actual walking.
• Compare pointing patterns during actual versus imagined walking.
• Investigate spatial updating in real and simulated self-motion.

Main Methods:

• Novel continuous pointing method used.
• Participants pointed at a target while walking or imagining walking.
• Arm pointing direction measured to infer perceived/imagined self-velocity.

Main Results:

• Actual walking (sighted and blind) showed a characteristic pointing pattern.
• Peak arm azimuth velocity and correlation with pointing elevation observed during actual walking.
• This pattern was not consistently found during imagined self-motion.

Conclusions:

• Spatial updating processes differ between actual and imagined self-motion.
• Continuous pointing offers rich data on self-motion perception.
• Findings have implications for motor imagery, spatial cognition, and applied fields like rehabilitation and athletics.