1
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Zhang P, Feng S, Zhang Q, Chen Y, Liu Y, Liu T, Bai X, Yin J. Online chasing action recruits both mirror neuron and mentalizing systems: A pilot fNIRS study. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2024; 248:104363. [PMID: 38905953 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104363] [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: 03/19/2024] [Revised: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Engaging in chasing, where an actor actively pursues a target, is considered a crucial activity for the development of social skills. Previous studies have focused predominantly on understanding the neural correlates of chasing from an observer's perspective, but the neural mechanisms underlying the real-time implementation of chasing action remain poorly understood. To gain deeper insights into this phenomenon, the current study employed functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) techniques and a novel interactive game. In this interactive game, participants (N = 29) were tasked to engage in chasing behavior by controlling an on-screen character using a gamepad, with the goal of catching a virtual partner. To specifically examine the brain activations associated with the interactive nature of chasing, we included two additional interactive actions: following action of following the path of a virtual partner and free action of moving without a specific pursuit goal. The results revealed that chasing and following actions elicited activation in a broad and overlapping network of brain regions, including the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), premotor cortex (PMC), primary somatosensory cortex (SI), and primary motor cortex (M1). Crucially, these regions were found to be modulated by the type of interaction, with greater activation and functional connectivity during the chasing interaction than during the following and free interactions. These findings suggested that both the MNS, encompassing regions such as the PMC, M1 and SI, and the mentalizing system (MS), involving the TPJ and mPFC, contribute to the execution of online chasing actions. Thus, the present study represents an initial step toward future investigations into the roles of MNS and MS in real-time chasing interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Zhang
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Shuyuan Feng
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Qihan Zhang
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Yixin Chen
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Yu Liu
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Tao Liu
- School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuejun Bai
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China.
| | - Jun Yin
- Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
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2
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Huang L, Du F, Huang W, Ren H, Qiu W, Zhang J, Wang Y. Three-stage Dynamic Brain-cognitive Model of Understanding Action Intention Displayed by Human Body Movements. Brain Topogr 2024:10.1007/s10548-024-01061-3. [PMID: 38874853 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-024-01061-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
The ability to comprehend the intention conveyed through human body movements is crucial for effective interpersonal interactions. If people can't understand the intention behind other individuals' isolated or interactive actions, their actions will become meaningless. Psychologists have investigated the cognitive processes and neural representations involved in understanding action intention, yet a cohesive theoretical explanation remains elusive. Hence, we mainly review existing literature related to neural correlates of action intention, and primarily propose a putative Three-stage Dynamic Brain-cognitive Model of understanding action intention, which involves body perception, action identification and intention understanding. Specifically, at the first stage, body parts/shapes are processed by those brain regions such as extrastriate and fusiform body areas; During the second stage, differentiating observed actions relies on configuring relationships between body parts, facilitated by the activation of the Mirror Neuron System; The last stage involves identifying various intention categories, utilizing the Mentalizing System for recruitment, and different activation patterns concerning the nature of the intentions participants dealing with. Finally, we delves into the clinical practice, like intervention training based on a theoretical model for individuals with autism spectrum disorders who encounter difficulties in interpersonal communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Huang
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Applied Cognition and Personality, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou, China.
- Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy.
| | - Fangyuan Du
- Fuzhou University of International Studies and Trade, Fuzhou, China
| | - Wenxin Huang
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Applied Cognition and Personality, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou, China
- School of Management, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hanlin Ren
- Third People's Hospital of Zhongshan, Zhongshan, China
| | - Wenzhen Qiu
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Applied Cognition and Personality, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou, China
| | - Jiayi Zhang
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Applied Cognition and Personality, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou, China
| | - Yiwen Wang
- The School of Economics and Management, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China.
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3
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Su X, Swallow KM. People can reliably detect action changes and goal changes during naturalistic perception. Mem Cognit 2024:10.3758/s13421-024-01525-8. [PMID: 38315292 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-024-01525-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
As a part of ongoing perception, the human cognitive system segments others' activities into discrete episodes (event segmentation). Although prior research has shown that this process is likely related to changes in an actor's actions and goals, it has not yet been determined whether untrained observers can reliably identify action and goal changes as naturalistic activities unfold, or whether the changes they identify are tied to visual features of the activity (e.g., the beginnings and ends of object interactions). This study addressed these questions by examining untrained participants' identification of action changes, goal changes, and event boundaries while watching videos of everyday activities that were presented in both first-person and third-person perspectives. We found that untrained observers can identify goal changes and action changes consistently, and these changes are not explained by visual change and the onsets or offsets of contact with objects. Moreover, the action and goal changes identified by untrained observers were associated with event boundaries, even after accounting for objective visual features of the videos. These findings suggest that people can identify action and goal changes consistently and with high agreement, that they do so by using sensory information flexibly, and that the action and goal changes they identify may contribute to event segmentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Su
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Khena M Swallow
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science Program, Cornell University, 211 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
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4
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Cristiano A, Finisguerra A, Urgesi C, Avenanti A, Tidoni E. Functional role of the theory of mind network in integrating mentalistic prior information with action kinematics during action observation. Cortex 2023; 166:107-120. [PMID: 37354870 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/26/2023]
Abstract
Inferring intentions from verbal and nonverbal human behaviour is critical for everyday social life. Here, we combined Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) with a behavioural priming paradigm to test whether key nodes of the Theory of Mind network (ToMn) contribute to understanding others' intentions by integrating prior knowledge about an agent with the observed action kinematics. We used a modified version of the Faked-Action Discrimination Task (FAD), a forced-choice paradigm in which participants watch videos of actors lifting a cube and judge whether the actors are trying to deceive them concerning the weight of the cube. Videos could be preceded or not by verbal description (prior) about the agent's truthful or deceitful intent. We applied single pulse TMS over three key nodes of the ToMn, namely dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) and right temporo-parietal junction (rTPJ). Sham-TMS served as a control (baseline) condition. Following sham or rTPJ stimulation, we observed no consistent influence of priors on FAD performance. In contrast, following dmPFC stimulation, and to a lesser extent pSTS stimulation, truthful and deceitful actions were perceived as more deceptive only when the prior suggested a dishonest intention. These findings highlight a functional role of dmPFC and pSTS in coupling prior knowledge about deceptive intents with observed action kinematics in order to judge faked actions. Our study provides causal evidence that fronto-temporal nodes of the ToMn are functionally relevant to mental state inference during action observation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azzurra Cristiano
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome and CLN(2)S@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy; IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
| | | | - 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, Udine, Italy
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Department of Psychology, Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy; Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad Católica Del Maule, Talca, Chile.
