The effects of action observation and motor imagery on students' ability to identify anatomical locations: a randomised control trial.

Abstract

Action observation (AO) and motor imagery (MI) are two forms of mental practice that can facilitate motor learning. We investigated if mental practice techniques (AO vs. combined AO+MI) can improve entry-level healthcare students' ability to locate anatomical structures in the immediate and short-term. Within a randomised control trial design, participants received a traditional anatomy lecture (Control, <i>n</i> = 13), or lecture plus AO (<i>n</i> = 13), or lecture plus combined AO+MI (<i>n</i> = 12). Mental practice involved either watching a physiotherapist's demonstration of (AO), or watching and imagining the feeling of (AO+MI) locating upper-limb anatomical points on a human model. Post intervention, participants located these points on a human model, assessed by diagnostic ultrasound, immediately and at one-week follow-up. Immediately post, accuracy was greater for AO+MI (<i>M</i> = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.6-2.4) and AO (<i>M</i> = 2.13, 95% CI = 1.7-2.6), than Control (<i>M</i> = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.0-1.8; <i>p</i>s < 0.05). At the follow-up, AO+MI (<i>M</i> = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.8-2.7) was significantly more accurate than AO (<i>M</i> = 1.30, 95% CI = 0.8-1.8; <i>p</i> < 0.01). While mental practice groups out-performed the Control immediately post, only the AO+MI group retained this advantage. Educators should therefore consider augmenting traditional anatomy lectures with mental practice as a low-cost resource for enhancing learning.