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Butti N, Urgesi C, McGlone FP, Oldrati V, Montirosso R, Cazzato V. To touch or to be touched? comparing appraisal of vicarious execution and reception of interpersonal touch. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0293164. [PMID: 38758835 PMCID: PMC11101113 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Unmyelinated C-Tactile (CT) fibres are activated by caress-like touch, eliciting a pleasant feeling that decreases for static and faster stroking. Previous studies documented this effect also for vicarious touch, hypothesising simulation mechanisms driving the perception and appreciation of observed interpersonal touch. Notably, less is known about appreciation of vicarious execution of touch, that is as referred to the one giving gentle touch. To address this issue, 53 healthy participants were asked to view and rate a series of videoclips displaying an individual being touched by another on hairy (i.e., hand dorsum) or glabrous (i.e., palm) skin sites, with touch being delivered at CT-optimal (5 cm/s) or non-CT optimal velocities (0 cm/s or 30 cm/s). Following the observation of each clip, participants were asked to rate self-referred desirability and model-referred pleasantness of vicarious touch for both executer (toucher-referred) and receiver (touchee-referred). Consistent with the CT fibres properties, for both self-referred desirability and model-referred pleasantness judgements of vicarious touch execution and reception, participants provided higher ratings for vicarious touch delivered at CT-optimal than other velocities, and when observed CT-optimal touch was delivered to the hand-dorsum compared to the palm. However, higher ratings were attributed to vicarious reception compared to execution of CT-optimal touch. Notably, individual differences in interoceptive trusting and attitude to interpersonal touch were positively correlated with, respectively, toucher- and touchee-related overall appraisal ratings of touch. These findings suggest that the appreciation of both toucher- and touchee-referred vicarious touch is specifically attuned to CT-optimal touch, even though they might rely on different neurocognitive mechanisms to understand affective information conveyed by interpersonal tactile interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niccolò Butti
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, 0–3 Centre for the at-Risk Infant, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences, PhD Program in Neural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Cosimo Urgesi
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, Lecco, Italy
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Francis P. McGlone
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland
| | | | - Rosario Montirosso
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, 0–3 Centre for the at-Risk Infant, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
| | - Valentina Cazzato
- Faculty of Health, School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Department of Cognitive, Psychological and Pedagogical Sciences and Cultural Studies, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
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2
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Oppici L, Mathias B, Narciss S, Proske A. Benefits of Enacting and Observing Gestures on Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 13:920. [PMID: 37998667 PMCID: PMC10669578 DOI: 10.3390/bs13110920] [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: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The integration of physical movements, such as gestures, into learning holds potential for enhancing foreign language (L2) education. Uncovering whether actively performing gestures during L2 learning is more, or equally, effective compared to simply observing such movements is central to deepening our understanding of the efficacy of movement-based learning strategies. Here, we present a meta-analysis of seven studies containing 309 participants that compares the effects of gesture self-enactment and observation on L2 vocabulary learning. The results showed that gesture observation was just as effective for L2 learning as gesture enactment, based on free recall, cued L2 recognition, and cued native language recognition performance, with a large dispersion of true effect across studies. Gesture observation may be sufficient for inducing embodied L2 learning benefits, in support of theories positing shared mechanisms underlying enactment and observation. Future studies should examine the effects of gesture-based learning over longer time periods with larger sample sizes and more diverse word classes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Oppici
- The Department of Teacher Education and Outdoor Studies, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, 0863 Oslo, Norway
| | - Brian Mathias
- School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, Scotland, UK;
| | - Susanne Narciss
- Psychology of Learning and Instruction, Department of Psychology, School of Science, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany; (S.N.); (A.P.)
- Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI), Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
| | - Antje Proske
- Psychology of Learning and Instruction, Department of Psychology, School of Science, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany; (S.N.); (A.P.)