| | - Emmanuele Tidoni
- Human Technology Laboratory, School of Psychology and Social Work, University of Hull, Hull, UK; School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
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5
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Scaliti E, Pullar K, Borghini G, Cavallo A, Panzeri S, Becchio C. Kinematic priming of action predictions. Curr Biol 2023:S0960-9822(23)00687-5. [PMID: 37339628 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.05.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
The ability to anticipate what others will do next is crucial for navigating social, interactive environments. Here, we develop an experimental and analytical framework to measure the implicit readout of prospective intention information from movement kinematics. Using a primed action categorization task, we first demonstrate implicit access to intention information by establishing a novel form of priming, which we term kinematic priming: subtle differences in movement kinematics prime action prediction. Next, using data collected from the same participants in a forced-choice intention discrimination task 1 h later, we quantify single-trial intention readout-the amount of intention information read by individual perceivers in individual kinematic primes-and assess whether it can be used to predict the amount of kinematic priming. We demonstrate that the amount of kinematic priming, as indexed by both response times (RTs) and initial fixations to a given probe, is directly proportional to the amount of intention information read by the individual perceiver at the single-trial level. These results demonstrate that human perceivers have rapid, implicit access to intention information encoded in movement kinematics and highlight the potential of our approach to reveal the computations that permit the readout of this information with single-subject, single-trial resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugenio Scaliti
- Center for Human Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Enrico Melen, 83, 16152 Genova, Italy; Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Kiri Pullar
- Center for Human Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Enrico Melen, 83, 16152 Genova, Italy
| | - Giulia Borghini
- Center for Human Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Enrico Melen, 83, 16152 Genova, Italy
| | - Andrea Cavallo
- Center for Human Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Enrico Melen, 83, 16152 Genova, Italy; Department of Psychology, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Giuseppe Verdi, 10, 10124 Torino, Italy
| | - Stefano Panzeri
- Center for Human Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Enrico Melen, 83, 16152 Genova, Italy; Department of Excellence for Neural Information Processing, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Falkenried 94, 20251 Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Cristina Becchio
- Center for Human Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Enrico Melen, 83, 16152 Genova, Italy; Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
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6
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Fonagy P, Campbell C, Luyten P. Attachment, Mentalizing and Trauma: Then (1992) and Now (2022). Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13030459. [PMID: 36979268 PMCID: PMC10046260 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13030459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
This article reviews the current status of research on the relationship between attachment and trauma in developmental psychopathology. Beginning with a review of the major issues and the state-of-the-art in relation to current thinking in the field of attachment about the impact of trauma and the inter-generational transmission of trauma, the review then considers recent neurobiological work on mentalizing and trauma and suggests areas of new development and implications for clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Fonagy
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Correspondence:
| | - Chloe Campbell
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Patrick Luyten
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
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7
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Friedrich EVC, Zillekens IC, Biel AL, O'Leary D, Singer J, Seegenschmiedt EV, Sauseng P, Schilbach L. Spatio-temporal dynamics of oscillatory brain activity during the observation of actions and interactions between point-light agents. Eur J Neurosci 2023; 57:657-679. [PMID: 36539944 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15903] [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: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Predicting actions from non-verbal cues and using them to optimise one's response behaviour (i.e. interpersonal predictive coding) is essential in everyday social interactions. We aimed to investigate the neural correlates of different cognitive processes evolving over time during interpersonal predictive coding. Thirty-nine participants watched two agents depicted by moving point-light stimuli while an electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. One well-recognizable agent performed either a 'communicative' or an 'individual' action. The second agent either was blended into a cluster of noise dots (i.e. present) or was entirely replaced by noise dots (i.e. absent), which participants had to differentiate. EEG amplitude and coherence analyses for theta, alpha and beta frequency bands revealed a dynamic pattern unfolding over time: Watching communicative actions was associated with enhanced coupling within medial anterior regions involved in social and mentalising processes and with dorsolateral prefrontal activation indicating a higher deployment of cognitive resources. Trying to detect the agent in the cluster of noise dots without having seen communicative cues was related to enhanced coupling in posterior regions for social perception and visual processing. Observing an expected outcome was modulated by motor system activation. Finally, when the agent was detected correctly, activation in posterior areas for visual processing of socially relevant features was increased. Taken together, our results demonstrate that it is crucial to consider the temporal dynamics of social interactions and of their neural correlates to better understand interpersonal predictive coding. This could lead to optimised treatment approaches for individuals with problems in social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth V C Friedrich
- Department of Psychology, Research Unit Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Imme C Zillekens
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.,International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Anna Lena Biel
- Department of Psychology, Research Unit Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Research Unit Experimental Psychology, Münster University, Münster, Germany
| | - Dariusz O'Leary
- Department of Psychology, Research Unit Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Johannes Singer
- Department of Psychology, Research Unit Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.,Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universitat Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Eva Victoria Seegenschmiedt
- Department of Psychology, Research Unit Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Paul Sauseng
- Department of Psychology, Research Unit Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Leonhard Schilbach
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.,International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.,Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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8
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Ianì F, Limata T, Bucciarelli M, Mazzoni G. The implicit effect of action mental simulation on action evaluation. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2023; 76:257-270. [PMID: 35306935 DOI: 10.1177/17470218221091096] [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: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The main assumption underlying the present investigation is that action observation elicits a mandatory mental simulation representing the action forward in time. In Experiment 1, participants observed pairs of photos portraying the initial and the final still frames of an action video; then they observed a photo depicting the very same action but either forward or backward in time. Their task was to tell whether the action in the photo portrayed something happened before or after the action seen at encoding. In this explicit task, the evaluation was faster for forward photos than for backward photos. Crucially, the effect was replicated when instructions asked only to evaluate at test whether the photo depicted a scene congruent with the action seen at encoding (implicit task from two still frames, Experiment 2), and when at encoding, they were presented a single still frame and evaluated at test whether a photo depicted a scene congruent with the action seen at encoding (implicit task from single still frame; Experiment 3). Overall, the results speak in favour of a mandatory mechanism through which our brain simulates the action also in tasks that do not explicitly require action simulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Ianì
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy.,Centro di Logica, Linguaggio, e Cognizione, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Teresa Limata
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Monica Bucciarelli
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy.,Centro di Logica, Linguaggio, e Cognizione, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Giuliana Mazzoni
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy
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9
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Zhou Z, Tian H, Luo S, Wang Y, Shi D. Artistic gymnastics mirror teaching approach efficacy for improving interpersonal skills of college students. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY IN AFRICA 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/14330237.2022.2121040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zan Zhou
- Department of Physical Education, College of Education, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, China
| | - Haibo Tian
- Department of Physical Education, College of Education, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, China
| | - Siwei Luo
- Department of Physical Education, College of Education, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, China
| | - Yao Wang
- Department of Physical Education, College of Education, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, China
| | - Dan Shi
- School of Art, Zhejiang Yuexiu University, Shaoxing, China
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10
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Tidoni E, Holle H, Scandola M, Schindler I, Hill L, Cross ES. Human but not robotic gaze facilitates action prediction. iScience 2022; 25:104462. [PMID: 35707718 PMCID: PMC9189121 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Do people ascribe intentions to humanoid robots as they would to humans or non-human-like animated objects? In six experiments, we compared people’s ability to extract non-mentalistic (i.e., where an agent is looking) and mentalistic (i.e., what an agent is looking at; what an agent is going to do) information from gaze and directional cues performed by humans, human-like robots, and a non-human-like object. People were faster to infer the mental content of human agents compared to robotic agents. Furthermore, although the absence of differences in control conditions rules out the use of non-mentalizing strategies, the human-like appearance of non-human agents may engage mentalizing processes to solve the task. Overall, results suggest that human-like robotic actions may be processed differently from humans’ and objects’ behavior. These findings inform our understanding of the relevance of an object’s physical features in triggering mentalizing abilities and its relevance for human–robot interaction. People differently ascribe mental content to human-like and non-human-like agents A human-like shape may automatically engage mentalizing processes Human actions are interpreted faster than non-human actions
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11
