Purpose: Motor imagery is defined as a dynamic state during which a subject mentally simulates a given action without overt movements. Our aim was to use near-infrared spectroscopy to investigate differences in cerebral haemodynamics during motor imagery of self-feeding with chopsticks using the dominant or non-dominant hand.

Materials and methods: Twenty healthy right-handed people participated in this study. The motor imagery task involved eating sliced cucumber pickles using chopsticks with the dominant (right) or non-dominant (left) hand. Activation of regions of interest (pre-supplementary motor area, supplementary motor area, pre-motor area, pre-frontal cortex, and sensorimotor cortex was assessed.

Results: Motor imagery vividness of the dominant hand tended to be significantly higher than that of the non-dominant hand. The time of peak oxygenated haemoglobin was significantly earlier in the right pre-frontal cortex than in the supplementary motor area and left pre-motor area. Haemodynamic correlations were detected in more regions of interest during dominant-hand motor imagery than during non-dominant-hand motor imagery.

Conclusions: Haemodynamics might be affected by differences in motor imagery vividness caused by variations in motor manipulation.

目的：运动意象被定义为一种动态状态，在此期间，主体在精神上模拟给定的动作而没有明显的动作。我们的目的是使用近红外光谱来研究使用惯用手或非惯用手用筷子自我进食的运动想象过程中脑血流动力学的差异。

材料和方法： 20 名健康的右利手参加了这项研究。运动意象任务包括用惯用手（右）或非惯用手（左）用筷子吃切片黄瓜泡菜。对感兴趣区域的激活（前补充运动区、补充运动区、前运动区、前额叶皮层和感觉运动皮层）进行了评估。

结果：优势手的运动意象生动度往往显着高于非优势手。右侧前额叶皮层的氧合血红蛋白峰值时间明显早于辅助运动区和左侧运动前区。在优势手运动想象中比在非优势手运动想象中更多的感兴趣区域中检测到血液动力学相关性。

结论：血液动力学可能会受到由运动操纵变化引起的运动意象生动性差异的影响。