  Motor Imagery (MI) is gaining traction in both rehabilitation and sports
settings, but its immediate influence on human postural control is not yet
clearly understood. The focus of this study is to examine the effects of MI on
the dynamics of the Center of Pressure (COP), a crucial metric for evaluating
postural stability. In the experiment, thirty healthy young adults participated
in four different scenarios: normal standing with both open and closed eyes,
and kinesthetic motor imagery focused on mediolateral (ML) and anteroposterior
(AP) sway movements. A mathematical model was developed to characterize the
nonlinear dynamics of the COP and to assess the impact of MI on these dynamics.
Our results show a statistically significant increase (p-value<0.05) in
variables such as COP path length and Long-Range Correlation (LRC) during MI
compared to the closed-eye and normal standing conditions. These observations
align well with psycho-neuromuscular theory, which suggests that imagining a
specific movement activates neural pathways, consequently affecting postural
control. This study presents compelling evidence that motor imagery not only
has a quantifiable impact on COP dynamics but also that changes in the Center
of Pressure (COP) are directionally consistent with the imagined movements.
This finding holds significant implications for the field of rehabilitation
science, suggesting that motor imagery could be strategically utilized to
induce targeted postural adjustments. Nonetheless, additional research is
required to fully understand the complex mechanisms that underlie this
relationship and to corroborate these results across a more diverse set of
populations.