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Tan KM, Daitch AL, Pinheiro-Chagas P, Fox KCR, Parvizi J, Lieberman MD. Electrocorticographic evidence of a common neurocognitive sequence for mentalizing about the self and others. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1919. [PMID: 35395826 PMCID: PMC8993891 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29510-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies of mentalizing (i.e., theory of mind) consistently implicate the default mode network (DMN). Nevertheless, the social cognitive functions of individual DMN regions remain unclear, perhaps due to limited spatiotemporal resolution in neuroimaging. Here we use electrocorticography (ECoG) to directly record neuronal population activity while 16 human participants judge the psychological traits of themselves and others. Self- and other-mentalizing recruit near-identical cortical sites in a common spatiotemporal sequence. Activations begin in the visual cortex, followed by temporoparietal DMN regions, then finally in medial prefrontal regions. Moreover, regions with later activations exhibit stronger functional specificity for mentalizing, stronger associations with behavioral responses, and stronger self/other differentiation. Specifically, other-mentalizing evokes slower and longer activations than self-mentalizing across successive DMN regions, implying lengthier processing at higher levels of representation. Our results suggest a common neurocognitive pathway for self- and other-mentalizing that follows a complex spatiotemporal gradient of functional specialization across DMN and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin M. Tan
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Social Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA USA
| | - Amy L. Daitch
- grid.168010.e0000000419368956Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA
| | - Pedro Pinheiro-Chagas
- grid.168010.e0000000419368956Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA
| | - Kieran C. R. Fox
- grid.168010.e0000000419368956Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA ,grid.168010.e0000000419368956School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA
| | - Josef Parvizi
- grid.168010.e0000000419368956Laboratory of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA ,grid.168010.e0000000419368956School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA
| | - Matthew D. Lieberman
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Social Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA USA
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12
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Cai Q, Xiong X, Gong W, Wang H. Multi-class classification of action intention understanding brain signals based on thresholding graph metric. JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT & FUZZY SYSTEMS 2022. [DOI: 10.3233/jifs-211333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Classification of action intention understanding is extremely important for human computer interaction. Many studies on the action intention understanding classification mainly focus on binary classification, while the classification accuracy is often unsatisfactory, not to mention multi-class classification. METHOD: To complete the multi-class classification task of action intention understanding brain signals effectively, we propose a novel feature extraction procedure based on thresholding graph metric. RESULTS: Both the alpha frequency band and full-band obtained considerable classification accuracies. Compared with other methods, the novel method has better classification accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: Brain activity of action intention understanding is closely related to the alpha band. The new feature extraction procedure is an effective method for the multi-class classification of action intention understanding brain signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Cai
- School of Statistics and Data Science, Nanjing Audit University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Xingliang Xiong
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Weiqiang Gong
- Nanjing Les Information System Technology Company, Ltd., Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Haixian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
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13
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Action Intention Understanding EEG Signal Classification Based on Improved Discriminative Spatial Patterns. COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 2021:1462369. [PMID: 34858491 PMCID: PMC8632405 DOI: 10.1155/2021/1462369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Revised: 10/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Objective Action intention understanding EEG signal classification is indispensable for investigating human-computer interactions and intention understanding mechanisms. Numerous investigations on classification tasks extract classification features by using graph theory metrics; however, the classification results are usually not good. Method To effectively implement the task of action intention understanding EEG signal classification, we proposed a new feature extraction method by improving discriminative spatial patterns. Results The whole frequency band and fusion band achieved satisfactory classification accuracies. Compared with other authors' methods for action intention understanding EEG signal classification, the new method performs more satisfactorily in some aspects. Conclusions The new feature extraction method not only effectively avoids complex values when solving the generalized eigenvalue problem but also perfectly realizes appreciable classification accuracies. Fusing the classification features of different frequency bands is a useful strategy for the classification task.
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14
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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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15
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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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16
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Ferrucci L, Nougaret S, Falcone R, Cirillo R, Ceccarelli F, Genovesio A. Dedicated Representation of Others in the Macaque Frontal Cortex: From Action Monitoring and Prediction to Outcome Evaluation. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:891-907. [PMID: 34428277 PMCID: PMC8841564 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab253] [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: 05/21/2020] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Social neurophysiology has increasingly addressed how several aspects of self and other are distinctly represented in the brain. In social interactions, the self–other distinction is fundamental for discriminating one’s own actions, intentions, and outcomes from those that originate in the external world. In this paper, we review neurophysiological experiments using nonhuman primates that shed light on the importance of the self–other distinction, focusing mainly on the frontal cortex. We start by examining how the findings are impacted by the experimental paradigms that are used, such as the type of social partner or whether a passive or active interaction is required. Next, we describe the 2 sociocognitive systems: mirror and mentalizing. Finally, we discuss how the self–other distinction can occur in different domains to process different aspects of social information: the observation and prediction of others’ actions and the monitoring of others’ rewards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Ferrucci
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SAPIENZA, University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Simon Nougaret
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SAPIENZA, University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Rossella Falcone
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SAPIENZA, University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Rossella Cirillo
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, Département de Neuroscience Cognitive, CNRS, UMR 5229, 69500 Bron Cedex, France
| | - Francesco Ceccarelli
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SAPIENZA, University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.,PhD program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Aldo Genovesio
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SAPIENZA, University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
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Savaki HE, Kavroulakis E, Papadaki E, Maris TG, Simos PG. Action Observation Responses Are Influenced by Movement Kinematics and Target Identity. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:490-503. [PMID: 34259867 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In order to inform the debate whether cortical areas related to action observation provide a pragmatic or a semantic representation of goal-directed actions, we performed 2 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments in humans. The first experiment, involving observation of aimless arm movements, resulted in activation of most of the components known to support action execution and action observation. Given the absence of a target/goal in this experiment and the activation of parieto-premotor cortical areas, which were associated in the past with direction, amplitude, and velocity of movement of biological effectors, our findings suggest that during action observation we could be monitoring movement kinematics. With the second, double dissociation fMRI experiment, we revealed the components of the observation-related cortical network affected by 1) actions that have the same target/goal but different reaching and grasping kinematics and 2) actions that have very similar kinematics but different targets/goals. We found that certain areas related to action observation, including the mirror neuron ones, are informed about movement kinematics and/or target identity, hence providing a pragmatic rather than a semantic representation of goal-directed actions. Overall, our findings support a process-driven simulation-like mechanism of action understanding, in agreement with the theory of motor cognition, and question motor theories of action concept processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen E Savaki
- Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Iraklion, Crete 70013, Greece.,Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Crete, Iraklion, Crete 70013, Greece
| | - Eleftherios Kavroulakis
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Crete, Iraklion, Crete 70013, Greece
| | - Efrosini Papadaki
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Crete, Iraklion, Crete 70013, Greece.,Computational Bio-Medicine Laboratory, Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Iraklion, Crete 70013, Greece
| | - Thomas G Maris
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Crete, Iraklion, Crete 70013, Greece.,Computational Bio-Medicine Laboratory, Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Iraklion, Crete 70013, Greece
| | - Panagiotis G Simos
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Crete, Iraklion, Crete 70013, Greece.,Computational Bio-Medicine Laboratory, Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Iraklion, Crete 70013, Greece
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18
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Wang G, Wang P, Chen Y. Doctors inhibit social threat empathy in the later stage of cognitive processing: Electrophysiological evidence. Conscious Cogn 2021; 92:103130. [PMID: 34023646 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Revised: 03/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have found that repeatedly exposed to a threatening situation may reduce doctors' level of empathy, reducing psychological stress and avoiding burnout and compassion fatigue. However, many essential studies found that it does not seem universal but rather modulated by group membership. In this study, we recorded event-related potentials (ERP) when doctors and controls watched visual stimuli describing patients attacking doctors (Threat events) or shaking hands with doctors (Neutral events). The present study showed an early N190 and a later centro-parietal P3 differential amplitude between threat stimuli and neutral stimuli were observed in the controls. For the doctors, there was such ERP differentiation in early N190. However, later stage P3 differential amplitude was not observed. The current research suggests that doctors could regulate empathy and avoid allocating more attention resources when processing social threats to ensure treatment efficiency and avoid burnout.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guan Wang
- School of Education Science, Huaiyin Normal University, 111, West Changjiang Road, Huaiyin District, Huaian 223001, China; Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China.
