1
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Wang Y, Zhao Q, Ji Q, Jin X, Zhou C, Lu Y. fMRI evidence of movement familiarization effects on recognition memory in professional dancers. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhad490. [PMID: 38102949 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Dual-process theories propose that recognition memory involves recollection and familiarity; however, the impact of motor expertise on memory recognition, especially the interplay between familiarity and recollection, is relatively unexplored. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study used videos of a dancer performing International Latin Dance Styles as stimuli to investigate memory recognition in professional dancers and matched controls. Participants observed and then reported whether they recognized dance actions, recording the level of confidence in their recollections, whereas blood-oxygen-level-dependent signals measured encoding and recognition processes. Professional dancers showed higher accuracy and hit rates for high-confidence judgments, whereas matched controls exhibited the opposite trend for low-confidence judgments. The right putamen and precentral gyrus showed group-based moderation effects, especially for high-confidence (vs. low-confidence) action recognition in professional dancers. During action recognition, the right superior temporal gyrus and insula showed increased activation for accurate recognition and high-confidence retrieval, particularly in matched controls. These findings highlighting enhanced action memory of professional dancers-evident in their heightened recognition confidence-not only supports the dual-processing model but also underscores the crucial role of expertise-driven familiarity in bolstering successful recollection. Additionally, they emphasize the involvement of the action observation network and frontal brain regions in facilitating detailed encoding linked to intention processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Wang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
- Key Laboratory of Motor Cognitive Assessment and Regulation, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Qi Zhao
- Physical Education Institute, Jimei University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Qingchun Ji
- Department of Physical Education, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China
- Sports Economic Management Research Center, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Xinhong Jin
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
- Key Laboratory of Motor Cognitive Assessment and Regulation, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Chenglin Zhou
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
- Key Laboratory of Motor Cognitive Assessment and Regulation, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Yingzhi Lu
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
- Key Laboratory of Motor Cognitive Assessment and Regulation, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
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2
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Dai C, Peng Z, Wang L, Song T, Xu L, Xu M, Shao Y. Total sleep deprivation reduces the table tennis anticipation performance of young men: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. iScience 2023; 26:107973. [PMID: 37822501 PMCID: PMC10562798 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
This study explored whether and how sleep deprivation (SD) affects sport-related anticipation. Twenty table tennis players and 28 non-athletes completed a table tennis anticipation task before and after 36 h SD. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were acquired simultaneously. The results showed that, compared with the non-athletes, table tennis players had higher neural efficiency, manifested by their higher anticipation accuracy and lower frontal lobe activation. SD impaired anticipation performance, accompanied by decreased activation of the occipital and temporal lobes. Compensatory activation occurred in the left hippocampus and orbital part of the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) after SD in the table tennis player group, but not in the non-athlete group. The decreased accuracy of non-athletes was positively correlated with decreased activation of orbital part of the right IFG. This study's findings improve the understanding of the cognitive neuroscience mechanisms by which SD affects sport-related anticipation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cimin Dai
- School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Ziyi Peng
- School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Letong Wang
- School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Tao Song
- School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Lin Xu
- School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Mengmeng Xu
- School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Yongcong Shao
- School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
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3
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Campbell MEJ, Sherwell CS, Cunnington R, Brown S, Breakspear M. Reaction Time "Mismatch Costs" Change with the Likelihood of Stimulus-Response Compatibility. Psychon Bull Rev 2023; 30:184-199. [PMID: 36008626 PMCID: PMC9971163 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02161-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Dyadic interactions require dynamic correspondence between one's own movements and those of the other agent. This mapping is largely viewed as imitative, with the behavioural hallmark being a reaction-time cost for mismatched actions. Yet the complex motor patterns humans enact together extend beyond direct-matching, varying adaptively between imitation, complementary movements, and counter-imitation. Optimal behaviour requires an agent to predict not only what is likely to be observed but also how that observed action will relate to their own motor planning. In 28 healthy adults, we examined imitation and counter-imitation in a task that varied the likelihood of stimulus-response congruence from highly predictable, to moderately predictable, to unpredictable. To gain mechanistic insights into the statistical learning of stimulus-response compatibility, we compared two computational models of behaviour: (1) a classic fixed learning-rate model (Rescorla-Wagner reinforcement [RW]) and (2) a hierarchical model of perceptual-behavioural processes in which the learning rate adapts to the inferred environmental volatility (hierarchical Gaussian filter [HGF]). Though more complex and hence penalized by model selection, the HGF provided a more likely model of the participants' behaviour. Matching motor responses were only primed (faster) in the most experimentally volatile context. This bias was reversed so that mismatched actions were primed when beliefs about volatility were lower. Inferential statistics indicated that matching responses were only primed in unpredictable contexts when stimuli-response congruence was at 50:50 chance. Outside of these unpredictable blocks the classic stimulus-response compatibility effect was reversed: Incongruent responses were faster than congruent ones. We show that hierarchical Bayesian learning of environmental statistics may underlie response priming during dyadic interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan E J Campbell
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia.
- Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, Lot 1 Kookaburra Circuit, New Lambton Heights, NSW, 2305, Australia.
