Ideomotor theory holds that motor plans producing action and the sensory effects of the actions are cognitively represented in a functionally similar way. The response-effect (R-E) association is considered bidirectional and automatic in nature. The current research project was designed to test the hypothesized bidirectional nature of R-E associations by determining if motor codes were activated following perception of an effect. The automaticity of motor code activation was investigated via TMS–induced motor evoked potentials (MEPs) following the presentation an after-effect. To this end, participants completed a training phase in which they learned a specific R-E association. During the testing phase, the effects were presented prior to the imperative and TMS stimuli. Behavioural results replicated previous research; participants preferred to execute the response associated with the presented effect. MEP data, however, did not support the initial hypothesis. These results are discussed with relation to ideomotor theory and experimental design.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/43312 |
| Date | 10 December 2013 |
| Creators | Reid, Connor |
| Contributors | Welsh, Timothy N. |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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