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Shared neural representation between motor execution and kinesthetic imagery in the primary motor cortex
Fumihito Imai1, Jun Shinozaki2, Hidekazu Saito2,3
1Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Humanities and Human Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Imaging Neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)
|February 20, 2026
Summary
Motor imagery partially activates the primary motor cortex (M1) finger representation, similar but not identical to motor execution. This brain imaging study reveals shared neural patterns during imagined and executed finger movements.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Motor Control
Background:
- The primary motor cortex (M1) is crucial for motor execution.
- Its role in motor imagery, the mental rehearsal of movements, is not fully understood.
- Higher-order motor areas are known to be involved in motor imagery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if motor imagery recruits similar neural representations in the hand M1 as motor execution.
- To compare the neural patterns of imagined finger movements with executed ones.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) were used.
- A decoder was trained to identify finger movements during execution.
- The decoder was then tested on brain activity during motor imagery (cross-classification).
- A replication study was conducted to confirm findings.
Main Results:
- Cross-classification accuracy in the hand M1 was significantly above chance (original study: 32.71%, replication: 37.5%).
- Neural representations showed shorter distances for the same finger between execution and imagery.
- Findings suggest a partial similarity, not equivalence, in neural representations.
Conclusions:
- The primary motor cortex (M1) shows partially overlapping neural representations for kinesthetic motor imagery and motor execution.
- Motor imagery recruits M1 in a way that is related to, but distinct from, actual movement.
- These findings contribute to understanding the neural basis of motor imagery and its relationship to motor commands.
Keywords:
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)kinesthetic motor imagerymulti-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA)primary motor cortex (M1)More Related Videos
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