- The Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
| | - Chase S Sherwell
- School of Education, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Ross Cunnington
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Scott Brown
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia
| | - Michael Breakspear
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia
- School of Medicine, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia
- Schools of Psychological Sciences & Medicine, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia
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4
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Zimmermann M, Lomoriello AS, Konvalinka I. Intra-individual behavioural and neural signatures of audience effects and interactions in a mirror-game paradigm. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211352. [PMID: 35223056 PMCID: PMC8847899 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We often perform actions while observed by others, yet the behavioural and neural signatures of audience effects remain understudied. Performing actions while being observed has been shown to result in more emphasized movements in musicians and dancers, as well as during communicative actions. Here, we investigate the behavioural and neural mechanisms of observed actions in relation to individual actions in isolation and interactive joint actions. Movement kinematics and EEG were recorded in 42 participants (21 pairs) during a mirror-game paradigm, while participants produced improvised movements alone, while observed by a partner, or by synchronizing movements with the partner. Participants produced largest movements when being observed, and observed actors and dyads in interaction produced slower and less variable movements in contrast with acting alone. On a neural level, we observed increased mu suppression during interaction, as well as to a lesser extent during observed actions, relative to individual actions. Moreover, we observed increased widespread functional brain connectivity during observed actions relative to both individual and interactive actions, suggesting increased intra-individual monitoring and action-perception integration as a result of audience effects. These results suggest that observed actors take observers into account in their action plans by increasing self-monitoring; on a behavioural level, observed actions are similar to emergent interactive actions, characterized by slower and more predictable movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marius Zimmermann
- Section for Cognitive Systems, DTU Compute, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
- Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | | | - Ivana Konvalinka
- Section for Cognitive Systems, DTU Compute, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
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5
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Kislinger L. Photographs of Actions: What Makes Them Special Cues to Social Perception. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11111382. [PMID: 34827381 PMCID: PMC8615998 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11111382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
I have reviewed studies on neural responses to pictured actions in the action observation network (AON) and the cognitive functions of these responses. Based on this review, I have analyzed the specific representational characteristics of action photographs. There has been consensus that AON responses provide viewers with knowledge of observed or pictured actions, but there has been controversy about the properties of this knowledge. Is this knowledge causally provided by AON activities or is it dependent on conceptual processing? What elements of actions does it refer to, and how generalized or specific is it? The answers to these questions have come from studies that used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to stimulate motor or somatosensory cortices. In conjunction with electromyography (EMG), TMS allows researchers to examine changes of the excitability in the corticospinal tract and muscles of people viewing pictured actions. The timing of these changes and muscle specificity enable inferences to be drawn about the cognitive products of processing pictured actions in the AON. Based on a review of studies using TMS and other neuroscience methods, I have proposed a novel hypothetical account that describes the characteristics of action photographs that make them effective cues to social perception. This account includes predictions that can be tested experimentally.
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6
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Urgesi C, Butti N, Finisguerra A, Biffi E, Valente EM, Romaniello R, Borgatti R. Social prediction in pediatric patients with congenital, non-progressive malformations of the cerebellum: From deficits in predicting movements to rehabilitation in virtual reality. Cortex 2021; 144:82-98. [PMID: 34662720 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
It has been proposed that impairments of the predictive function exerted by the cerebellum may account for social cognition deficits. Here, we integrated cerebellar functions in a predictive coding framework to elucidate how congenital, non-progressive cerebellar alterations could affect the predictive processing of others' behavior. Experiment 1 demonstrated that cerebellar patients were impaired in relying on contextual information during prediction of other persons' movement, and this impairment was significantly associated with social cognition abilities. Experiment 2 indicated that children and adolescents with congenital, non-progressive cerebellar malformation showed a domain-general deficit in using contextual information to predict both others' movements and physical events, and that this impairment was independent from patients' cognitive abilities. Experiment 3 provided first evidence that a social-prediction training in virtual reality could boost the ability to use context-based predictions to understand others' intentions. These findings shed new light on the predictive role of the cerebellum and its contribution to social cognition, paving the way for new approaches to the rehabilitation of the Cerebellar Cognitive Affective Syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cosimo Urgesi
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, Neuropsychiatry and Neurorehabilitation Unit, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy; Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, Italy
| | - Niccolò Butti
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, Neuropsychiatry and Neurorehabilitation Unit, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy; PhD Program in Neural and Cognitive Sciences, Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Italy.
