Summary:
A remarkable feature of our brain is its ability to create mental images of events. Motor imagery, defined as the mental simulation of movements without actual execution, is a strategy designed to optimise motor performance, both in sport and in rehabilitation. It mobilises neural networks largely overlapping with those engaged during actual execution, as well as internal predictive models involved in anticipating the sensory consequences of the action, thereby enabling the learning of a movement. Nevertheless, motor imagery abilities exhibit marked inter-individual variability, ranging from hyperphantasia (particularly vivid imagery) to aphantasia (impaired, or even absent, imagery capacity). At present, empirical data remain insufficient to conclusively establish the existence of a robust link between sensorimotor prediction and motor learning through physical and mental practice. Furthermore, the influence of these inter-individual differences on the engagement of predictive mechanisms involved in motor learning during mental training remains largely unexplored. This study aims to address these gaps by examining the relationship between sensorimotor prediction and motor learning, as well as the influence of different motor imagery profiles on the mobilisation of internal predictive models during practice. Furthermore, the influence of these inter-individual differences on the activation of predictive mechanisms involved in motor learning during mental training remains largely unexplored. This study aims to address these gaps by examining the relationship between sensorimotor prediction and motor learning, as well as the influence of different motor imagery profiles on the activation of internal predictive models during physical and mental practice. State-of-the-art tools, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), electroencephalography (EEG) and TMS-EEG coupling, will be employed to characterise the differences in neurophysiological activity associated with the behavioural variations observed