| | - Pei Wang
- Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China; Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, 3663, Zhongshan North Road, Putuo District, Shanghai 200062, China.
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19
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Vivanti G, Messinger DS. Theories of Autism and Autism Treatment from the DSM III Through the Present and Beyond: Impact on Research and Practice. J Autism Dev Disord 2021; 51:4309-4320. [PMID: 33491120 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-04887-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The purely descriptive definition of autism introduced by the DSM III in 1980 marked a departure from previous DSM editions, which mixed phenomenological descriptions with psychoanalytic theories of etiology. This provided a blank slate upon which a variety of novel theories emerged to conceptualize autism and its treatment in the following four decades. In this article we examine the contribution of these different theoretical orientations with a focus on their impact on research and practice, areas of overlap and conflict between current theories, and their relevance in the context of the evolving landscape of scientific knowledge and societal views of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Vivanti
- A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, 3020 Market Street, Suite 560, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
| | - Daniel S Messinger
- Departments of Psychology, Pediatrics, Music Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
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Decroix J, Borgomaneri S, Kalénine S, Avenanti A. State-dependent TMS of inferior frontal and parietal cortices highlights integration of grip configuration and functional goals during action recognition. Cortex 2020; 132:51-62. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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21
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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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22
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Xiong X, Yu Z, Ma T, Luo N, Wang H, Lu X, Fan H. Weighted Brain Network Metrics for Decoding Action Intention Understanding Based on EEG. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:232. [PMID: 32714168 PMCID: PMC7343772 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Understanding the action intentions of others is important for social and human-robot interactions. Recently, many state-of-the-art approaches have been proposed for decoding action intention understanding. Although these methods have some advantages, it is still necessary to design other tools that can more efficiently classify the action intention understanding signals. New Method: Based on EEG, we first applied phase lag index (PLI) and weighted phase lag index (WPLI) to construct functional connectivity matrices in five frequency bands and 63 micro-time windows, then calculated nine graph metrics from these matrices and subsequently used the network metrics as features to classify different brain signals related to action intention understanding. Results: Compared with the single methods (PLI or WPLI), the combination method (PLI+WPLI) demonstrates some overwhelming victories. Most of the average classification accuracies exceed 70%, and some of them approach 80%. In statistical tests of brain network, many significantly different edges appear in the frontal, occipital, parietal, and temporal regions. Conclusions: Weighted brain networks can effectively retain data information. The integrated method proposed in this study is extremely effective for investigating action intention understanding. Both the mirror neuron and mentalizing systems participate as collaborators in the process of action intention understanding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingliang Xiong
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhenhua Yu
- College of Computer Science and Technology, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
| | - Tian Ma
- College of Computer Science and Technology, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
| | - Ning Luo
- Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Haixian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- *Correspondence: Haixian Wang
| | - Xuesong Lu
- Department of Rehabilitation, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- Xuesong Lu
| | - Hui Fan
- Co-innovation Center of Shandong Colleges and Universities: Future Intelligent Computing, Shandong Technology and Business University, Yantai, China
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23
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Xiong X, Yu Z, Ma T, Wang H, Lu X, Fan H. Classifying action intention understanding EEG signals based on weighted brain network metric features. Biomed Signal Process Control 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bspc.2020.101893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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24
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Orlandi A, D'Incà S, Proverbio AM. Muscular effort coding in action representation in ballet dancers and controls: Electrophysiological evidence. Brain Res 2020; 1733:146712. [PMID: 32044337 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2020.146712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2019] [Revised: 02/04/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The present electrophysiological (EEG) study investigated the neural correlates of perceiving effortful vs. effortless movements belonging to a specific repertoire (ballet). Previous evidence has shown an increased heart and respiratory rate during the observation and imagination of human actions that require a great muscular effort. In addition, TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) and EEG studies have evidenced a greater muscle-specific cortical excitability and an increase in late event-related potentials during the observation of effortful actions. In this investigation, fifteen professional female ballet dancers and 15 controls with no experience whatsoever with dance, gymnastics, or martial arts were recruited. They were shown 326 short videos displaying a male dancer performing standard ballet steps that could be either effortful or relatively effortless. Participants were instructed to observe each clip and imagine themselves physically executing the same movement. Importantly, they were blinded to the stimuli properties. The observation of effortful compared with effortless movements resulted in a larger P300 over frontal sites in dancers only, likely because of their visuomotor expertise with the specific steps. Moreover, an enhanced Late Positivity was identified over posterior sites in response to effortful stimuli in both groups, possibly reflecting the processing of larger quantities of visual kinematic information. The source reconstruction swLORETA performed on the Late Positivity component showed greater engagement of frontoparietal regions in dancers, while task-related frontal and occipitotemporal visual regions were more active in controls. It, therefore, appears that, in dancers, effort information was encoded in a more refined manner during action observation and in the absence of explicit instruction. Acquired motor knowledge seems to result in visuomotor resonance processes, which, in turn, underlies enhanced action representation of the observed movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Orlandi
- Neuro-MI, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Dept. of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy.
| | - Silvia D'Incà
- Neuro-MI, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Dept. of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy
| | - Alice Mado Proverbio
- Neuro-MI, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Dept. of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy.
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25
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Decroix J, Roger C, Kalénine S. Neural dynamics of grip and goal integration during the processing of others' actions with objects: An ERP study. Sci Rep 2020; 10:5065. [PMID: 32193497 PMCID: PMC7081278 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61963-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent behavioural evidence suggests that when processing others’ actions, motor acts and goal-related information both contribute to action recognition. Yet the neuronal mechanisms underlying the dynamic integration of the two action dimensions remain unclear. This study aims to elucidate the ERP components underlying the processing and integration of grip and goal-related information. The electrophysiological activity of 28 adults was recorded during the processing of object-directed action photographs (e.g., writing with pencil) containing either grip violations (e.g. upright pencil grasped with atypical-grip), goal violations (e.g., upside-down pencil grasped with typical-grip), both grip and goal violations (e.g., upside-down pencil grasped with atypical-grip), or no violations. Participants judged whether actions were overall typical or not according to object typical use. Brain activity was sensitive to the congruency between grip and goal information on the N400, reflecting the semantic integration between the two dimensions. On earlier components, brain activity was affected by grip and goal typicality independently. Critically, goal typicality but not grip typicality affected brain activity on the N300, supporting an earlier role of goal-related representations in action recognition. Findings provide new insights on the neural temporal dynamics of the integration of motor acts and goal-related information during the processing of others’ actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jérémy Decroix
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Clémence Roger
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Solène Kalénine
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000, Lille, France.