| | | | - Emilia Biffi
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, Bioengineering Lab, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
| | - Enza Maria Valente
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy; Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Romina Romaniello
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, Neuropsychiatry and Neurorehabilitation Unit, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
| | - Renato Borgatti
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy; Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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7
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Zickert N, Geuze RH, Riedstra B, Groothuis TGG. Is imitational learning a driving factor for the population bias in human hand preference? J Hum Evol 2021; 159:103045. [PMID: 34450398 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Revised: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Lateral preference is a widespread organizational principle in human and nonhuman animals. In humans, the most apparent lateralized trait (handedness) is unique in the animal kingdom because of a very pronounced bias towards right-handedness on a population level. In this study, based on previous experiments, we test the hypothesis that this bias was-among other factors-shaped by evolution through the facilitation of social learning. We exposed 134 subjects to footage of right- or left-handed knot making and analyzed whether concordant handedness between instructor and student facilitated quicker and more successful imitation. We used a set of nautical knots of different difficulty levels in order to test whether the potential effect of concordance became stronger with increasing knot difficulty. For all three performance measures (time until correct completion, number of attempts needed and correct imitation), we found hand congruency and difficulty level to be significant predictors but not the interaction of the two. We conclude that concordance of handedness between teacher and student of a motor skill enhances the speed and accuracy of imitation, which may have been a beneficial trait for selection to act upon, thereby shaping the human population bias in handedness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nele Zickert
- University of Groningen, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, GELIFES-Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Reint H Geuze
- University of Groningen, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, Department Clinical & Developmental Neuropsychology, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Bernd Riedstra
- University of Groningen, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, GELIFES-Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Ton G G Groothuis
- University of Groningen, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, GELIFES-Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen, the Netherlands
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8
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Fink B, Apalkova Y, Butovskaya ML, Shackelford TK. Are There Differences in Experts' and Lay Assessors' Attractiveness Judgments of Non-Professional Men's Dance/Gait Movements? Percept Mot Skills 2020; 128:492-506. [PMID: 33092486 DOI: 10.1177/0031512520967607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Research on attractiveness assessments of men's dance has shown that raters derive and integrate information about male mating-related qualities into their attractiveness assessments, but prior studies have focused on lay assessors (i.e., individuals with no professional dance background) rather than dance experts. We recruited male and female Russian dance experts (n = 23) to judge gender-neutral, featureless virtual characters, animated with motion-captured dance movements and gaits of British men, and compared their dance assessments to those from a group of Russian male and female lay assessors (n = 73). The dance experts provided higher dance and gait attractiveness judgments than the lay assessors. Both groups judged the gait movements to be of higher attractiveness than the dance movements. Differences in attractiveness assessments between experts and lay assessors were larger for the male judges than for the female judges. In an additional survey, the dance experts (versus lay assessors) placed greater emphasis on the importance of dance-related capacities and skills. We discuss our findings with reference to past research on dance/gait attractiveness as assessed by lay judges and the role of expertise in assessing body movement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernhard Fink
- Biosocial Science Information, Biedermannsdorf, Austria.,Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Yulia Apalkova
- Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Marina L Butovskaya
- Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation.,Higher School of Economics, National Research University, Moscow, Russian Federation.,Social Anthropology Research and Education Center, Russian State University for Humanities, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Todd K Shackelford
- Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, United States
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9
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Butti N, Corti C, Finisguerra A, Bardoni A, Borgatti R, Poggi G, Urgesi C. Cerebellar Damage Affects Contextual Priors for Action Prediction in Patients with Childhood Brain Tumor. THE CEREBELLUM 2020; 19:799-811. [DOI: 10.1007/s12311-020-01168-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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10
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Bioinspired Implementation and Assessment of a Remote-Controlled Robot. Appl Bionics Biomech 2019; 2019:8575607. [PMID: 31611928 PMCID: PMC6755284 DOI: 10.1155/2019/8575607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 05/09/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Daily activities are characterized by an increasing interaction with smart machines that present a certain level of autonomy. However, the intelligence of such electronic devices is not always transparent for the end user. This study is aimed at assessing the quality of the remote control of a mobile robot whether the artefact exhibits a human-like behavior or not. The bioinspired behavior implemented in the robot is the well-described two-thirds power law. The performance of participants who teleoperate the semiautonomous vehicle implementing the biological law is compared to a manual and nonbiological mode of control. The results show that the time required to complete the path and the number of collisions with obstacles are significantly lower in the biological condition than in the two other conditions. Also, the highest percentage of occurrences of curvilinear or smooth trajectories are obtained when the steering is assisted by an integration of the power law in the robot's way of working. This advanced analysis of the performance based on the naturalness of the movement kinematics provides a refined evaluation of the quality of the Human-Machine Interaction (HMI). This finding is consistent with the hypothesis of a relationship between the power law and jerk minimization. In addition, the outcome of this study supports the theory of a CNS origin of the power law. The discussion addresses the implications of the anthropocentric approach to enhance the HMI.
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11
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Donnarumma F, Dindo H, Pezzulo G. Sensorimotor Communication for Humans and Robots: Improving Interactive Skills by Sending Coordination Signals. IEEE Trans Cogn Dev Syst 2018. [DOI: 10.1109/tcds.2017.2756107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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12
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Decroix J, Kalénine S. Timing of grip and goal activation during action perception: a priming study. Exp Brain Res 2018; 236:2411-2426. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-018-5309-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2017] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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13
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Aziz-Zadeh L, Kilroy E, Corcelli G. Understanding Activation Patterns in Shared Circuits: Toward a Value Driven Model. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:180. [PMID: 29867409 PMCID: PMC5949354 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2017] [Accepted: 04/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the past decade many studies indicate that we utilize our own motor system to understand the actions of other people. This mirror neuron system (MNS) has been proposed to be involved in social cognition and motor learning. However, conflicting findings regarding the underlying mechanisms that drive these shared circuits make it difficult to decipher a common model of their function. Here we propose adapting a “value-driven” model to explain discrepancies in the human mirror system literature and to incorporate this model with existing models. We will use this model to explain discrepant activation patterns in multiple shared circuits in the human data, such that a unified model may explain reported activation patterns from previous studies as a function of value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Aziz-Zadeh
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.,Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Emily Kilroy
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.,Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Giorgio Corcelli
- Department of Economics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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14
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Spatiotemporal Phase Synchronization in Adaptive Reconfiguration from Action Observation Network to Mentalizing Network for Understanding Other's Action Intention. Brain Topogr 2017; 31:447-467. [PMID: 29264681 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-017-0614-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2017] [Accepted: 12/13/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
In action intention understanding, the mirror system is involved in perception-action matching process and the mentalizing system underlies higher-level intention inference. By analyzing the dynamic functional connectivity in α (8-12 Hz) and β (12-30 Hz) frequency bands over a "hand-cup interaction" observation task, this study investigates the topological transition from the action observation network (AON) to the mentalizing network (MZN), and estimates their functional relevance for intention identification from other's different action kinematics. Sequential brain microstates were extracted based on event-related potentials (ERPs), in which significantly differing neuronal responses were found in N170-P200 related to perceptually matching kinematic profiles and P400-700 involved in goal inference. Inter-electrode weighted phase lag index analysis on the ERP microstates revealed a shift of hub centrality salient in α frequency band, from the AON dominated by left-lateral frontal-premotor-temporal and temporal-parietooccipital synchronizations to the MZN consisting of more bilateral frontal-parietal and temporal-parietal synchronizations. As compared with usual actions, intention identification of unintelligible actions induces weaker synchronizations in the AON but dramatically increased connectivity in right frontal-temporal-parietal regions of the MZN, indicating a spatiotemporally complementary effect between the functional network configurations involved in mirror and mentalizing processes. Perceptual processing in observing usual/unintelligible actions decreases/increases requirements for intention inference, which would induce less/greater functional network reorganization on the way to mentalization. From the comparison, our study suggests that the adaptive topological changes from the AON to the MZN indicate implicit causal association between the mirror and mentalizing systems for decoding others' intentionality.