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Gentile E, Brunetti A, Ricci K, Vecchio E, Santoro C, Sibilano E, Bevilacqua V, Iliceto G, Craighero L, de Tommaso M. Effects of movement congruence on motor resonance in early Parkinson's disease. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14887. [PMID: 37689819 PMCID: PMC10492841 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-42112-2] [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: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The observation of action seems to involve the generation of the internal representation of that same action in the observer, a process named motor resonance (MR). The objective of this study was to verify whether an experimental paradigm of action observation in a laboratory context could elicit cortical motor activation in 21 early Parkinson's disease (PD) patients compared to 22 controls. Participants were instructed to simply observe (observation-only session) or to respond (Time-to-contact detection session) at the instant the agent performed a grasping action toward a graspable or ungraspable object. We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy with 20 channels on the motor and premotor brain areas and event-related desynchronization of alpha-mu rhythm. In both groups, response times were more accurate in graspable than ungraspable object trials, suggesting that motor resonance is present in PD patients. In the Time-to-contact detection session, the oxyhemoglobin levels and alpha-mu desynchronization prevailed in the graspable object trials rather than in the ungraspable ones. This study demonstrates the preservation of MR mechanisms in early PD patients. The action observation finalized to a consequent movement can activate cortical networks in patients with early PD, suggesting early rehabilitation interventions taking into account specific observation paradigms preceding motor production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Gentile
- Neurophysiopathology Unit, Polyclinic General Hospital, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", 70136, Bari, Italy.
| | - Antonio Brunetti
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of Bari, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Katia Ricci
- Neurophysiopathology Unit, Polyclinic General Hospital, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", 70136, Bari, Italy
| | - Eleonora Vecchio
- Neurophysiopathology Unit, Polyclinic General Hospital, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", 70136, Bari, Italy
| | - Carlo Santoro
- Neurophysiopathology Unit, Polyclinic General Hospital, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", 70136, Bari, Italy
| | - Elena Sibilano
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of Bari, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Vitoantonio Bevilacqua
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of Bari, 70125, Bari, Italy
| | - Giovanni Iliceto
- Neurophysiopathology Unit, Polyclinic General Hospital, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", 70136, Bari, Italy
| | - Laila Craighero
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, 44121, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Marina de Tommaso
- Neurophysiopathology Unit, Polyclinic General Hospital, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", 70136, Bari, Italy
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Uithol S, Görgen K, Pischedda D, Toni I, Haynes JD. The effect of context and reason on the neural correlates of intentions. Heliyon 2023; 9:e17231. [PMID: 37383217 PMCID: PMC10293734 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Many studies have identified networks in parietal and prefrontal cortex that are involved in intentional action. Yet, our understanding of the way these networks are involved in intentions is still very limited. In this study, we investigate two characteristics of these processes: context- and reason-dependence of the neural states associated with intentions. We ask whether these states depend on the context a person is in and the reasons they have for choosing an action. We used a combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and multivariate decoding to directly assess the context- and reason-dependency of the neural states underlying intentions. We show that action intentions can be decoded from fMRI data based on a classifier trained in the same context and with the same reason, in line with previous decoding studies. Furthermore, we found that intentions can be decoded across different reasons for choosing an action. However, decoding across different contexts was not successful. We found anecdotal to moderate evidence against context-invariant information in all regions of interest and for all conditions but one. These results suggest that the neural states associated with intentions are modulated by the context of the action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebo Uithol
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology & Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kai Görgen
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Doris Pischedda
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Ivan Toni
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - John-Dylan Haynes
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Science of Intelligence, Research Cluster of Excellence, Berlin, Germany
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin School of Mind and Brain and Institute of Psychology, Berlin, Germany
- Technische Universität Dresden; SFB 940 Volition and Cognitive Control, Dresden, Germany
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Craighero L, Mele S, Gaifas V, Bonaguri E, Straudi S. Evidence of motor resonance in stroke patients with severe upper limb function impairments. Cortex 2023; 159:16-25. [PMID: 36603404 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.11.007] [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: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
For the past fifteen years, observation of actions has proved to be effective in the motor rehabilitation of stroke. Despite this, no evidence has ever been provided that this practice is able to activate the efferent motor system of a limb unable to perform the observed action due to stroke. In fact, transcranial magnetic stimulation cannot easily be used in these patients, and the fMRI evidence is inconclusive. This creates a logical problem, as the effectiveness of action observation in functional recovery is attributed to its ability to evoke action simulation, up to sub-threshold muscle activation (i.e., motor resonance), in healthy individuals. To provide the necessary proof-of-concept, patients with severe upper limb function impairments and matched control participants were submitted to a verified action prediction paradigm. They were asked to watch videos showing gripping movements towards a graspable or an ungraspable object, and to press a button the instant the agent touched the object. The presence of more accurate responses for the graspable object trials is considered an indirect evidence of motor resonance. Participants were required to perform the task in two sessions which differed in the hand used to respond. Despite the serious difficulty of movement, 8 out of 18 patients were able to perform the task with their impaired hand. We found that the responses given by the paretic hand showed a modulation of the action prediction time no different from that showed by the non-paretic hand, which, in turn, did not differ from that showed by the matched control participants. The present proof-of-concept study shows that action observation involves the efferent motor system even when the hand used to respond is unable to perform the observed action due to a cortical lesion, providing the missing evidence to support the already established use of Action Observation Training (AOT) in motor rehabilitation of stroke.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laila Craighero
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Via Fossato di Mortara 17/19, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
| | - Sonia Mele
- Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine & Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Piazzale Ludovico Antonio Scuro 10, 37124 Verona, Italy.
