Association Between Variations in Kinematic Indexes of Manual Dexterity and Mu Rhythm Desynchronization Changes After Action Observation and Motor Imagery

The Mirror Neuron System functioning have enabled the development of Action Observation and Motor Imagery (AOMI) as effective approaches to enhance manual dexterity. Improvements in manual dexterity can be quantified using kinematic indexes during the execution of clinical and functional tests, and neurodynamical correlates of such changes may also be investigated through EEG recording. The current study aimed at investigating (1) kinematic and EEG mu rhythm desynchronization changes after an AOMI-training in healthy subjects and (2) the association between variations in kinematic indexes of manual dexterity and mu rhythm desynchronization changes induced by AOMI. Thirty healthy subjects performed a 3-week AOMI intervention consisting of the observation and motor imagery of transitive manual dexterity tasks. Manual dexterity assessed through the analysis of kinematic indexes and EEG mu rhythm desynchronizations were analyzed before and after the training. Results showed that AOMI improved kinematic indexes of manual dexterity and induced an increase in murhythm desynchronizations during motor performance. Furthermore, improvements in kinematic indexes of manual dexterity were related to mu rhythm desynchronization changes in central and parietal cortical areas during the execution of NHPT with the left hand. These findings are explanatory of parameters of human movements subtended to sensorimotor system activity changes induced by AOMI and may provide useful information for planning AOMI interventions aimed at enhancing manual dexterity. © 2024, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.