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15
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Kupferberg A, Iacoboni M, Flanagin V, Huber M, Kasparbauer A, Baumgartner T, Hasler G, Schmidt F, Borst C, Glasauer S. Fronto-parietal coding of goal-directed actions performed by artificial agents. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 39:1145-1162. [PMID: 29205671 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2017] [Revised: 11/17/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
With advances in technology, artificial agents such as humanoid robots will soon become a part of our daily lives. For safe and intuitive collaboration, it is important to understand the goals behind their motor actions. In humans, this process is mediated by changes in activity in fronto-parietal brain areas. The extent to which these areas are activated when observing artificial agents indicates the naturalness and easiness of interaction. Previous studies indicated that fronto-parietal activity does not depend on whether the agent is human or artificial. However, it is unknown whether this activity is modulated by observing grasping (self-related action) and pointing actions (other-related action) performed by an artificial agent depending on the action goal. Therefore, we designed an experiment in which subjects observed human and artificial agents perform pointing and grasping actions aimed at two different object categories suggesting different goals. We found a signal increase in the bilateral inferior parietal lobule and the premotor cortex when tool versus food items were pointed to or grasped by both agents, probably reflecting the association of hand actions with the functional use of tools. Our results show that goal attribution engages the fronto-parietal network not only for observing a human but also a robotic agent for both self-related and social actions. The debriefing after the experiment has shown that actions of human-like artificial agents can be perceived as being goal-directed. Therefore, humans will be able to interact with service robots intuitively in various domains such as education, healthcare, public service, and entertainment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Kupferberg
- Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Marco Iacoboni
- David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Brain Research Institute, Los Angeles, California
| | - Virginia Flanagin
- German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders DSGZ, Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich, München, Germany.,Center for Sensorimotor Research, Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilian University, München, Germany
| | - Markus Huber
- Center for Sensorimotor Research, Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilian University, München, Germany
| | | | - Thomas Baumgartner
- Department of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Gregor Hasler
- Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Florian Schmidt
- Department of Robotics, DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen, Bavaria, Germany
| | - Christoph Borst
- Department of Robotics, DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen, Bavaria, Germany
| | - Stefan Glasauer
- German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders DSGZ, Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich, München, Germany.,Center for Sensorimotor Research, Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilian University, München, Germany
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16
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Donnarumma F, Dindo H, Pezzulo G. Sensorimotor Coarticulation in the Execution and Recognition of Intentional Actions. Front Psychol 2017; 8:237. [PMID: 28280475 PMCID: PMC5322223 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2016] [Accepted: 02/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans excel at recognizing (or inferring) another's distal intentions, and recent experiments suggest that this may be possible using only subtle kinematic cues elicited during early phases of movement. Still, the cognitive and computational mechanisms underlying the recognition of intentional (sequential) actions are incompletely known and it is unclear whether kinematic cues alone are sufficient for this task, or if it instead requires additional mechanisms (e.g., prior information) that may be more difficult to fully characterize in empirical studies. Here we present a computationally-guided analysis of the execution and recognition of intentional actions that is rooted in theories of motor control and the coarticulation of sequential actions. In our simulations, when a performer agent coarticulates two successive actions in an action sequence (e.g., "reach-to-grasp" a bottle and "grasp-to-pour"), he automatically produces kinematic cues that an observer agent can reliably use to recognize the performer's intention early on, during the execution of the first part of the sequence. This analysis lends computational-level support for the idea that kinematic cues may be sufficiently informative for early intention recognition. Furthermore, it suggests that the social benefits of coarticulation may be a byproduct of a fundamental imperative to optimize sequential actions. Finally, we discuss possible ways a performer agent may combine automatic (coarticulation) and strategic (signaling) ways to facilitate, or hinder, an observer's action recognition processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Donnarumma
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council Rome, Italy
| | - Haris Dindo
- Computer Science Engineering, University of Palermo Palermo, Italy
| | - Giovanni Pezzulo
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council Rome, Italy
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Denis D, Rowe R, Williams AM, Milne E. The role of cortical sensorimotor oscillations in action anticipation. Neuroimage 2017; 146:1102-1114. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2016] [Revised: 09/16/2016] [Accepted: 10/12/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
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Palmer CE, Bunday KL, Davare M, Kilner JM. A Causal Role for Primary Motor Cortex in Perception of Observed Actions. J Cogn Neurosci 2016; 28:2021-2029. [PMID: 27458752 PMCID: PMC5348015 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
It has been proposed that motor system activity during action observation may be modulated by the kinematics of observed actions. One purpose of this activity during action observation may be to predict the visual consequence of another person's action based on their movement kinematics. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the primary motor cortex (M1) may have a causal role in inferring information that is present in the kinematics of observed actions. Healthy participants completed an action perception task before and after applying continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) over left M1. A neurophysiological marker was used to quantify the extent of M1 disruption following cTBS and stratify our sample a priori to provide an internal control. We found that a disruption to M1 caused a reduction in an individual's sensitivity to interpret the kinematics of observed actions; the magnitude of suppression of motor excitability predicted this change in sensitivity.
