Investigation of the relationship between motor imagery ability and dual-task ability in chronic stroke patients

Abstract

Objective: Motor imagery ability increases motor performance by increasing neural activity and stimulating brain plasticity. The dual-task can be an indicator of the transfer of motor performance. This study investigated the relationship between imagery ability and dual-task ability in chronic stroke patients. Patients and Methods: The Motor Imagery Questionnaire-Revised Second Edition was used to assess imagery ability. The Timed Up and Go test was determined as the main task, and a dual-task test was performed by adding a cognitive and motor task. Mental chronometry recorded single-and dual-task performances as actual and imagined. Dual-task cost and delta scores were calculated for motor-motor and cognitive-motor separately. Results: There was a moderate correlation between motor imagery ability and motor dual-task performance (p<0.05). No correlation was found between cognitive dual-task performance and motor imagery ability (p>0.05). The individuals' motor-motor tasks had low performance in the actual and imagined tasks but not in the cognitive-motor tasks (p>0.05). Conclusion: As mental practice increases, patients' motor-motor dual-task abilities also increase. Mental practice can be recommended from the early stages of stroke patients to increase motor imagery ability and motor skills. Cognitive-motor dual-task and motor imagery ability are unrelated because of abundant repetition of the cognitive-motor dual task in the nature of daily living activities.