Early sleep after action observation and motor imagery training boosts improvements in manual dexterity

Abstract

The systematic observation and imagination of actions promotes acquisition of motor skills. Furthermore, studies demonstrated that early sleep after practice enhances motor learning through an offline stabilization process. Here, we investigated behavioral effects and neurodynamical correlates of early sleep after action observation and motor imagery training (AO + MI-training) on motor learning in terms of manual dexterity. Forty-five healthy participants were randomized into three groups receiving a 3 week intervention consisting of AO + MI-training immediately before sleeping or AO + MI-training at least 12 h before sleeping or a control stimulation. AO + MI-training implied the observation and motor imagery of transitive manual dexterity tasks, whereas the control stimulation consisted of landscape video-clips observation. Manual dexterity was assessed using functional tests, kinematic and neurophysiological outcomes before and after the training and at 1-month follow-up. AO + MI-training improved manual dexterity, but subjects performing AO + MI-training followed by early sleep had significantly larger improvements than those undergoing the same training at least 12 h before sleeping. Behavioral findings were supported by neurodynamical correlates during motor performance and additional sleep-dependent benefits were also detected at 1 month follow-up. These findings introduce a new approach to enhance the acquisition of new motor skills or facilitate recovery in patients with motor impairments.

Sequence-specific delayed gains in motor fluency evolve after movement observation training in the absence of early sleep

“…However, because the performance of observed and unobserved sequences was tested in different groups of participants, and baseline performance testing by necessity affords actual physical practice, the effect of group differences (at baseline) could not be ruled out. Further support for a possible beneficial effect of early post-training sleep in training by observation, comes from a recent study of participants undergoing multiple sessions (3 weeks) of video-clip based action observation training (additional mental imagery practice was included) 26 . It was found that manual action observation training (the video-clips observed in training presented transitive daily tasks performed with the right upper limb) had improved the participants’ manual dexterity (tested in tasks other than the tasks used in training) and that the gains in manual dexterity were larger for participants trained at evening (followed by early sleep) compared to those undergoing the same training at least 12 h before sleeping 26 .…”

“…Further support for a possible beneficial effect of early post-training sleep in training by observation, comes from a recent study of participants undergoing multiple sessions (3 weeks) of video-clip based action observation training (additional mental imagery practice was included) 26 . It was found that manual action observation training (the video-clips observed in training presented transitive daily tasks performed with the right upper limb) had improved the participants’ manual dexterity (tested in tasks other than the tasks used in training) and that the gains in manual dexterity were larger for participants trained at evening (followed by early sleep) compared to those undergoing the same training at least 12 h before sleeping 26 . However, each time-of-day condition was tested in a different group of participants, and, as the authors acknowledge, the potential influence of circadian rhythms on observation or motor imagery could not be ruled out.…”

Early sleep after action observation plus motor imagery improves gait and balance abilities in older adults

“…To date, sleep-dependent effects have been mainly investigated after a training based on motor practice 23 , 25 . Moreover, literature data have investigated upper limb dexterity changes induced by the observation with or without imagination of motor tasks, revealing higher benefits when the training sessions were followed by an early sleep-window 26 – 29 . Therefore, when considering the current background, it is reasonable to speculate that sleep might enhance the acquisition of trained motor skills such as gait and balance abilities, when occurring immediately after AOMI training sessions in older adults.…”

EEG connectivity in functional brain networks supporting visuomotor integration processes in dominant and non-dominant hand movements

“…In the present work, differently from most existing studies in the field, we evaluated brain electrical activity during the execution of a complex visuomotor integration task, i.e. the Nine Hole Peg Test (NHPT), which requires the continuous processing of visual information to control the performance of fine movements [17,18]. Moreover, the current study is the first, to our knowledge, to examine frequency-dependent modulations in brain functions triggered by visuomotor integration processes using spontaneous EEG data from a large dataset, i.e.…”