| | - Valentina Gaifas
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Via Fossato di Mortara 17/19, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
| | - Emma Bonaguri
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Via Fossato di Mortara 17/19, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
| | - Sofia Straudi
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Via Fossato di Mortara 17/19, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Ferrara University Hospital, Via Aldo Moro, 8, 44124 Ferrara, Italy.
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The pleasantness and unpleasantness of an object distinctively drives its grasping prediction: behavioral evidence. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2022; 87:1491-1500. [PMID: 36346479 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-022-01765-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Action and perception share a common sensorimotor network permitting a functional action-perception coupling. This coupling would permit to predict the outcome of others' actions. Moreover, recent findings suggest that action-perception linkage could be sensitive to emotional content of the visual scene. The present study sought to address how emotion inherent to an object (pleasantness and unpleasantness) affects action prediction processing. To this end, we compared the participants' temporal estimative of the hand contact with emotional objects in occlusion and full vision conditions. We found that the emotion strongly interfered in the prediction of its grasping. Indeed, the participants highly anticipated the touch instant for unpleasant valence compared to pleasant and neutral ones. Moreover, the visual conditions (i.e., occlusion and full vision) affect the magnitude of the predictive error except to unpleasant object. Accordingly, the present results unveil that pleasantness and unpleasantness of an object distinctively drive the prediction of its touch instant.
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Movement observation activates motor cortex in fibromyalgia patients: a fNIRS study. Sci Rep 2022; 12:4707. [PMID: 35304530 PMCID: PMC8933439 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08578-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Scientific evidence points to a shared neural representation between performing and observing an action. The action observation notoriously determines a modulation of the observer’s sensorimotor system, a phenomenon called Motor Resonance (MR). Fibromyalgia (FM) patients suffer from a condition characterized by generalized musculoskeletal pain in which even simple movement can exacerbate their symptoms. Maladaptive functioning of the primary motor cortex is a common finding in patients with chronic pain. Activation of the motor cortex is known to induce an analgesic effect in patients with chronic pain. In this exploratory study, we intend to verify if the mere observation of a movement could elicit activation of the motor cortical areas in patients with FM. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the presence of MR in patients affected by fibromyalgia. We adopted a behavioral paradigm known for detecting the presence of MR and a neurophysiological experiment. Participants watched videos showing gripping movements towards a graspable or an ungraspable object, respectively, and were asked to press a button the instant the agent touched the object (Time-to-contact detection session). In a different experimental session, participants were only requested to observe and pay attention to the videos (Observation-only session). During each experimental session, the participants’ cerebral hemodynamic activity was recorded using the functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy method. The behavioral task analysis revealed the presence of MR in both FM patients and healthy controls. Moreover, neurophysiological findings suggested that the observation of movement during the Observation-only session provoked activation and modulation of the cortical motor networks of FM patients. These results could represent evidence of the possible beneficial effects of movement observation in restarting motor activation, notoriously reduced, in FM patients.
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Repetto C, Mathias B, Weichselbaum O, Macedonia M. Visual recognition of words learned with gestures induces motor resonance in the forearm muscles. Sci Rep 2021; 11:17278. [PMID: 34446772 PMCID: PMC8390650 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-96792-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
According to theories of Embodied Cognition, memory for words is related to sensorimotor experiences collected during learning. At a neural level, words encoded with self-performed gestures are represented in distributed sensorimotor networks that resonate during word recognition. Here, we ask whether muscles involved in gesture execution also resonate during word recognition. Native German speakers encoded words by reading them (baseline condition) or by reading them in tandem with picture observation, gesture observation, or gesture observation and execution. Surface electromyogram (EMG) activity from both arms was recorded during the word recognition task and responses were detected using eye-tracking. The recognition of words encoded with self-performed gestures coincided with an increase in arm muscle EMG activity compared to the recognition of words learned under other conditions. This finding suggests that sensorimotor networks resonate into the periphery and provides new evidence for a strongly embodied view of recognition memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Repetto
- Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy.
