Implementation of Specific Motor Expertise During a Mental Rotation Task of Hands

Overview

Journal Exp Brain Res

Specialty Neurology

Date 2014 Jul 17

PMID 25027791

Citations 11

Authors

Hamdi Habacha

Corinne Molinaro

Montassar Tabben

Laure Lejeune-Poutrain

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Mental rotation of the hands classically induces kinesthetic effects according to the direction of the rotation, with faster response times to the hands' medial rotations compared with lateral rotations, and is thus commonly used to induce engagement in motor imagery (MI). In the present study, we compared the performances of table tennis players (experts on hand movements), who commonly execute and observe fast hand movements, to those of soccer players (non-experts on hand movements) on a mental rotation task of hands. Our results showed a significant effect of the direction of rotation (DOR) confirming the engagement of the participants in MI. In addition, only hand movement experts were faster when the task figures corresponded to their dominant hand compared with the non-dominant hand, revealing a selective effect of motor expertise. Interestingly, the effect of the DOR collapsed in hand movement experts only when the task figures corresponded to their dominant hand, but it is noteworthy that lateral and medial rotations of the right-hand stimuli were not faster than medial rotations of the left-hand stimuli. These results are discussed in relation to possible strategies during the task. Overall, the present study highlights the embodied nature of the mental rotation task of hands by revealing selective effects of motor expertise.

Citing Articles

Sport training of axial rotation affects spatial ability: Evidence from behavior and fNIRS.

Feng T, Zhang F, Liang M, Liu J, Wei Y Heliyon. 2024; 10(23):e39340.

PMID: 39698083 PMC: 11652840. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39340.

Axial rotation affects the cognitive characteristics of spatial ability.

Feng T, Zhang F, Liu J, Liang M, Li Y Front Psychol. 2024; 15:1396441.

PMID: 39534476 PMC: 11555111. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1396441.

Does dynamic balance affect cube mental rotation task in badminton vs. volleyball female players?.

Amara S, Al-Hadabi B, El-Ashkar H, Gmada N, Habacha H, Mkaouer B BMC Psychol. 2024; 12(1):131.

PMID: 38454516 PMC: 10921765. DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-01589-w.

More implicit and more explicit motor imagery tasks for exploring the mental representation of hands and feet in action.

Brusa F, Erden M, Sedda A Exp Brain Res. 2023; 241(11-12):2765-2778.

PMID: 37855915 PMC: 10635989. DOI: 10.1007/s00221-023-06718-2.

Exploring the role of disgust in hands and feet laterality judgement tasks.

Brusa F, Erden M, Sedda A Q J Exp Psychol (Hove). 2023; 77(7):1418-1429.

PMID: 37800303 PMC: 11181741. DOI: 10.1177/17470218231207336.

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