‘Substitute’ knowledge of results provided through virtual reality enhances motor imagery-based learning

‘Substitute’ knowledge of results provided through virtual reality enhances motor imagery-based learning | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article ‘Substitute’ knowledge of results provided through virtual reality enhances motor imagery-based learning Celine Balay, Rishav Banerjee, Ghazaleh Shahin, Dingfu Lu, Pourang Irani, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8605629/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Improvements in motor performance achieved through motor imagery (MI; the mental rehearsal of movement) are typically smaller relative to an equivalent does of physical practice. One reason for this difference may be a lack of feedback during MI integral to refining the motor plan, including knowledge of results. Here, we tested whether visual feedback provided via virtual reality (VR) impacted learning of a complex novel skill through MI. Healthy novice participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups (N=48) and engaged in four sessions of MI practice of a golf putting task in a virtual environment. Immediately after each MI trial, participants were shown the ball’s trajectory and endpoint in VR (100% success; Perfect Feedback group; 30% success; Erroneous Feedback group) or viewed the VR environment without any feedback (Control group). Performance (percentage of holed putts, %Success, mean radial error: MRE, bivariate variable error: BVE) was assessed in three physical test blocks before (pre), after (post), and 24 hours after (retention) MI practice. Linear mixed effects models and accompanying Cohen’s d effect sizes conducted to quantify changes in performance revealed improvements in %Success by both experimental groups at both the post-test (and particularly the EF group) and retention test was greater relative to the Control group, with no effects related to MRE or BVE. Findings suggest that supplementing MI with visual feedback may lead to greater task success via facilitating updates to the motor plan, with future research needed to explore impacts on movement quality (e.g., arm, trunk kinematics). Overall, this work provides new information related to the mechanisms underlying motor imagery, with applied implications related to the use of virtual reality to enhance the effectiveness of motor imagery. covert practice mental practice golf putting skill acquisition motor learning Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files GolfVRSupplementary.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 21 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 18 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 11 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 23 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 16 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 16 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 14 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8605629","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":627286618,"identity":"42b4cff9-33bc-4027-a951-fec49c9991d8","order_by":0,"name":"Celine Balay","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of British Columbia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Celine","middleName":"","lastName":"Balay","suffix":""},{"id":627286619,"identity":"52666005-3534-408e-bd97-d2a26bc89a1f","order_by":1,"name":"Rishav Banerjee","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of British 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