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26
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What first drives visual attention during the recognition of object-directed actions? The role of kinematics and goal information. Atten Percept Psychophys 2020; 81:2400-2409. [PMID: 31292941 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-019-01784-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The recognition of others' object-directed actions is known to involve the decoding of both the visual kinematics of the action and the action goal. Yet whether action recognition is first guided by the processing of visual kinematics or by a prediction about the goal of the actor remains debated. In order to provide experimental evidence to this issue, the present study aimed at investigating whether visual attention would be preferentially captured by visual kinematics or by action goal information when processing others' actions. In a visual search task, participants were asked to find correct actions (e.g., drinking from glass) among distractor actions. Distractors actions contained grip and/or goal violations and could therefore share the correct goal and/or the correct grip with the target. The time course of fixation proportion on each distractor action has been taken as an indicator of visual attention allocation. Results show that visual attention is first captured by the distractor action with similar goal. Then the withdrawal of visual attention from the action distractor with similar goal suggests a later attentional capture by the action distractor with similar grip. Overall, results are in line with predictive approaches of action understanding, which assume that observers first make a prediction about the actor's goal before verifying this prediction using the visual kinematics of the action.
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27
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Pedullà L, Gervasoni E, Bisio A, Biggio M, Ruggeri P, Avanzino L, Bove M. The last chance to pass the ball: investigating the role of temporal expectation and motor resonance in processing temporal errors in motor actions. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2020; 15:123-134. [PMID: 32064526 PMCID: PMC7171376 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans can acquire information on others' motor outputs (action prediction) and intentions (action understanding) according to their individual motor repertoire and to the detected gesture's features (e.g. temporal patterns). We aimed at dissociating between action prediction and action understanding abilities in soccer players and novices observing soccer action videos including correct timing pass (CTP) or delayed pass (DP). First, we used an occluding paradigm to evaluate participants' ability to predict the correct time to pass the ball. Although soccer players showed reduced reaction times, all subjects showed a similar pattern of performance: during DP observation, responses appeared delayed with respect to the other conditions but anticipated with respect to the observed DP. In a separate experiment, we investigated the ability to recognize CTP vs DP and the modulation of primary motor cortex (M1) excitability associated to video observation. Only soccer players showed selective modulation of M1 according to the plausibility of the observed action, with increased excitability during the observation of the CTP and in a phase preceding the DP. In conclusion, action prediction ability seems to be independent from the individual motor repertoire. By contrast, only subjects with previously acquired sensorimotor skills are able to infer the observed action's long-term intention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludovico Pedullà
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Human Physiology, University of Genoa, Genoa 16132, Italy
| | | | - Ambra Bisio
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Human Physiology, University of Genoa, Genoa 16132, Italy
| | - Monica Biggio
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Human Physiology, University of Genoa, Genoa 16132, Italy
| | - Piero Ruggeri
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Human Physiology, University of Genoa, Genoa 16132, Italy
| | - Laura Avanzino
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Human Physiology, University of Genoa, Genoa 16132, Italy
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa 16132, Italy
| | - Marco Bove
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Human Physiology, University of Genoa, Genoa 16132, Italy
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa 16132, Italy
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28
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Di Rienzo F, Joassy P, Kanthack T, MacIntyre TE, Debarnot U, Blache Y, Hautier C, Collet C, Guillot A. Effects of Action Observation and Action Observation Combined with Motor Imagery on Maximal Isometric Strength. Neuroscience 2019; 418:82-95. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.08.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2019] [Revised: 08/10/2019] [Accepted: 08/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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29
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Cerniglia L, Bartolomeo L, Capobianco M, Lo Russo SLM, Festucci F, Tambelli R, Adriani W, Cimino S. Intersections and Divergences Between Empathizing and Mentalizing: Development, Recent Advancements by Neuroimaging and the Future of Animal Modeling. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:212. [PMID: 31572143 PMCID: PMC6754072 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Both mentalization and empathy allow humans to understand others, through the representation of their mental states or their mood, respectively. The present review aims to explain those characteristics which are shared between empathy and the Theory of Mind. Research in neuroscience, based on naturalistic paradigms, has shown that abilities to mentalize and to empathize are associated with the activation of different neuro-cognitive circuits. As far as mirror-neuron processes are concerned, some structures (like Anterior Insula, AI; Anterior Cingulate Cortex, ACC) play a role both in the representation of one's own affective states and in comprehension of the same affective state when experienced by others. As for mentalization, the temporal parietal junction (TPj) and temporal poles (TP), the upper posterior temporal sulcus (pSTS) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are greatly involved: the latter appears involved in the attribution of one's own and others' temperaments. Interestingly, the ventral/orbital portion of the PFC (orbito-frontal cortex, OFC) is involved in subserving shared affective experience during cognitive mentalizing. This brain region represents a point of overlap, from a psycho-biological point of view, where emotional mirroring and affective cognition meet up. As for animal models, laboratory rodents can well be tested for prosocial behavior. Some examples include deliberate actions, allowing another conspecific the possibility to feed ("giving food"): this willingness can vary across donors, depending on how the recipient is perceived. Other examples include the possibility to let a trapped conspecific come out ("giving help"). The state-of-the-art knowledge about this theme can inform the programming of specific clinical interventions, based on the reinforcement of empathic and/or mentalization abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Cerniglia
- Faculty of Psychology, International Telematic University Uninettuno, Rome, Italy
| | - Letizia Bartolomeo
- Faculty of Psychology, International Telematic University Uninettuno, Rome, Italy
| | - Micaela Capobianco
- Faculty of Psychology, International Telematic University Uninettuno, Rome, Italy
| | - Sara Lucia M. Lo Russo
- Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome, Italy
| | - Fabiana Festucci
- Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome, Italy
| | - Renata Tambelli
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Walter Adriani
- Faculty of Psychology, International Telematic University Uninettuno, Rome, Italy
- Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome, Italy
| | - Silvia Cimino
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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Tramacere A, Wada K, Okanoya K, Iriki A, Ferrari PF. Auditory-Motor Matching in Vocal Recognition and Imitative Learning. Neuroscience 2019; 409:222-234. [PMID: 30742962 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.01.056] [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: 11/08/2018] [Revised: 01/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Songbirds possess mirror neurons (MNs) activating during the perception and execution of specific features of songs. These neurons are located in high vocal center (HVC), a premotor nucleus implicated in song perception, production and learning, making worth to inquire their properties and functions in vocal recognition and imitative learning. By integrating a body of brain and behavioral data, we discuss neurophysiology, anatomical, computational properties and possible functions of songbird MNs. We state that the neurophysiological properties of songbird MNs depends on sensorimotor regions that are outside the auditory neural system. Interestingly, songbirds MNs can be the result of the specific type of song representation possessed by some songbird species. At the functional level, we discuss whether songbird MNs are involved in others' song recognition, by dissecting the function of recognition in various different but possible overlapping processes: action-oriented perception, discriminative-oriented perception and identification of the signaler. We conclude that songbird MNs may be involved in recognizing other singer's vocalizations, while their role in imitative learning still require to solve how auditory feedback are used to correct own vocal performance to match the tutor song. Finally, we compare songbird and human mirror responses, hypothesizing a case of convergent evolution, and proposing new experimental directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Tramacere
- Max Planck for the Science of Human History, DLCE Department, Jena, Kahlaische Str 10, 07745, Germany.
