The overall goal of the proposed work is to better understand the covert movement-related activity that accompanies imagined actions. The proposed experiments will monitor the activity or three movement- related areas of the cerebral cortex - primary motor cortex (Ml), premotor cortex (PM), and the supplementary motor area (SMA) - during real and imagined movements. To do so, they will employ scalp recordings of event-related brain potentials. These measures have sufficient temporal resolution to detect changes in brain activation that occur on the order of milliseconds and, thanks to recent developments, can now be used to monitor each of the above cortical areas individually. The experiments will monitor Ml, PM, and SMA, under some of the main conditions in which covert movement has been proposed to take place. These include mental practice (as in sports or music), observation prior to imitation (as in skill learning), memory rehearsal of movements, and the phantom limbs of amputees. The overt and covert movements to be studied will include, rhythmic sequences of taps made with the hands or feet, sequences of signs from American Sign Language, and """"""""movements"""""""" of a phantom limb. Information about the presence and precise timing of covert movement-related activity in MI, PM, and SMA could have a number of applications. Such information might 1) predict the efficiency of mental practice, observational learning, or clinical treatment to aid motor recovery; 2) serve as the basis for feedback; 3) help diagnose disorders of the motor system; or 4) help determine the direct consequences of covert movement-related activity in the studied brain areas for learning, remembering, and fine tuning overt movement. At a broader level, the proposed work is likely to enhance our understanding of the motor system at both a psychological and physiological level; Further information concerning its less-known covert side may lead to unexpected insights about movement in general.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NS037528-03
Application #
2892408
Study Section
Perception and Cognition Review Committee (PEC)
Program Officer
Heetderks, William J
Project Start
1997-09-01
Project End
2001-01-31
Budget Start
1999-06-01
Budget End
2001-01-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1999
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pennsylvania
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
042250712
City
Philadelphia
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
19104
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Osman, Allen; Muller, Kai-Markus; Syre, Peter et al. (2005) Paradoxical lateralization of brain potentials during imagined foot movements. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res 24:727-31
Rinkenauer, Gerhard; Osman, Allen; Ulrich, Rolf et al. (2004) On the locus of speed-accuracy trade-off in reaction time: inferences from the lateralized readiness potential. J Exp Psychol Gen 133:261-82
Osman, Allen; Moore, Cathleen M; Ulrich, Rolf (2003) Temporal organization of covert motor processes during response selection and preparation. Biol Psychol 64:47-75
Possamai, Camille-Aime; Burle, Boris; Osma, Allen et al. (2002) Partial advance information, number of alternatives, and motor processes: an electromyographic study. Acta Psychol (Amst) 111:125-39
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