Date Thesis Awarded

5-2023

Access Type

Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only

Degree Name

Bachelors of Science (BS)

Department

Psychology

Advisor

Jennifer Stevens

Committee Members

Pam Hunt

Katie Honbarrier

Abstract

Previous research has explored the effect that different-sized spatial surrounds may have on task enhanced in smaller spaces, whereas performance on motor imagery tasks may be disrupted in these confined spaces (Stevens, Duffie, & Vishton, 2015). The current study examines the effect of surrounding space on brain activity, specifically a task that involves motor imagery. Participants were asked to imagine arm swings in either a small (2’x 2’) or large (6’x 6’) surround while their brain activity was recorded using a wireless EEG. Participants were instructed to physically practice arm swings prior to entering these spaces and then listened to a voice recording that instructed them when to begin and end their imagery task, a window of 9 seconds. We anticipated that Mu oscillations would show greater levels of suppression in the 6x6 space, coinciding with higher task performance. Results indicated that there was no difference in mu wave suppression between the surround conditions. Instead, a significant difference in theta and delta waves in one sensor over the temporal, parietal, occipital junction was found. This site has been implicated in previous studies as a locus of processing body-motion congruency. Our results are interpreted within this context.

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