Investigation of the acute effects of action observation training on upper extremity motor skills, reaction time and cognition

The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute effect of action observation training on upper extremity motor skills, cognitive functions, and reaction time and to compare the results of action observation training applied in different ways in healthy young adults. Sixty right handed healthy individuals older than 18 years of age were included in the study. Participants randomly divided into one of five groups. Video recordings were taken during the Jebsen Taylor Hand Function Test (JTEFT) of the participants in the self-observation (KEG) group, and after the first evaluation, they watched the video recording four times. Participants in the observing someone else's action (BEG) group watched the video recording of someone else's performance during JTEFT 4 times. Participants in the action practice (EU) group repeated the JTEFT 4 more times after the initial assessment. Participants in the non-action observation (EOG) group, watched a slide show of landscape and nature pictures (i.e., motionless images). Participants in the control group were kept in a well-lit and ventilated quiet room for final measurements. Before and after the training, JTEFT, Nine-Hole PEG Test (NHPT), Serial Reaction Time Task (SRTT) and d2 Attention Test were randomly applied to the participants using a closed envelope. All groups were similar at baseline in terms of demographic and clinical data. When the completion times JTEFT with left hand are examined, significant differences were found between the KEG and EOG group (p<0.001), KEG and control group (p=0.022), BEG and EOG group (p=0.004), EU and EOG group (p<0.001) and EU and control group (p=0.020). When the right hand JTEFT completion times were analyzed, significant differences were found between the KEG and BEG groups (p=0.04), the KEG and EOG groups (p<0.001) and the KEG and control groups (p<0.001). While the amount of change in the completion time of NHPT with right hand differed significantly between the KEG and EOG groups (p=0.048), there was a statistically significant difference between the EU and control groups (p=0.024) in the left hand. When the reaction times of all groups at the end of the training were compared with the reaction times before the training, it was observed that the test times decreased significantly, and their performance increased (p<0.05). There was no difference between the groups in terms of the amount of change in cognition level before and after the training (p>0.05). As a result of our study, we have confirmed that single-session action observation training applied in young healthy individuals is an effective method to improve upper extremity motor performance. In the light of the available data, we cannot make a definitive conclusion that the observation of upper extremity motor movement can improve cognitive functions. Although the completion times of the motor tests have decreased after the action observation training, we cannot make any conclusion with regards to the direct effect of the method on the reaction times. Keywords: action observation, upper extremity functionality, attention, reaction time, neuroscience