Mind to muscle connection: temporal dynamics of concomitant kinesthetic responses during imagery training

Objective To examine the temporal dynamics of kinesthetic responses and accompanying physiological changes during imagery training. Methods Three athletes- a cricket batsman, a rowing-single scull rower and a football midfielder- participated in individualised motivational-specific and cognitive-specific imagery intervention that matched the requirements of their particular sports. The researchers recorded the timing of the kinesthetic responses and the accompanying heart rate (HR) and respiration rate (RR). Results During motivation-specific imagery (MS), kinaesthetic responses occurred between 4:00 to 6:59 min in the cricketer, (HR range=72–82 beats/min; RR range=13–14 breaths/min) and between 1:00 to 1:59 min in the rower, (HR range=92–104 beats/min; RR range=11–15 breaths/min) and between 0:01 to 1:59 min in the footballer (HR range=68–74 beats/min; RR range=12–16 breaths/min). During cognitive-specific imagery (CS), kinesthetic responses occurred between 2:00 to 5:59 min in the cricketer, (HR range=78–86 beats/min; RR range= 09–16 breaths/min); between 1:00 to 1:59 min in the rower, (HR range=79–80 beats/min; RR range=13–14 breaths/min) and between 1:00 to 1:59 minutes in the footballer (HR range=78–82 beats/min; RR = 17 breaths/min). Conclusion The kinesthetic responses observed during imagery training suggest how the neural networks are activated similar to the actual performance. The temporal dynamics and physiological responses differed depending on the task of their sports. The findings suggest incorporating imagery training in coaching can strengthen neural connections and facilitate effective task executions.