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Predictive action tracking without motor experience in 8-month-old infants. Brain Cogn 2016; 109:131-139. [PMID: 27693999 PMCID: PMC5090050 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2016.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2016] [Revised: 08/31/2016] [Accepted: 09/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Can infants predictively track the kinematics of actions outside their motor repertoire? Pre-walking infants predictively tracked upright, but not inverted stepping actions. Sensorimotor cortex was activated more when infants observed upright stepping actions. Motor experience is not necessary for predictive tracking of action kinematics.
A popular idea in cognitive neuroscience is that to predict others’ actions, observers need to map those actions onto their own motor repertoire. If this is true, infants with a relatively limited motor repertoire should be unable to predict actions with which they have no previous motor experience. We investigated this idea by presenting pre-walking infants with videos of upright and inverted stepping actions that were briefly occluded from view, followed by either a correct (time-coherent) or an incorrect (time-incoherent) continuation of the action (Experiment 1). Pre-walking infants looked significantly longer to the still frame after the incorrect compared to the correct continuations of the upright, but not the inverted stepping actions. This demonstrates that motor experience is not necessary for predictive tracking of action kinematics. In a follow-up study (Experiment 2), we investigated sensorimotor cortex activation as a neural indication of predictive action tracking in another group of pre-walking infants. Infants showed significantly more sensorimotor cortex activation during the occlusion of the upright stepping actions that the infants in Experiment 1 could predictively track, than during the occlusion of the inverted stepping actions that the infants in Experiment 1 could not predictively track. Taken together, these findings are inconsistent with the idea that motor experience is necessary for the predictive tracking of action kinematics, and suggest that infants may be able to use their extensive experience with observing others’ actions to generate real-time action predictions.
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Nogueira-Campos AA, Saunier G, Della-Maggiore V, De Oliveira LAS, Rodrigues EC, Vargas CD. Observing Grasping Actions Directed to Emotion-Laden Objects: Effects upon Corticospinal Excitability. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:434. [PMID: 27625602 PMCID: PMC5004483 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2016] [Accepted: 08/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The motor system is recruited whenever one executes an action as well as when one observes the same action being executed by others. Although it is well established that emotion modulates the motor system, the effect of observing other individuals acting in an emotional context is particularly elusive. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect induced by the observation of grasping directed to emotion-laden objects upon corticospinal excitability (CSE). Participants classified video-clips depicting the right-hand of an actor grasping emotion-laden objects. Twenty video-clips differing in terms of valence but balanced in arousal level were selected. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were then recorded from the first dorsal interosseous using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) while the participants observed the selected emotional video-clips. During the video-clip presentation, TMS pulses were randomly applied at one of two different time points of grasping: (1) maximum grip aperture, and (2) object contact time. CSE was higher during the observation of grasping directed to unpleasant objects compared to pleasant ones. These results indicate that when someone observes an action of grasping directed to emotion-laden objects, the effect of the object valence promotes a specific modulation over the motor system.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ghislain Saunier
- Laboratory of Motor Cognition, Department of Anatomy, Federal University of Pará Belém, Brazil
| | - Valeria Della-Maggiore
- IFIBIO Houssay, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Erika C Rodrigues
- Post-Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, Unisuam Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Claudia D Vargas
- Laboratory of Neurobiology II, Neurobiology Program, Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho, Federal University of Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro, Brazil; Instituto de Neurologia Deolindo Couto, Federal University of Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Hudson M, Nicholson T, Simpson WA, Ellis R, Bach P. One step ahead: The perceived kinematics of others' actions are biased toward expected goals. J Exp Psychol Gen 2015; 145:1-7. [PMID: 26595838 PMCID: PMC4694084 DOI: 10.1037/xge0000126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Action observation is often conceptualized in a bottom-up manner, where sensory information activates conceptual (or motor) representations. In contrast, here we show that expectations about an actor's goal have a top-down predictive effect on action perception, biasing it toward these goals. In 3 experiments, participants observed hands reach for or withdraw from objects and judged whether a probe stimulus corresponded to the hand's final position. Before action onset, participants generated action expectations on the basis of either object types (safe or painful, Experiments 1 and 2) or abstract color cues (Experiment 3). Participants more readily mistook probes displaced in a predicted position (relative to unpredicted positions) for the hand's final position, and this predictive bias was larger when the movement and expectation were aligned. These effects were evident for low-level movement and high-level goal expectancies. Expectations bias action observation toward the predicted goals. These results challenge current bottom-up views and support recent predictive models of action observation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Rob Ellis
- Department of Psychology, University of Plymouth
| | - Patric Bach
- Department of Psychology, University of Plymouth
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Badets A, Toussaint L, Blandin Y, Bidet-Ildei C. Interference effect of body shadow in action control. Perception 2014; 42:873-83. [PMID: 24303750 DOI: 10.1068/p7502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Observing actions performed by other persons can subsequently influence our own motor behaviours. However, it is unknown whether the shadows cast by such actions can also have an impact on the observers' actions. Here we show that the mere observation of a cast shadow can influence imitative behaviours. Specifically, participants were shown a hand picture and its associated cast shadow in a neutral position. In a 'compatible trial' the hand and the shadow that followed were turned in the same open or closed direction, whereas in an 'incompatible trial' the hand and the shadow were turned in different directions. We contrasted two experimental conditions: (i) 'hand-shadow' in which participants observed a hand and its cast shadow (the hand covered the shadow); (ii) 'hand-hand' in which participants observed a hand and another black hand (the shadow covered the hand). The participants' task was to imitate (ie by closing or opening their own hands) the hand or the cast shadow of an action. For both conditions results revealed interference (ie longer response latencies) for incompatible trials. This suggests for the first time that the mere observation of a cast shadow of a hand can influence imitative behaviours. However, time courses of the response latencies revealed that imitative effect in the hand-shadow condition was different than the imitative effect in the hand-hand condition. Therefore, we suggest considering the cast shadow of an action as an important feature during motor control for humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Badets
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l'Apprentissage, CNRS, UMR-7295, Maison des Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société, Bât A5; 5 rue Théodore Lefebvre, 86000 Poitiers, France.
