Mental rotation (MR) is visualizing how an object will appear to be, if it were rotated. Mental rotation tasks are challenging. During these tasks, you might observe three stimuli similar to the example figure above. The one to the left, is the one that matches just one of the 3 displayed to the right. However, to correctly match the 2 identical images, the matching stimulus must be mentally rotated.

Thus mental rotation is visualizing in your mind's eye, how objects will appear to be if it were rotated.

Mental rotation (MR) is the capacity to rotate mental representations of two-dimensional and three-dimensional items as it is linked to the visual rendering of such rotation inside the human mind. There exists a connection between regions of the brain associated with perception and mental rotation.

Recently researchers reported that subjects who performed mental rotation tasks were found to have improved static balance.

Their results demonstrated that the MR intervention making use of a foot stimuli was more beneficial when compared with that employing a hand or car stimuli. This seems to indicate that foot stimuli, as opposed to body-related stimuli, might be effective for a therapeutic intervention. The final results indicate that benefits were seen 60 minutes following the treatment; this means that the effects of the foot MR were unlikely to be explained on the basis of increased corticospinal excitability involving motor performance. The authors discuss a potential explanation for the effects and application of the MR task in a clinical setting.


Kawasaki T, Higuchi T. Improvement of Postural Stability During Quiet Standing Obtained After Mental Rotation of Foot Stimuli.
J Mot Behav. 2016 Jul-Aug;48(4):357-64.