Acquisition and consolidation of sequential footstep movements with physical and motor imagery practice

Sleep-dependent performance enhancement has been consistently reported after explicit sequential finger learning, even using motor imagery practice (MIP), but whether similar sleep benefits occur after explicit sequential gross motor learning with the lower limbs has been addressed less often. Here, we investigated both acquisition and consolidation processes in an innovative sequential footstep task performed either physically or mentally. Forty-eight healthy young participants were tested before and after physical practice (PP) or MIP on the footstep task, following either a night of sleep (PPsleep and MIPsleep groups) or an equivalent daytime period (PPday and MIPday groups). Results showed that all groups improved motor performance following the acquisition session, albeit the magnitude of enhancement in the MIP groups remained lower relative to the PP groups. Importantly, only the MIPsleep group further improved performance after a night of sleep, while the other groups stabilized their performance after consolidation. Together, these findings demonstrate a sleep-dependent gain in performance after MIP in a sequential motor task with the lower limbs but not after PP. Overall, the present study is of particular importance in the context of motor learning and functional rehabilitation.