Picture this! Suggested instructions for guiding the Neuroscience of action imagery: A commentary on Krüger et al. (2022).

Our commentary expands the multisensory and modulating factors proposed by Kruger et al.'s (2023) internal models of action imagery and sensory crossovers. We will discuss the essence of imagery experiences as conceptual intersections among sensory, movement and affective properties that require further neuro-anatomical-contextual mapping to better understand the practical application of imagery. Accordingly, we will propose alternative ideas of daisy-chaining and motor imagery systems. The role of imagery speed, and other properties of movement for refining movement and self-regulation will be considered along with sex as a modulating factor in intra-individual abilities to image movement.

Neural Activity During Imagery Supports Three Imagery Abilities as Measured by the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3.

Self-report and neural data were examined in 14 right-handed college-age males screened from a pool of 200 to verify neural activity during imagery and that the neural activity (area of brain) varies as a function of the imagery type. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data collected during real-time imagery of the three Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3 abilities indicated frontal areas, motor areas, and cerebellum active during kinesthetic imagery, motor areas, and superior parietal lobule during internal visual imagery, and parietal lobule and occipital cortex during external visual imagery. Central and imagery-specific neural patterns were found providing further biological validation of kinesthetic, internal visual, and external visual complementing results on females. Next, research should (a) compare neural activity between male participants screened by self-reported imagery abilities to determine if good imagers have more efficient neural networks than poor imagers and (b) determine if there is a statistical link between participants' neural activity during imagery and self-report Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3 scores.

Convergent validity and sex invariant factor structure of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3 - Second version (MIQ-3S): Healthy, young adult reference data.

Aligned with the approach that established the factor structure of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3 (MIQ-3), this study extended the two-factor structure of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire - Revised Second version (MIQ-RS). The extension involves assessment of both internal and external visual imagery abilities along with kinesthetic imagery ability. Participants (N = 396) completed the new Movement Imagery Questionnaire - 3 Second Version (MIQ-3S) along with the Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire-2 (VMIQ-2) which measure the same three imagery abilities. Alpha coefficients and between scale Spearman correlations for internal, external, and kinesthetic abilities indicated items were internally consistent (α > 0.87) and established convergent validity (r > 0.69), respectively. MIQ-3S scale means ranged from 5.56 (SD = 1.10) to 5.98 (SD = 0.84), with no differences by sex. The three scales were not multicolinear as intra-scale correlations ranged from 0.47 to 0.61, supporting the three abilities were related, but separate constructs. A multi-trait multimethod confirmatory factor analysis (MTMM CFA), with sex invariance, was conducted to confirm the 3-factor structure of the MIQ-3S. Results from 396 healthy male (n = 200) and female (n = 196) adult college-aged students (M = 21.91, SD = 2.37) indicated a correlated-traits correlated-uniqueness model provided the best fit to the data (CFI = 0.99; SRMR = 0.05; RMSEA = 0.03), while displaying sex invariance. These findings provide baseline data on college-aged, healthy adult participants providing reference data to those investigating imagery abilities among injured populations and practitioners interested in tracking individuals in rehabilitation.

Biological evidence of imagery abilities: intraindividual differences.

This study extended motor imagery theories by establishing specificity and verification of expected brain activation patterns during imagery. Eighteen female participants screened with the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3 (MIQ-3) as having good imagery abilities were scanned to determine the neural networks active during an arm rotation task. Four experimental conditions (i.e., KINESTHETIC, INTERNAL Perspective, EXTERNAL Perspective, and REST) were randomly presented (counterbalanced for condition) during three brain scans. Behaviorally, moderate interscale correlations were found between the MIQ-3 and Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire-2, indicating relatedness between the questionnaires. Partially confirming our hypotheses, common and distinct brain activity provides initial biological validation for imagery abilities delineated in the MIQ-3: kinesthetic imagery activated motor-related areas, internal visual imagery activated inferior parietal lobule, and external visual imagery activated temporal, but no occipital areas. Lastly, inconsistent neuroanatomical intraindividual differences per condition were found. These findings relative to recent biological evidence of imagery abilities are highlighted.

Identification of a novel lysophospholipid acyltransferase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The incorporation of unsaturated acyl chains into phospholipids during de novo synthesis is primarily mediated by the 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase reaction. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Slc1 has been shown to mediate this reaction, but distinct activity remains after its removal from the genome. To identify the enzyme that mediates the remaining activity, we performed synthetic genetic array analysis using a slc1Delta strain. One of the genes identified by the screen, LPT1, was found to encode for an acyltransferase that uses a variety of lysophospholipid species, including 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate. Deletion of LPT1 had a minimal effect on 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase activity, but overexpression increased activity 7-fold. Deletion of LPT1 abrogated the esterification of other lysophospholipids, and overexpression increased lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase activity 7-fold. The majority of this activity co-purified with microsomes. To test the putative role for this enzyme in selectively incorporating unsaturated acyl chains into phospholipids in vitro, substrate concentration series experiments were performed with the four acyl-CoA species commonly found in yeast. Although the saturated palmitoyl-CoA and stearoyl-CoA showed a lower apparent Km, the monounsaturated palmitoleoyl-CoA and oleoyl-CoA showed a higher apparent Vmax. Arachidonyl-CoA, although not abundant in yeast, also had a high apparent Vmax. Pulse-labeling of lpt1Delta strains showed a 30% reduction in [3H]oleate incorporation into phosphatidylcholine only. Therefore, Lpt1p, a member of the membrane-bound o-acyltransferase gene family, seems to work in conjunction with Slc1 to mediate the incorporation of unsaturated acyl chains into the sn-2 position of phospholipids.