| | - Kazuhiro Wada
- Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, Hokkaido University, Kita-10 Nishi-8 Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
| | - Kazuo Okanoya
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 153-8902 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Atsushi Iriki
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 351-0106 Saitama Prefecture, Wako, Hirosawa, Japan
| | - Pier F Ferrari
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, via Volturno, 43125, Italy; Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jannerod, CNRS/Universite' Claude Bernard Lyon, 67 Pd Pinel 69675, Bron Cedex, France
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31
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Arioli M, Canessa N. Neural processing of social interaction: Coordinate-based meta-analytic evidence from human neuroimaging studies. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:3712-3737. [PMID: 31077492 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2019] [Revised: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
While the action observation and mentalizing networks are considered to play complementary roles in understanding others' goals and intentions, they might be concurrently engaged when processing social interactions. We assessed this hypothesis via three activation-likelihood-estimation meta-analyses of neuroimaging studies on the neural processing of: (a) social interactions, (b) individual actions by the action observation network, and (c) mental states by the mentalizing network. Conjunction analyses and direct comparisons unveiled overlapping and specific regions among the resulting maps. We report quantitative meta-analytic evidence for a "social interaction network" including key nodes of the action observation and mentalizing networks. An action-social interaction-mentalizing gradient of activity along the posterior temporal cortex highlighted a hierarchical processing of interactions, from visuomotor analyses decoding individual and shared intentions to in-depth inferences on actors' intentional states. The medial prefrontal cortex, possibly in conjunction with the amygdala, might provide additional information concerning the affective valence of the interaction. This evidence suggests that the functional architecture underlying the neural processing of interactions involves the joint involvement of the action observation and mentalizing networks. These data might inform the design of rehabilitative treatments for social cognition disorders in pathological conditions, and the assessment of their outcome in randomized controlled trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Arioli
- Department of Humanities and Life Sciences, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia, Italy.,Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, IRCCS ICS Maugeri, Pavia, Italy
| | - Nicola Canessa
- Department of Humanities and Life Sciences, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia, Italy.,Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, IRCCS ICS Maugeri, Pavia, Italy
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32
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Raisa ZH, Karuppali S, Bhat JS, Bajaj G. Thinking about what he thinks of what I think: Assessing higher theory of mind abilities in Indian bilingual children between 3.0 and 8.11 years of age. Indian J Psychiatry 2019; 61:167-176. [PMID: 30992612 PMCID: PMC6425799 DOI: 10.4103/psychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_115_18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
CONTEXT The competence in theory of mind (ToM) abilities occurs in parallel with the development of language. To gain a deeper discernment about its proficiency, tasks tapping on higher-order ToM abilities have been implemented. AIMS This study aims to explore the development of higher-order ToM abilities in bilingual Indian children between 3.0 and 8.11 years of age, to achieve an insight into the influence of language on ToM abilities. SETTINGS AND DESIGN The current study followed a cross-sectional design along with an employment of a random convenient sampling procedure. The study was conducted in regular English medium schools with each participant individually being assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was done on 60 Kannada-English bilingual children, with each participant being assessed using two sets of stories (English and Kannada) that were constructed based on two different central themes which were verbally narrated. The stimulus of each set consisted of questions tapping on three levels (first-second-third orders) of ToM abilities. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Descriptive statistics determined the mean and standard deviation of the total ToM scores (in both languages). Wilcoxon Signed-Rank and Mann-Whitney U-tests were done to determine the level of significance across and between the age groups (in both languages), respectively. RESULTS The results revealed a significant difference across the age groups. In addition, a significant difference between the responses in English and Kannada were obtained. CONCLUSIONS The development of metalinguistic abilities is influenced by socioenvironmental factors as well as the language maturity of the child.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeba Hussain Raisa
- Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Sudhin Karuppali
- Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Jayashree Sunil Bhat
- Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Gagan Bajaj
- Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
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33
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Savaki HE, Raos V. Action perception and motor imagery: Mental practice of action. Prog Neurobiol 2019; 175:107-125. [PMID: 30711619 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2019.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2018] [Revised: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Motor cognition is related to the planning and generation of actions as well as to the recognition and imagination of motor acts. Recently, there is evidence that the motor system participates not only in overt actions but also in mental processes supporting covert actions. Within this framework, we have investigated the cortical areas engaged in execution, observation, and imagination of the same action, by the use of the high resolution quantitative 14C-deoxyglucose method in monkeys and by fMRI in humans, throughout the entire primate brain. Our data demonstrated that observing or imagining an action excites virtually the same sensory-motor cortical network which supports execution of that same action. In general agreement with the results of five relevant meta-analyses that we discuss extensively, our results imply mental practice, i.e. internal rehearsal of the action including movements and their sensory effects. We suggest that we actively perceive and imagine actions by selecting and running off-line restored sensory-motor memories, by mentally simulating the actions. We provide empirical evidence that mental simulation of actions underlies motor cognition, and conceptual representations are grounded in sensory-motor codes. Motor cognition may, therefore, be embodied and modal. Finally, we consider questions regarding agency attribution and the possible causal or epiphenomenal role the involved sensory-motor network could play in motor cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen E Savaki
- Department of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Vassilika Vouton, 70013, Iraklion, Crete, Greece; Computational Neuroscience Group, Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Plastira N 100 str, 70013, Iraklion, Crete, Greece.
| | - Vassilis Raos
- Department of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Vassilika Vouton, 70013, Iraklion, Crete, Greece; Computational Neuroscience Group, Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Plastira N 100 str, 70013, Iraklion, Crete, Greece
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34
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Reduced connectivity between mentalizing and mirror systems in autism spectrum condition. Neuropsychologia 2019; 122:88-97. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Revised: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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35
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Attention and cognitive load modulate motor resonance during action observation. Brain Cogn 2018; 128:7-16. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2018.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2018] [Revised: 10/17/2018] [Accepted: 10/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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36
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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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37
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Pokorny JJ, Hatt NV, Rogers SJ, Rivera SM. What Are You Doing With That Object? Comparing the Neural Responses of Action Understanding in Adolescents With and Without Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 2018; 48:809-823. [PMID: 29168088 PMCID: PMC5826790 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3338-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Understanding another's actions, including what they are doing and why they are doing it, can be difficult for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This understanding is supported by the action observation (AON) and mentalizing (MZN) networks, as well as the superior temporal sulcus. We examined these areas in children with ASD and typically developing controls by having participants view eating and placing actions performed in conventional and unconventional ways while functional magnetic resonance images were collected. We found an effect of action-type, but not conventionality, in both groups, and a between groups difference only when viewing conventional eating actions. Findings suggest there are not global AON/MZN deficits in ASD, and observing unconventional actions may not spontaneously activate the MZN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer J Pokorny
- The MIND (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95618, USA
| | - Naomi V Hatt
- Department of Psychology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95618, USA
| | - Sally J Rogers
- The MIND (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
| | - Susan M Rivera
- The MIND (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95618, USA.