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Pezzulo G, Candidi M, Dindo H, Barca L. Action simulation in the human brain: Twelve questions. NEW IDEAS IN PSYCHOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.newideapsych.2013.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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Pezzulo G, Iodice P, Ferraina S, Kessler K. Shared action spaces: a basis function framework for social re-calibration of sensorimotor representations supporting joint action. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:800. [PMID: 24324425 PMCID: PMC3840313 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2013] [Accepted: 11/03/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The article explores the possibilities of formalizing and explaining the mechanisms that support spatial and social perspective alignment sustained over the duration of a social interaction. The basic proposed principle is that in social contexts the mechanisms for sensorimotor transformations and multisensory integration (learn to) incorporate information relative to the other actor(s), similar to the “re-calibration” of visual receptive fields in response to repeated tool use. This process aligns or merges the co-actors’ spatial representations and creates a “Shared Action Space” (SAS) supporting key computations of social interactions and joint actions; for example, the remapping between the coordinate systems and frames of reference of the co-actors, including perspective taking, the sensorimotor transformations required for lifting jointly an object, and the predictions of the sensory effects of such joint action. The social re-calibration is proposed to be based on common basis function maps (BFMs) and could constitute an optimal solution to sensorimotor transformation and multisensory integration in joint action or more in general social interaction contexts. However, certain situations such as discrepant postural and viewpoint alignment and associated differences in perspectives between the co-actors could constrain the process quite differently. We discuss how alignment is achieved in the first place, and how it is maintained over time, providing a taxonomy of various forms and mechanisms of space alignment and overlap based, for instance, on automaticity vs. control of the transformations between the two agents. Finally, we discuss the link between low-level mechanisms for the sharing of space and high-level mechanisms for the sharing of cognitive representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Pezzulo
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council Rome, Italy
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Pezzulo G, Donnarumma F, Dindo H. Human sensorimotor communication: a theory of signaling in online social interactions. PLoS One 2013; 8:e79876. [PMID: 24278201 PMCID: PMC3835897 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2013] [Accepted: 09/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the importance of communication is recognized in several disciplines, it is rarely studied in the context of online social interactions and joint actions. During online joint actions, language and gesture are often insufficient and humans typically use non-verbal, sensorimotor forms of communication to send coordination signals. For example, when playing volleyball, an athlete can exaggerate her movements to signal her intentions to her teammates (say, a pass to the right) or to feint an adversary. Similarly, a person who is transporting a table together with a co-actor can push the table in a certain direction to signal where and when he intends to place it. Other examples of "signaling" are over-articulating in noisy environments and over-emphasizing vowels in child-directed speech. In all these examples, humans intentionally modify their action kinematics to make their goals easier to disambiguate. At the moment no formal theory exists of these forms of sensorimotor communication and signaling. We present one such theory that describes signaling as a combination of a pragmatic and a communicative action, and explains how it simplifies coordination in online social interactions. We cast signaling within a "joint action optimization" framework in which co-actors optimize the success of their interaction and joint goals rather than only their part of the joint action. The decision of whether and how much to signal requires solving a trade-off between the costs of modifying one's behavior and the benefits in terms of interaction success. Signaling is thus an intentional strategy that supports social interactions; it acts in concert with automatic mechanisms of resonance, prediction, and imitation, especially when the context makes actions and intentions ambiguous and difficult to read. Our theory suggests that communication dynamics should be studied within theories of coordination and interaction rather than only in terms of the maximization of information transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Pezzulo
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Francesco Donnarumma
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy
| | - Haris Dindo
- Computer Science Engineering, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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Lago-Rodriguez A, Lopez-Alonso V, Fernández-del-Olmo M. Mirror neuron system and observational learning: Behavioral and neurophysiological evidence. Behav Brain Res 2013; 248:104-13. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.03.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2013] [Revised: 03/18/2013] [Accepted: 03/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Abstract
Recent studies have highlighted cognitive and neural similarities between planning and perceiving actions. Given that action planning involves a simulation of potential action plans that depends on the actor's body posture, we reasoned that perceiving actions may also be influenced by one's body posture. Here, we test whether and how this influence occurs by measuring behavioral and cerebral (fMRI) responses in human participants predicting goals of observed actions, while manipulating postural congruency between their own body posture and postures of the observed agents. Behaviorally, predicting action goals is facilitated when the body posture of the observer matches the posture achieved by the observed agent at the end of his action (action's goal posture). Cerebrally, this perceptual postural congruency effect modulates activity in a portion of the left intraparietal sulcus that has previously been shown to be involved in updating neural representations of one's own limb posture during action planning. This intraparietal area showed stronger responses when the goal posture of the observed action did not match the current body posture of the observer. These results add two novel elements to the notion that perceiving actions relies on the same predictive mechanism as planning actions. First, the predictions implemented by this mechanism are based on the current physical configuration of the body. Second, during both action planning and action observation, these predictions pertain to the goal state of the action.