| | - Brian Mathias
- Chair of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Research Group Neural Mechanisms of Human Communication, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Otto Weichselbaum
- Department of Information Engineering, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria
| | - Manuela Macedonia
- Department of Information Engineering, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria
- Research Group Ilse Meitner Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Linz Center of Mechatronics, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria
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Kemmerer D. What modulates the Mirror Neuron System during action observation?: Multiple factors involving the action, the actor, the observer, the relationship between actor and observer, and the context. Prog Neurobiol 2021; 205:102128. [PMID: 34343630 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2021.102128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Seeing an agent perform an action typically triggers a motor simulation of that action in the observer's Mirror Neuron System (MNS). Over the past few years, it has become increasingly clear that during action observation the patterns and strengths of responses in the MNS are modulated by multiple factors. The first aim of this paper is therefore to provide the most comprehensive survey to date of these factors. To that end, 22 distinct factors are described, broken down into the following sets: six involving the action; two involving the actor; nine involving the observer; four involving the relationship between actor and observer; and one involving the context. The second aim is to consider the implications of these findings for four prominent theoretical models of the MNS: the Direct Matching Model; the Predictive Coding Model; the Value-Driven Model; and the Associative Model. These assessments suggest that although each model is supported by a wide range of findings, each one is also challenged by other findings and relatively unaffected by still others. Hence, there is now a pressing need for a richer, more inclusive model that is better able to account for all of the modulatory factors that have been identified so far.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Kemmerer
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Lyles-Porter Hall, Purdue University, 715 Clinic Drive, United States.
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Craighero L, Mele S. Proactive gaze is present during biological and non-biological motion observation. Cognition 2020; 206:104461. [PMID: 33010721 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104461] [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: 03/14/2020] [Revised: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Others' action observation activates in the observer a coordinated hand-eye motor program, covert for the hand (i.e. motor resonance), and overt for the eye (i.e. proactive gaze), similar to that of the observed agent. The biological motion hypothesis of action anticipation claims that proactive gaze occurs only in the presence of biological motion, and that kinematic information is sufficient to determine the anticipation process. The results of the present study did not support the biological motion hypothesis of action anticipation. Specifically, proactive gaze was present during observation of both a biological accelerated-decelerated motion and a non-biological constant velocity motion (Experiment 1), in the presence of a barrier able to restrict differences between the two kinematics to the motion profile of individual markers prior to contact (Experiment 2), but only if an object was present at the end point of the movement trajectory (Experiment 3). Furthermore, proactive gaze was found independently of the presence of end effects temporally congruent with the instant in which the movement stopped (Experiments 4, and 5). We propose that the involvement of the observer's motor system is not restricted to when the agent moves with natural kinematics, and it is mandatory whenever the presence of an agent or a goal is evident, regardless of physical appearance, natural kinematics, and the possibility to identify the action behind the stimulus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laila Craighero
- Department of Biomedical and Surgical Specialist Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy.
| | - Sonia Mele
- Department of Biomedical and Surgical Specialist Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy
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Urgesi C, Alaerts K, Craighero L. Editorial: How Do Motivational States Influence Motor Resonance? Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:27. [PMID: 32116610 PMCID: PMC7033578 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Cosimo Urgesi
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, Udine, Italy.,Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | - Kaat Alaerts
- Research Group for Neuromotor Rehabilitation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Laila Craighero
- Department of Biomedical and Specialty Surgical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
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Amoruso L, Finisguerra A. Low or High-Level Motor Coding? The Role of Stimulus Complexity. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:332. [PMID: 31680900 PMCID: PMC6798151 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have shown that observing an action induces activity in the onlooker's motor system. In light of the muscle specificity and time-locked mirroring nature of the effect, this motor resonance has been traditionally viewed as an inner automatic replica of the observed movement. Notably, studies highlighting this aspect have classically considered movement in isolation (i.e., using non-realistic stimuli such as snapshots of hands detached from background). However, a few recent studies accounting for the role of contextual cues, motivational states, and social factors, have challenged this view by showing that motor resonance is not completely impervious to top-down modulations. A debate is still present. We reasoned that motor resonance reflects the inner replica of the observed movement only when its modulation is assessed during the observation of movements in isolation. Conversely, the presence of top-down modulations of motor resonance emerges when other high-level factors (i.e., contextual cues, past experience, social, and motivational states) are taken into account. Here, we attempt to lay out current TMS studies assessing this issue and discuss the results in terms of their potential to favor the inner replica or the top-down modulation hypothesis. In doing so, we seek to shed light on this actual debate and suggest specific avenues for future research, highlighting the need for a more ecological approach when studying motor resonance phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia Amoruso
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, San Sebastian, Spain.,IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
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