Subliminal Priming Effects on Motor and Cognitive Performance: Pilot Evidence With Implications for Neurorehabilitation

Objective: To investigate whether subliminal priming modalities (visual, auditory, or word-based) influence motor and cognitive performance in healthy young adults, and whether these effects vary by gender. Methods: A total of 30 healthy adults were assigned to visual, auditory, or word-based priming using single-blind, stratified randomization. Subliminal stimuli were presented for 50 ms. Motor outcomes included reaction time on dominant (RT-R) and non-dominant (RT-L) sides, comfortable and maximal walking speeds measured by the 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT), and functional mobility assessed using the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. Cognitive performance assessed using the Trail Making Test (TMT). Outcomes were measured immediately before and after priming. Results: No significant main effects or interactions were observed for RT-R, comfortable walking speed, TUG, or TMT. There was a significant main effect of priming modality for maximal 10MWT speed (p = 0.044, ηp2 = 0.23). Significant priming modality × gender interactions were observed for maximal 10MWT (p = 0.044, ηp2 = 0.23) and RT-L (p = 0.026, ηp2 = 0.26). Estimated marginal means indicated modality-specific performance changes by gender. Conclusions: Subliminal priming produced modest gender-dependent effects on maximal walking speed and reaction time. These preliminary findings indicate selective sensitivity of high-demand motor tasks to subliminal cues, warranting further investigation using larger sample sizes and clinical populations.