(Scientific Session) Modulatory Effect of Motor Imagery in Cancer Survivors

Background and/or Objectives: Fatigue and weakness can cause profound functional declines in cancer survivors which can limit their participation in high intensity muscle training in therapy. Motor imagery training can be a safe, cost-effective, and perhaps fatigue-immune method for cancer survivors to improve strength. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that motor imagery of high effort with actual minimal strength exercise can stimulate same area of the brain as high effort exercise without imagery in cancer patients.

Design: Single-blinded, longitudinal study

Setting: Outpatient rehabilitation and major cancer center

Participants: Total of 23 breast cancer survivors and 8 non-cancer control subjects from data collected over a 5-year period (2015-2019).

Interventions: Data in this abstract are part of a larger clinical trial data where cancer participants were randomized into one of three training groups: high effort motor imagery training combined with physical training group (n=8), low effort physical training (n=8) and control group who received no training (n=7). Healthy control group participants were enrolled in only data collection sessions.

Main Outcome Measures: fMRI based measure of brain activation was acquired during two conditions: motor imagery task where participants imagined doing a maximum voluntary contraction task and motor task where participants actually performed the task. ANOVA was used to compare activation between the two groups and within cancer group between baseline and post training sessions.

Results: F-test showed overlapping brain activation in the cerebellum, posterior cingulate, sensorimotor cortex, posterior parietal cortex and frontal lobe, comparing motor imagery and physical tasks for both groups. Post training, the change in activation in the training groups was within the cerebellum and regions in the attention network.

Conclusions: The effect of motor imagery on stimulating brain activation can be used as neuro-modulatory approach in cancer survivors.