Abstract
[Purpose] As a preliminary study of the excitability of spinal neural function by the different methods of motor imagery, individual differences in methods of motor imagery were investigated by interview. [Subjects] Eighty-five healthy volunteers (mean age, 23.3 ± 6.3 years) participated after providing their informed consent. [Methods] Subjects were asked to practice 50% MVC of isometric contraction holding the sensor of a pinch meter between the thumb and index finger for 1 min. During this time, they watched the digital pinch force meter. Next, the subjects were asked to imagine the task of 50%MVC isometric contraction for 1 min. After the motor imagery task, the subjects were interviewed about the method of motor imagery they used. [Results] The subjects used several methods of motor imagery. The most popular pattern (19 subjects) was a combination of the image of the digital display of the pinch power meter (vision-image) and the image of the muscle contraction to control the pinch power (muscle-image). [Conclusion] The results suggest that the most popular method of motor imagery uses multiple imagery involving vision-image of motor tasks.
