Movement-Sequence Observation in Healthy Adults: Motor and Cognitive Effects on Effector-Independent Performance

NCT07531212 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: AU-HEA-SFT-20230511
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Studies examining the effects of action observation (AO) on ipsilateral versus contralateral upper limb (UL) motor performance have reported mixed findings. Furthermore, the extent to which the cognitive component of sequence observation contributes to AO-related improvements in motor sequence execution remains unclear. We aimed to determine whether observing unilateral UL reaching movement (RM) sequences affects UL RM performance in an effector-dependent or effector-independent manner in healthy adults and to determine the contribution of the cognitive aspect, particularly sequence memory, to the motor performance. Sixty participants randomly participated in a single-session intervention of (1) observing RM sequences with the non-dominant left UL (AO group); or (2) observing identical light switches sequences (SO group); or (3) observing nature films (Nature Observation (NO) group). Sequential RMs of both the left and right ULs (ipsilateral and contralateral to the observed movements, respectively) toward the light switches were tested before and immediately after the intervention, and retested after 24 h.

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

Action observation; Motor performance; Cognition; Contralateral transfer

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Change in response time (s) from baseline to post-test

  Average time of movements, measured from the time the switch lights up until it is pressed

  baseline - before the training session, post-test - immediately after the training session

• Change in response time (s) from post-test to follow up

  Average time of movements, measured from the time the switch lights up until it is pressed

  post-test - immediately after the training session, follow up - 24 hours after the training session

• Change in response time (s) from baseline to follow up

  Average time of movements, measured from the time the switch lights up until it is pressed

  baseline - before the training session, follow up - 24 hours after the training session

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change in failure (%) from baseline to post-test

  baseline - before the training session, post-test - immediately after the training session

• Change in failure (%) from post-test to follow up

  post-test - immediately after the training session, follow up - 24 hours after the training session

• Change in failure (%) from base line to follow up

  baseline - before the training session, follow up - 24 hours after the training session

Study Arms (3)

Action Observation (AO)

EXPERIMENTAL

Observing a video recording of a model performing the task

Behavioral: Action observation (AO)

Sequence Observation (SO)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Observing a video of the sequence being illuminated on the device without observing any human movements

Behavioral: Sequence observation (SO)

Neutral Observation (NO)

SHAM COMPARATOR

Observing a neutral video of nature veiws without any human movement

Behavioral: Nature Observation (NO)

Interventions

Action observation (AO) BEHAVIORAL

Participants observed reaching movement sequence performed by the left upper limb toward light switches (10 blocks of video clips, each containing 5 sequences (totaling 300 reaching movements), with a 10 second rest period between blocks).

Action Observation (AO)

Sequence observation (SO) BEHAVIORAL

Participants observed a video clip of switches illuminating in the same sequence, from the same egocentric perspective, but without any human movements. The illuminating switches were activated with the same timing and rest periods as those in the AO group

Sequence Observation (SO)

Nature Observation (NO) BEHAVIORAL

Participants observed a neutral movie that consisted of nature views without any human or animal movements. These videos included 10-second blank screen intervals corresponding to the rest periods in the AO and SO video clips

Neutral Observation (NO)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 35 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• right-hand dominance and self-reported as healthy

You may not qualify if:

• having musculoskeletal or neurological deficits interfering with task performance (proper UL and LL reaching performance)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ariel University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Brain and Motor Behavior Laboratory based at Ariel University, Israel

Ariel, 40700, Israel

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 9, 2026
• First Posted: April 15, 2026
• Study Start: March 9, 2024
• Primary Completion: July 26, 2024
• Study Completion: March 1, 2026
• Last Updated: April 15, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

IL (1)