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Kinesthetic motor-imagery training improves performance on lexical-semantic access
Camille Bonnet1,2, Mariam Bayram1, Samuel El Bouzaïdi Tiali1
1Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, Grenoble, France.
Plos One
|June 24, 2022
Summary
Motor Imagery (MI) training, particularly kinesthetic MI, improved language comprehension and lexical-semantic access. This suggests potential for new rehabilitation methods for language deficits.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
Background:
- The language and motor systems share intimate connections.
- Motor Imagery (MI) training may enhance language comprehension by improving lexical-semantic access.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effect of kinesthetic Motor Imagery (KMI) training versus static visual imagery (SVI) training on language comprehension.
- To investigate if KMI training facilitates lexical-semantic access.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted with participants assigned to KMI or SVI groups.
- Participants completed language comprehension tasks (semantic categorization, sentence-picture matching) before and after training.
- Training involved imagining upper-limb movements (KMI) or visualizing landscapes (SVI).
Main Results:
- Experiment 1: KMI training led to better performance (shorter reaction times) than SVI training in both language tasks after one session.
- Experiment 2: KMI showed greater improvement than SVI in semantic categorization, but the sentence-picture matching task showed an opposite trend.
- Results suggest KMI can facilitate lexical-semantic access.
Conclusions:
- Motor Imagery training, especially KMI, can enhance lexical-semantic processing.
- This research opens new possibilities for developing rehabilitation strategies for language impairments.
