Process Dissociation Procedure Improves Assessment of Motor Imagery Ability Using Implicit Sequence Learning

Abstract

For motor imagery (MI) to be effective for motor learning and rehabilitation, one must be able to perform it. The covert nature of MI makes it difficult to objectively assess MI ability. Assessment of MI ability is particularly pertinent in clinical populations, where brain damage can preclude the ability to perform it. To aid assessment of MI ability, we developed MiScreen, a mobile application that uses MI-based training through which individuals implicitly learn. The logic behind MiScreen is that if an individual can learn via MI, they must be able to perform it. Here we apply process dissociation procedure (PDP) to the data resulting from the MI-based training underlying MiScreen to address the limitations of MiScreen that reduce its applicability. Our results show that the use of PDP increases the number of users for which MiScreen would be applicable, demonstrating added value. Incongruence between PDP and current analysis procedures highlights the need for future work to identify the optimal analysis that best represents MI-based learning, and thus MI ability.