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38
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Seeing mental states: An experimental strategy for measuring the observability of other minds. Phys Life Rev 2018; 24:67-80. [DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2017.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2017] [Revised: 09/29/2017] [Accepted: 10/01/2017] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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39
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Catmur C, Thompson EL, Bairaktari O, Lind F, Bird G. Sensorimotor training alters action understanding. Cognition 2018; 171:10-14. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2017.10.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2017] [Revised: 10/26/2017] [Accepted: 10/28/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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40
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Ruggiero M, Catmur C. Mirror neurons and intention understanding: Dissociating the contribution of object type and intention to mirror responses using electromyography. Psychophysiology 2018; 55:e13061. [PMID: 29349781 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2017] [Revised: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Since their discovery in the monkey and human brain, mirror neurons have been claimed to play a key role in understanding others' intentions. For example, "action-constrained" mirror neurons in inferior parietal lobule fire when the monkey observes a grasping movement that is followed by an eating action, but not when it is followed by a placing action. It is claimed these responses enable the monkey to predict the intentions of the actor. These findings have been replicated in human observers by recording electromyography responses of the mouth-opening mylohyoid muscle during action observation. Mylohyoid muscle activity was greater during the observation of actions performed with the intention to eat than of actions performed with the intention to place, again suggesting an ability to predict the actor's intentions. However, in previous studies, intention was confounded with object type (food for eating actions, nonfood for placing actions). We therefore used electromyography to measure mylohyoid activity in participants observing eating and placing actions. Unlike previous studies, we used a design in which each object (food, nonfood) could be both eaten and placed, and thus participants could not predict the actor's intention at the onset of the action. Greater mylohyoid activity was found for the observation of actions performed on food objects, irrespective of intention, indicating that the object type, not the actor's intention, drives the mirror response. This result suggests that observers' motor responses during action observation reflect the presence of a particular object, rather than the actor's underlying intentions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maura Ruggiero
- School of Human and Social Science, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.,Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom
| | - Caroline Catmur
- Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
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41
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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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42
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Arioli M, Perani D, Cappa S, Proverbio AM, Zani A, Falini A, Canessa N. Affective and cooperative social interactions modulate effective connectivity within and between the mirror and mentalizing systems. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 39:1412-1427. [PMID: 29265483 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2017] [Revised: 12/11/2017] [Accepted: 12/12/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Decoding the meaning of others' actions, a crucial step for social cognition, involves different neural mechanisms. While the "mirror" and "mentalizing" systems have been associated with, respectively, the processing of biological actions versus more abstract information, their respective contribution to intention understanding is debated. Processing social interactions seems to recruit both neural systems, with a different weight depending on cues emphasizing either shared action goals or shared mental states. We have previously shown that observing cooperative and affective social interactions elicits stronger activity in key nodes of, respectively, the mirror (left posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), superior parietal cortex (SPL), and ventral/dorsal premotor cortex (vPMC/dPMC)) and mentalizing (ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)) systems. To unveil their causal organization, we investigated the effective connectivity underlying the observation of human social interactions expressing increasing cooperativity (involving left pSTS, SPL, and vPMC) versus affectivity (vmPFC) via dynamic causal modeling in 36 healthy human subjects. We found strong evidence for a model including the pSTS and vPMC as input nodes for the observed interactions. The extrinsic connectivity of this model undergoes oppositely valenced modulations, with cooperativity promoting positive modulations of connectivity between pSTS and both SPL (forward) and vPMC (mainly backward), and affectivity promoting reciprocal positive modulations of connectivity between pSTS and vmPFC (mainly backward). Alongside fMRI data, such divergent effective connectivity suggests that different dimensions underlying the processing of social interactions recruit distinct, although strongly interconnected, neural pathways associated with, respectively, the bottom-up visuomotor processing of motor intentions, and the top-down attribution of affective/mental states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Arioli
- NEtS Center, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia, 27100, Italy.,Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele, Milan, 20132, Italy
| | - Daniela Perani
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele, Milan, 20132, Italy.,Nuclear Medicine Unit, Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, 20132, Italy.,Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, 20132, Italy
| | - Stefano Cappa
- NEtS Center, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia, 27100, Italy.,IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, 25125, Italy
| | - Alice Mado Proverbio
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, NeuroMi - Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, 20126, Italy
| | - Alberto Zani
- Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, IBFM-CNR, Milan, 20125, Italy
| | - Andrea Falini
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele, Milan, 20132, Italy.,Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, 20132, Italy.,Neuroradiology Unit, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, 20132, Italy
| | - Nicola Canessa
- NEtS Center, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia, 27100, Italy
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43
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Dance expertise modulates visual sensitivity to complex biological movements. Neuropsychologia 2017; 104:168-181. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.08.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2017] [Revised: 08/07/2017] [Accepted: 08/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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44
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Tracking the Time Course of Top-Down Contextual Effects on Motor Responses during Action Comprehension. J Neurosci 2017; 36:11590-11600. [PMID: 27852769 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.4340-15.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2015] [Revised: 06/19/2016] [Accepted: 06/22/2016] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Context plays a key role in coding high-level components of others' behavior, including the goal and the intention of an observed action. However, little is known about its possible role in shaping lower levels of action processing, such as simulating action kinematics and muscular activity. Furthermore, there is no evidence regarding the time course and the neural mechanisms subserving this modulation. To address these issues, we combined single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation and motor-evoked potentials while healthy humans watched videos of everyday actions embedded in congruent, incongruent, or ambiguous contexts. Video endings were occluded from view and participants had to predict action unfolding. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was delivered at 80, 240, and 400 ms after action onset. An earlier selective facilitation of motor resonance occurring at 240 ms was observed for actions embedded in congruent contexts, compared with those occurring in incongruent and ambiguous ones. Later on, at 400 ms, a selective inhibition of motor resonance was found for actions embedded in incongruent contexts, compared with those taking place in congruent and ambiguous ones. No modulations were observed at 80 ms. Together, these findings indicate that motor resonance can be modulated by contextual information with different timings, depending on the (in)congruency between the different levels of action representation. Furthermore, the different time course of these effects suggests that they stem from partially independent mechanisms, with the early facilitation directly involving M1, and the later inhibition recruiting high-level structures outside the motor system. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Previous studies indicate that, when we observe other people's actions, the context in which actions take place influences intention understanding. However, little is known about the precise mechanisms involved in the contextual modulation of action representation (i.e., inhibition vs facilitation) and how they unfold in time. The present study sheds light on these aspects. Specifically, we show an early top-down facilitation (at ∼240 ms) and a later inhibition (at ∼400 ms) of motor resonance in response to actions observed in congruent and incongruent contexts, respectively.
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45
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Avoidant Responses to Interpersonal Provocation Are Associated with Increased Amygdala and Decreased Mentalizing Network Activity. eNeuro 2017; 4:eN-NWR-0337-16. [PMID: 28660251 PMCID: PMC5485378 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0337-16.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2016] [Revised: 05/19/2017] [Accepted: 06/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
When intentionally pushed or insulted, one can either flee from the provoker or retaliate. The implementation of such fight-or-flight decisions is a central aspect in the genesis and evolution of aggression episodes, yet it is usually investigated only indirectly or in nonsocial situations. In the present fMRI study, we aimed to distinguish brain regions associated with aggressive and avoidant responses to interpersonal provocation in humans. Participants (thirty-six healthy young women) could either avoid or face a highly (HP) and a lowly (LP) provoking opponent in a competitive reaction time task: the fight-or-escape (FOE) paradigm. Subjects avoided the HP more often, but retaliated when facing her. Moreover, they chose to fight the HP more quickly, and showed increased heart rate (HR) right before confronting her. Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and sensorimotor cortex were more active when participants decided to fight, whereas the mentalizing network was engaged when deciding to avoid. Importantly, avoiding the HP relative to the LP was associated with both higher activation in the right basolateral amygdala and lower relative activity in several mentalizing regions [e.g., medial and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), temporal-parietal junction (TPJ)]. These results suggest that avoidant responses to provocation might result from heightened threat anticipation and are associated with reduced perspective taking. Furthermore, our study helps to reconcile conflicting findings on the role of the mentalizing network, the amygdala, and the OFC in aggression.
