Investigating imagery representations associated with physical and visual experience
Participants are needed for a UBC study to investigate how different experiences contribute to brain activations during different types of imagery.
Participants will undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before and after practicing a task with their right hand. During these scans, participants will imagine performing a right-handed task under different instructions. Participants may be required to complete an additional series of scans which will involve watching and imagining tasks.
This study is being run in collaboration with the Neuroplasticity, Imagery, and Motor Behaviour Laboratory in the department of Psychology by principal investigator Dr. Sarah Kraeutner. It is anticipated that the study will take approximately 1.5-2 hours. A $25 honorarium will be provided upon completion of the study.
A resume is not required to partake in the study, we simply ask that participants meet all the qualifications listed. If you meet these qualifications, please email m.scott@ubc.ca and include “fMRI study” in the subject line. In your email, please include a UBC email address (if available), a phone number, and your availability over the next 2 weeks.
Inclusion criteria: Each participant will be aged 18-50 years old, right hand dominant, with no experience in American sign language.
Exclusion criteria.
1) Injury to the right hand or any known neurological disorders – overall movement will be adversely affected and atypical of the general population
2) Previous experience with languages expressed with movement of the hands and face (such as American Sign Language )– because we want to isolate the role of experience during motor imagery, participants cannot have any previous task specific experience
3) Poor vision that cannot be corrected for – performance cannot be attributed to manipulated variables if participants are unable to accurately perceive the sequence
4) Middle-aged adults, above 50 years of age – reaction time, movement speed, coordination of hands and feet are reported to decline after age 50 years on average (Kauranen & Vanharanta, 1996).
5) Self-reported inability to perform motor imagery.
6) Physical disorders or injuries that impede full body movements - the Movement Imagery Questionnaire, V3, uses full body movements.
7) Report any contraindications to MRI as determined by screening.
Specifically, there are a number of contraindications to MRI owing to the strong magnetic field present. Potential participants will undergo a standard, comprehensive screen to determine eligibility. The screening forms used for this procedure can be found in the Appendix. In addition, the MRI scanner bed has a maximum weight of 500 lbs so there is a weight restriction on subjects
UBC Human Ethics – H23-03819