LAnguage-Motor Imagery Circuits to Improve Motor Learning and Language Comprehension

University Hospital, Grenoble105 enrolled

Overview

Recent evidence suggests that cognitive systems do not operate in isolation but interact within broader networks, thus opening new avenues for fundamental and clinical research. An illustrative example is the interaction between language comprehension and motor representations. For instance, motor training (e.g., sports, origami training) can facilitate action verb recognition, whereas motor deficits (e.g., upper limb immobilization) can hinder the processing of action language. Similarly, action language has been shown to affect motor performance. These effects are attributed to an implicit form of motor imagery, an automatic simulation of motor experience (without actual movement) evoked by action words. Interestingly, literature supports the idea that the motor simulations used for imagining an action are also engaged during the reading of action language, leading to similar neurophysiological and behavioral changes in both processes. However, questions remain about the similarity of the simulations generated by motor imagery and action language. This project, encompassing three experimental sequences, aims to address these questions to achieve significant scientific advancements in both theoretical and applied domains.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

105

Conditions

Corticospinal Excitability Cortical Activation

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 40 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * persons who have given written consent, * healthy subjects * subjects reading and understanding French * right-handed, * affiliated with a social security system, * between 18 and 40 years old, * had completed the TMS inclusion questionnaire or had undergone a medical examination prior to participation in the MRI study. Exclusion Criteria: * Existence of a severe general medical condition: cardiac, respiratory, hematological, renal, hepatic, cancerous, * Regular use of anxiolytics, sedatives, antidepressants, neuroleptics, * Characterized psychiatric pathology, * Ingestion of alcohol prior to the examination, * Persons covered by articles L1121-5 to L1121-8 of the CSP, * Presence of contraindications to MRI or TMS.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Level of corticospinal excitability

this is a physiological response obtained by transcranial magnetic pulses (TMS). This is an indicator of the excitability of the motor system, which can be used at rest or during various cognitive tasks (motor imagery or action reading).

Time frame: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Cortical activation (BOLD signal)

this is a cortical response obtained via a fMRI. This is an indicator of the brain activity, which can be used at rest or during motor and cognitive tasks (motor imagery or action reading).

Time frame: 1 hour