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46
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Finisguerra A, Amoruso L, Makris S, Urgesi C. Dissociated Representations of Deceptive Intentions and Kinematic Adaptations in the Observer's Motor System. Cereb Cortex 2016; 28:33-47. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2016] [Accepted: 10/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Finisguerra
- Dipartimento di Lingue e Letterature, Comunicazione, Formazione e Società, Università degli Studi di Udine, I-33100 Udine, Italy
| | - Lucia Amoruso
- Dipartimento di Lingue e Letterature, Comunicazione, Formazione e Società, Università degli Studi di Udine, I-33100 Udine, Italy
| | - Stergios Makris
- Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, Lancashire L394QP, UK
| | - Cosimo Urgesi
- Dipartimento di Lingue e Letterature, Comunicazione, Formazione e Società, Università degli Studi di Udine, I-33100 Udine, Italy
- Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCSS) Eugenio Medea, Polo Friuli Venezia Giulia, I-33078 San Vito al Tagliamento, Pordenone, Italy
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47
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Doing It Your Way: How Individual Movement Styles Affect Action Prediction. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0165297. [PMID: 27780259 PMCID: PMC5079573 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2016] [Accepted: 10/10/2016] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Individuals show significant variations in performing a motor act. Previous studies in the action observation literature have largely ignored this ubiquitous, if often unwanted, characteristic of motor performance, assuming movement patterns to be highly similar across repetitions and individuals. In the present study, we examined the possibility that individual variations in motor style directly influence the ability to understand and predict others' actions. To this end, we first recorded grasping movements performed with different intents and used a two-step cluster analysis to identify quantitatively 'clusters' of movements performed with similar movement styles (Experiment 1). Next, using videos of the same movements, we proceeded to examine the influence of these styles on the ability to judge intention from action observation (Experiments 2 and 3). We found that motor styles directly influenced observers' ability to 'read' others' intention, with some styles always being less 'readable' than others. These results provide experimental support for the significance of motor variability for action prediction, suggesting that the ability to predict what another person is likely to do next directly depends on her individual movement style.
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48
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Mizuguchi N, Nakata H, Kanosue K. The right temporoparietal junction encodes efforts of others during action observation. Sci Rep 2016; 6:30274. [PMID: 27458025 PMCID: PMC4960610 DOI: 10.1038/srep30274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2016] [Accepted: 06/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Smooth social interactions require a deep understanding of others’ intentions and feelings. In the present study, to investigate brain regions that respond to inference of others’ effort level, we recorded brain activity during action observation of different effort levels using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We used a dumbbell curl movement to depict a movement requiring effort. To dissociate the factors of effort level of the actor and weight of the dumbbell, we used four combinations of dumbbell weight and actor physique: a thin actor or a built actor lifting a heavy or light dumbbell. During observation of dumbbell curls, the bilateral front-parietal action observation network (AON) was activated. This included the premotor cortices, parietal cortices, visual areas 5/superior temporal cortices (STS), amygdalae, hippocampi, right dorsolateral and ventrolateral frontal cortices. When we evaluated brain regions associated with the actor’s effort level, activity in the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and STS was observed. However, activity in the front-parietal AON was independent of the actor’s effort during action observation. This finding suggests that the right TPJ and STS play an important role in the inference of others’ effort levels during the observation of others’ movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nobuaki Mizuguchi
- Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan
| | - Hiroki Nakata
- Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan
| | - Kazuyuki Kanosue
- Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan
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49
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Jacquet PO, Roy AC, Chambon V, Borghi AM, Salemme R, Farnè A, Reilly KT. Changing ideas about others' intentions: updating prior expectations tunes activity in the human motor system. Sci Rep 2016; 6:26995. [PMID: 27243157 PMCID: PMC4886635 DOI: 10.1038/srep26995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2015] [Accepted: 05/10/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Predicting intentions from observing another agent's behaviours is often thought to depend on motor resonance - i.e., the motor system's response to a perceived movement by the activation of its stored motor counterpart, but observers might also rely on prior expectations, especially when actions take place in perceptually uncertain situations. Here we assessed motor resonance during an action prediction task using transcranial magnetic stimulation to probe corticospinal excitability (CSE) and report that experimentally-induced updates in observers' prior expectations modulate CSE when predictions are made under situations of perceptual uncertainty. We show that prior expectations are updated on the basis of both biomechanical and probabilistic prior information and that the magnitude of the CSE modulation observed across participants is explained by the magnitude of change in their prior expectations. These findings provide the first evidence that when observers predict others' intentions, motor resonance mechanisms adapt to changes in their prior expectations. We propose that this adaptive adjustment might reflect a regulatory control mechanism that shares some similarities with that observed during action selection. Such a mechanism could help arbitrate the competition between biomechanical and probabilistic prior information when appropriate for prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre O. Jacquet
- Evolution and Social Cognition Group, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (LNC), Département d’Etudes Cognitives, INSERM U960, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, F-75005 Paris, France
- Evolution and Social Cognition Group, Institut Jean Nicod, Département d’Etudes Cognitives, CNRS UMR8129, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Alice C. Roy
- Dynamique Du Langage, CNRS UMR 5596, University Lumières Lyon II, 69363 Lyon, France
| | - Valérian Chambon
- Evolution and Social Cognition Group, Institut Jean Nicod, Département d’Etudes Cognitives, CNRS UMR8129, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, F-75005 Paris, France
- Department of Neuroscience, Biotech Campus-University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Anna M. Borghi
- Department of Psychology, Bologna University, 40127 Bologna, Italy
- Institute of Sciences and Technologies of Cognition, CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Roméo Salemme
- ImpAct Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center CRNL, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, & Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion & Mouvement et Handicap, 69675 Bron, France
- University Claude Bernard Lyon I, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Alessandro Farnè
- ImpAct Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center CRNL, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, & Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion & Mouvement et Handicap, 69675 Bron, France
- University Claude Bernard Lyon I, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Karen T. Reilly
- ImpAct Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center CRNL, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, & Hospices Civils de Lyon, Neuro-immersion & Mouvement et Handicap, 69675 Bron, France
- University Claude Bernard Lyon I, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
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50
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Tidoni E, Candidi M. Commentary: Understanding intentions from actions: Direct perception, inference, and the roles of mirror and mentalizing systems. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:13. [PMID: 26903829 PMCID: PMC4749676 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2015] [Accepted: 01/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuele Tidoni
- Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Fondazione Santa LuciaRome, Italy; Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of RomeRome, Italy
| | - Matteo Candidi
- Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Fondazione Santa LuciaRome, Italy; Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of RomeRome, Italy
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