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Patel D, Fleming SM, Kilner JM. Inferring subjective states through the observation of actions. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:4853-60. [PMID: 23034708 PMCID: PMC3497093 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Estimating another person's subjective confidence is crucial for social interaction, but how this inference is achieved is unknown. Previous research has demonstrated that the speed at which people make decisions is correlated with their confidence in their decision. Here, we show that (i) subjects are able to infer the subjective confidence of another person simply through the observation of their actions and (ii) this inference is dependent upon the performance of each subject when executing the action. Crucially, the latter result supports a model in which motor simulation of an observed action mediates the successful understanding of other minds. We conclude that kinematic understanding allows access to the higher-order cognitive processes of others, and that this access plays a central role in social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Patel
- Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, IoN, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
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29
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Rybarczyk YP, Mestre D. Effect of temporal organization of the visuo-locomotor coupling on the predictive steering. Front Psychol 2012; 3:239. [PMID: 22798955 PMCID: PMC3394438 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2012] [Accepted: 06/22/2012] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies on the direction of a driver’s gaze while taking a bend show that the individual looks toward the tangent-point of the inside curve. Mathematically, the direction of this point in relation to the car enables the driver to predict the curvature of the road. In the same way, when a person walking in the street turns a corner, his/her gaze anticipates the rotation of the body. A current explanation for the visuo-motor anticipation over the locomotion would be that the brain, involved in a steering behavior, executes an internal model of the trajectory that anticipates the completion of the path, and not the contrary. This paper proposes to test this hypothesis by studying the effect of an artificial manipulation of the visuo-locomotor coupling on the trajectory prediction. In this experiment, subjects remotely control a mobile robot with a pan-tilt camera. This experimental paradigm is chosen to manipulate in an easy and precise way the temporal organization of the visuo-locomotor coupling. The results show that only the visuo-locomotor coupling organized from the visual sensor to the locomotor organs enables (i) a significant smoothness of the trajectory and (ii) a velocity-curvature relationship that follows the “2/3 Power Law.” These findings are consistent with the theory of an anticipatory construction of an internal model of the trajectory. This mental representation used by the brain as a forward prediction of the formation of the path seems conditioned by the motor program. The overall results are discussed in terms of the sensorimotor scheme bases of the predictive coding.
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Schubotz RI, Korb FM, Schiffer AM, Stadler W, von Cramon DY. The fraction of an action is more than a movement: Neural signatures of event segmentation in fMRI. Neuroimage 2012; 61:1195-205. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2011] [Revised: 03/14/2012] [Accepted: 04/03/2012] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
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Stapel JC, Hunnius S, Bekkering H. Online prediction of others' actions: the contribution of the target object, action context and movement kinematics. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2012; 76:434-45. [PMID: 22398683 PMCID: PMC3383950 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-012-0423-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2011] [Accepted: 01/27/2012] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Previous research investigated the contributions of target objects, situational context and movement kinematics to action prediction separately. The current study addresses how these three factors combine in the prediction of observed actions. Participants observed an actor whose movements were constrained by the situational context or not, and object-directed or not. After several steps, participants had to indicate how the action would continue. Experiment 1 shows that predictions were most accurate when the action was constrained and object-directed. Experiments 2A and 2B investigated whether these predictions relied more on the presence of a target object or cues in the actor's movement kinematics. The target object was artificially moved to another location or occluded. Results suggest a crucial role for kinematics. In sum, observers predict actions based on target objects and situational constraints, and they exploit subtle movement cues of the observed actor rather than the direct visual information about target objects and context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janny C Stapel
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Abstract
Manner of death determination is a basic and traditional task for medical examiners. Though it has a history spanning centuries, many facets of manner determination continue to be problematic. Few issues are more vexing than the difficulties in determining intent. A survey of members of the National Association of Medical Examiners was performed to determine current practice and attitudes about the use of intent in manner determination. There were 168 completed responses, representing an approximately 20% response rate. The results reveal significant variation. While the concept of “volition” as distinct from “intent” has been common for over a decade, less than 60% of respondents made the distinction in their practice. There was also wide variation in the degree of certainty practitioners noted they used when determining manner with peaks at between 51-60% and 95-99%. Some of this represents real uncertainty in manner determination and some represents cultural and regional differences in practice. The variation and uncertainty in these determinations has led some to suggest that this role be abandoned. However, the statistical, policy, and cultural need for these determinations dictate that the function will be performed even if abandoned by the medical examiner community. Medical examiners are uniquely positioned and trained to fill this need, and should continue to do so.
