Mu suppression and human movement responses to the Rorschach test

Abstract

Electroencephalographic μ wave suppression was investigated using all 10 static, ambiguous Rorschach stimuli. In an earlier study using four Rorschach stimuli, the two stimuli that elicited feelings of movement were associated with μ suppression. In this study, we replicated this relationship using all 10 Rorschach stimuli while overcoming a number of other earlier limitations. The results strongly support the hypothesis that internal representation of the feeling of movement is sufficient to suppress the μ rhythm even when minimal external cues are present. This outcome increases the generalizability and ecological validity of this approach and gives support to the traditional interpretation of the Rorschach human movement responses as being associated with cognitive functioning, empathy, and social cognition.