Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the differences in brain activation between motor imagery and action observation by analyzing suppression of mu rhythm during motor imagery and action observation of golf performance. Eighteen male university students participated in the study and were randomly assigned to one of three groups: action observation, motor imagery with eyes open or motor imagery with eyes closed. During the experiment, the action observation group observed the putting performance of a model, whereas the other groups imagined golf putting with their eyes either open or closed. Electroencephalographic (EEG) activities were measured in 3 brain areas (C3, Cz and C4) while the participants performed experimental tasks and mu rhythm suppression was calculated based on the measured data. The calculated variable was analyzed by three-way ANOVA (3 groups × 3 distances × 3 brain areas) based on repeated measurement of the last 2 factors. Mu rhythm was suppressed more significantly in the action observation group compared to the two motor imagery groups. This result suggests that action observation can activate the brain areas involved in the performance of an actual task more effectively than motor imagery.

Key words: Motor imagery, action observation, cognitive intervention,electroencephalogram, modeling, mu rhythm.