Event-Related Desynchronization Analysis During Action Observation and Motor Imagery of Transitive Movements

Rehabilitation and motor skill learning approaches based on Action Observation (AO) and Motor Imagery (MI) rely on the assumption that the sensorimotor system is stimulated by AO and MI tasks similarly to the actual execution of a movement. An advantage of AO over MI is that it is less dependent on subject’s imagination ability, and a direct comparison of their effect on cortical activations during complex upper limb movements has been rarely examined. Therefore, in this study we compare sensorimotor event related desynchronization (ERD) patterns, as a measure of cortical activation, collected from 46 healthy volunteers performing AO and MI protocols. In both mu and beta sensorimotor rhythms a stronger ERD was elicited by AO, characterized by an evident lateralization in the contralateral side of the brain with respect to the limb involved in the observed movement