Imagery, expertise, and action: A window into embodiment

This chapter explores the aforementioned paradigm shifts and how they offer an avenue for new research. It elucidates what precisely "mental imagery", the parent construct of motor imagery, is and explains the research milestones that have elucidated our understanding of this complex topic. The construct of motor imagery has become a thriving research topic thanks to the development of the action simulation model by Marc Jeannerod, which provided a framework in which imagery and movement are viewed as part of an action continuum. The chapter explains three key pivots occurred over two decades of motor imagery research, relating to conceptual issues, measurement challenges, and the application of the expertise paradigm. Subsequently, it evaluates the potential for grounded cognition accounts to explain the interactions among our cognition, action, and emotional systems. The grounded cognition approach to investigating motor imagery arguably provides an opportunity for the interdisciplinary investigation of questions on the nature of representation with implications for researchers and practitioners alike. Finally, the chapter addresses new directions for both scientists and practitioners, with the emphasis on athletic samples, including those suffering from sport injury.