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Affiliation(s)
- William R. Oliver
- Departement of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, as well as Regional Medical Examiner for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina
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Schiffer AM, Ahlheim C, Ulrichs K, Schubotz RI. Neural changes when actions change: adaptation of strong and weak expectations. Hum Brain Mapp 2012; 34:1713-27. [PMID: 22422724 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2011] [Revised: 10/13/2011] [Accepted: 11/28/2011] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Repeated experiences with an event create the expectation that subsequent events will expose an analog structure. These spontaneous expectations rely on an internal model of the event that results from learning. But what happens when events change? Do experience-based internal models get adapted instantaneously, or is model adaptation a function of the solidity of, i.e., familiarity with, the corresponding internal model? The present fMRI study investigated the effects of model solidity on model adaptation in an action observation paradigm. Subjects were made acquainted with a set of action movies that displayed an altered script when encountered again in the scanning session. We found model adaptation to result in an attenuation of the premotor-parietal network for action observation. Model solidity was found to modulate activation in the parahippocampal gyrus and the anterior cerebellar lobules, where increased solidity correlated with activity increase. Finally, the comparison between early and late stages of learning indicated an effect of model solidity on adaptation rate. This contrast revealed the involvement of a fronto-mesial network of Brodmann area 10 and the ACC in those states of learning that were signified by high model solidity, no matter if the memorized original or the altered action model was the more solid component. Findings suggest that the revision of an internal model is dependent on its familiarity. Unwarranted adaptations, but also perseverations may thus be prevented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Marike Schiffer
- Motor Cognition Group, Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research, Cologne, Germany.
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Cross ES, Stadler W, Parkinson J, Schütz-Bosbach S, Prinz W. The influence of visual training on predicting complex action sequences. Hum Brain Mapp 2011; 34:467-86. [PMID: 22102260 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2011] [Revised: 07/26/2011] [Accepted: 08/02/2011] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Linking observed and executable actions appears to be achieved by an action observation network (AON), comprising parietal, premotor, and occipitotemporal cortical regions of the human brain. AON engagement during action observation is thought to aid in effortless, efficient prediction of ongoing movements to support action understanding. Here, we investigate how the AON responds when observing and predicting actions we cannot readily reproduce before and after visual training. During pre- and posttraining neuroimaging sessions, participants watched gymnasts and wind-up toys moving behind an occluder and pressed a button when they expected each agent to reappear. Between scanning sessions, participants visually trained to predict when a subset of stimuli would reappear. Posttraining scanning revealed activation of inferior parietal, superior temporal, and cerebellar cortices when predicting occluded actions compared to perceiving them. Greater activity emerged when predicting untrained compared to trained sequences in occipitotemporal cortices and to a lesser degree, premotor cortices. The occipitotemporal responses when predicting untrained agents showed further specialization, with greater responses within body-processing regions when predicting gymnasts' movements and in object-selective cortex when predicting toys' movements. The results suggest that (1) select portions of the AON are recruited to predict the complex movements not easily mapped onto the observer's body and (2) greater recruitment of these AON regions supports prediction of less familiar sequences. We suggest that the findings inform both the premotor model of action prediction and the predictive coding account of AON function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily S Cross
- Department of Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
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Effects of the model’s handedness and observer’s viewpoint on observational learning. Exp Brain Res 2011; 214:567-76. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-011-2856-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2011] [Accepted: 08/26/2011] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Cross ES, Liepelt R, Hamilton AFDC, Parkinson J, Ramsey R, Stadler W, Prinz W. Robotic movement preferentially engages the action observation network. Hum Brain Mapp 2011; 33:2238-54. [PMID: 21898675 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2011] [Revised: 04/26/2011] [Accepted: 04/27/2011] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
As humans, we gather a wide range of information about other people from watching them move. A network of parietal, premotor, and occipitotemporal regions within the human brain, termed the action observation network (AON), has been implicated in understanding others' actions by means of an automatic matching process that links observed and performed actions. Current views of the AON assume a matching process biased towards familiar actions; specifically, those performed by conspecifics and present in the observer's motor repertoire. In this study, we test how this network responds to form and motion cues when observing natural human motion compared to rigid robotic-like motion across two independent functional neuroimaging experiments. In Experiment 1, we report the surprising finding that premotor, parietal, occipitotemporal regions respond more robustly to rigid, robot-like motion than natural human motion. In Experiment 2, we replicate and extend this finding by demonstrating that the same pattern of results emerges whether the agent is a human or a robot, which suggests the preferential response to robot-like motion is independent of the agent's form. These data challenge previous ideas about AON function by demonstrating that the core nodes of this network can be flexibly engaged by novel, unfamiliar actions performed by both human and non-human agents. As such, these findings suggest that the AON is sensitive to a broader range of action features beyond those that are simply familiar.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily S Cross
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive & Brain Sciences, Department of Psychology, Leipzig, Germany.
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More than one pathway to action understanding. Trends Cogn Sci 2011; 15:352-7. [PMID: 21775191 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2011.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 247] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2011] [Revised: 06/08/2011] [Accepted: 06/13/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Many believe that the ability to understand the actions of others is made possible by mirror neurons and a network of brain areas known as the action-observation network (AON). Despite nearly two decades of research into mirror neurons and the AON, however, there is little evidence that they enable the inference of the intention of observed actions. Instead, theories of action selection during action execution indicate that a ventral pathway, linking middle temporal gyrus with the anterior inferior frontal gyrus, might encode these abstract features during action observation. Here I propose that action understanding requires more than merely the AON, and might be achieved through interactions between a ventral pathway and the dorsal AON.
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