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processes of motor planning and preparation are
activated when an athlete initiates the mental
imagination of a certain skill or practice, with the
same magnitude of performing that activity. Motor
imagery has been connected with neural changes
(Davis et al., 2008; Davis et al., 2012) that are reliable
with the methods that persuade self-focused attention
(Ma and Han, 2011; Qin and Northoff, 2009).
Davis supports the idea that self-focused imagery
used by athletes may stimulate personal evaluations
that change psychological conditions as well as
physiological conditions, which are considered
beneficial for sport performance. For example, when
presented with self-referenced stimuli and asked to
imagine a previous performance, athletes with higher
success rates report more positive impact, less
negative effect, and amplified blood oxygen-level
dependent (BOLD) activation in the appropriate
premotor cortex, that is, the sensorimotor cortex
(Davis et al., 2012). The slower the stimulus
recognition, the slower the reaction movement. A
delay of even one hundredth of a second can cost an
athlete a podium position in the professional track and
field sprint events.
Electrophysiological studies on the brain have
confirmed that cerebral potential amplitude surges
when a new skill is acquired, specifically in the
premotor prospective, which is the “decision-to-act”
part of reaction time; elite athletes have higher
potential of predictability compared to novice athletes
(Collet, 1999). This neuroscientific research supports
the view that reaction time is both learned and
trainable.
An elite athlete can prepare himself for the
optimal performance before any major competition
by mentally rehearsing a routine before physically
engaging themselves. Through imagery, athletes can
build their confidence for a match and focus on
playing at their peak. The value of imagery is
supported by research, in the absence of physical
practice, such as during travel, weather conditions,
injury or any other unfortunate circumstances. It
allows an athlete to review former actions and skills,
so they can add accuracy and correct errors (Morris et
al., 2005). Motor imagery is very useful for
rehabilitation in order to boost an athlete’s
performance in the future and it is currently
categorized as a very important area of work
regarding the motor imagery researchers (Poolton et
al., 2006). International athletes like Michael
Johnson, gold medalist of four Olympic and eight
World Championships, former world and Olympic
record holder in the 200m and 400m as well as the
world record holder in the indoor 400m, talks about
of what he calls the “danger zone” in which he creates
a competitive mind-set on the day of the race, in
which he uses positive thoughts and images to block
out all the distractions (Vealey and Greenleaf, 2001).
Visual self-processing approaches like imagery
are repeatedly applied to enhance sport performance
through various affective and motivational functions
(Martin et al., 1999). Like other forms of self-
perception, mental imagery is an internal
psychological activity that stimulates conscious poly-
sensory experiences of objects observed in the past
practices or may follow (Hall, 2001; Vealey and
Greenleaf, 2001). Motor imagery is one of the most
significant processes for mental practice. This process
involves reviewing of a certain sport skill in their
mind without practically performing it. Learners
review different parts of performance and visualize
doing it successfully and even become the world
champions.
According to Personnier and colleagues (2008),
mental and physical practice have a shared neural
mechanism, and the required time for performing a
task is equivalent to the time needed for imagining the
same. And when the level of a task elevates, the time
required for practically performing it along with
mentally imagining it also increases.
Experimental research by Brouziyne and
Molinaro (2005) shows that the novice athletes could
achieve the skill of performing a golf shot. In this
research, the highest level of improvement, among
the three groups, was observed in the combined
physical and mental practice group. This research
also revealed that imagery is capable of developing
motor skills and performance enhancement, even in
the novice performers (Brouziyne and Molinaro).
Preliminary evidence exists to support the idea that
development in motor performance next to physical
practice has higher effect than mental practice alone,
but mental practice empowers an athlete to learn
motor prediction and motor learning (Gentili et al.,
2006).
Majumdar and Robergs (2011) researched on two
different parts of a sprinter’s response time, reaction
time and movement time. From the beginning of
motion of the rear foot, off the block, until that same
foot hits the ground; so, the response time is a
collective measure of both reaction time and
movement time that is from initial stimulus to initial
foot strike (Majumdar and Robergs, 2011). Reaction
time is the ability of an individual to move the whole
or a part of his body in the shortest possible time, for
example: swimmer leaving the starting pad; a thrower
putting the shot; karate player moves his hand, or a
wrestler makes a certain move to perform a wrestling
icSPORTS 2018 - 6th International Congress on Sport Sciences Research and Technology Support
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