Can mentally rehearsing a physical task activate similar neural pathways and lead to measurable performance gains without physical movement?

The Topic I chose was research involving student athletes that would be beneficial for an athletic department. I started with four questions before narrowing down my choice. First question: Athletes should play angry to perform better, aggression boosts strength and intensity. Second question: Visualization alone can replace physical practice; mentally rehearsing movements is enough to improve them. Third question: Positive thinking alone improves performance, mental confidence, automatically leading to better results. Fourth question: Motivation is key to success; athletes just need to want it more. My final choice was question two, Visualization and Imagery in Athletic Performance. The topic for my psychological claims paper is “Visualization alone can replace physical practice; mentally rehearsing movements is enough to improve them”. The topic will research feedback, physical movement, coordination and muscle memory. The research question is  the following; “Can mentally rehearsing a physical task activate similar neural pathways (muscle memory) motor neuron firing patterns that activate similar neural pathways leading to measurable performance gains without physical movement?”

Search terms included in this project: Visualization and student athletes, Imagery and Visualization, EEG, EMG, and TMS in athletes, muscle memory, motor unit firing patterns, research with sports and physiological parameters, physical fitness testing, force plates, mentally rehearsing performance, mental skills training in performance, guided self-talk in performance, competition pre-test, competition post-test, imagery and behavior during performance, cognitive testing in performance, physical testing in performance, cognitive development in performance, and skill aquisition.           

Can mentally rehearsing a physical task activate similar neural pathways and lead to measurable performance gains without physical movement? The question will evoke topics like mental rehearsing, visualization, motor imagery, and improved performance. The question will uncover and define the difference in visual and kinesthetic imagery.

References:

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American                                   

Psychological Association (7th ed., 2nd printing). American Psychological                                   

Association. ISBN: 978-1-4338-3216-1

Field, A. (2024). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (6th ed.). Sage                     

Publications, Inc. ISBN: 978-1-5296-3000-8

García-Arch, J., Ballestero-Arnau, M., Pérez Hoyas, L., & Giaiotti, F. (2022). Disproven but           still believed: The role of information and individual differences in the prediction of        topic‐related pseudoscience acceptance. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 36(2), 268–               282. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3914

Guillot A, Collet C, Nguyen VA, Malouin F, Richards C, Doyon J. Brain activity during                     visual versus kinesthetic imagery: an fMRI study. Hum Brain Mapp. 2009                                                  Jul;30(7):2157-72. doi: 10.1002/hbm.20658. PMID: 18819106; PMCID:                                         PMC6870928.

Haig, B. D. (2018). The importance of scientific method for psychological science.

Psychology, Crime & Law, 25(6), 527–541. https://                  doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2018.1557181                                          

Liu Y, Zhao S, Zhang X, Zhang X, Liang T, Ning Z. The Effects of Imagery Practice on                     Athletes' Performance: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis with Systematic Review. Behav         Sci (Basel). 2025 May 16;15(5):685. doi: 10.3390/bs15050685. PMID: 40426460;                  PMCID: PMC12109254.

Piejka, A., & Okruszek, Ł. (2020). Do you believe what you have been told? Morality and                 scientific literacy as predictors of pseudoscience susceptibility. Applied Cognitive                             Psychology, 34(5), 1072–1082. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3687

Rosnow, R. L., & Rosenthal, R. (2013). Beginning behavioral research: A Conceptual                          

primer (7th ed.). Pearson. ISBN: 978-0-2058-1031-4

Weinberg, Robert. (2008). Does Imagery Work? Effects on Performance and Mental Skills.             Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity. 3.                                                      10.2202/1932-0191.1025.

Wilson, H., Chen, X., Golbabaee, M., Proulx, M. J., & O’Neill, E. (2023). Feasibility of

decoding visual information from EEG. Brain-Computer Interfaces, 11(1–2), 33–60.

https://doi.org/10.1080/2326263X.2023.2287719