Action Observation vs. Motor Imagery on Squat Vertical Jump in Novices

Comparing Action Observation and Motor Imagery Training: A Two-Week Intervention on Squat Vertical Jump Performance

This randomized, three-arm study compared the effects of action observation (AO) and motor imagery (MI), each delivered as a brief 10-second pre-movement stimulus, on squat vertical jump (SVJ) performance in healthy novice adults, against a control condition, over a two-week, six-session programme. For every jump, an unstimulated basic jump and a post-stimulus jump were recorded with an Optojump optical system, and the cognitive-stimulus effect was quantified as the difference between them.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy young adult;
• normal or corrected-to-normal vision;
• completely naive to the squat vertical jump task and to action observation / motor imagery interventions.

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of neurological,
• musculoskeletal,
• visual impairment.