Topographical distribution of EEG activity accompanying visual and motor imagery in vivid and non-vivid imagers

Brain mapping techniques were used to investigate the topographical distribution of electroencephalographic (EEG) activity accompanying visual and motor imagery in four different tasks. Participants were selected for their self-reported vivid or non-vivid imagery using the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) and the Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire (VMIQ). Topographical maps of EEG activation revealed that alpha power was attenuated in vivid images during visual imagery, particularly in the left posterior quadrant of the cortex, but enhanced during motor imagery. The imagery vividness variable interacted with experimental condition or with experimental condition and location in all four tasks. Because demand characteristics and instrument artifacts can be eliminated as possible explanations of the results, these data provide strong evidence of the construct validity of the VVIQ and VMIQ as measures of visual and motor imagery experience.