1,721,242 research outputs found
Action representation and language in the brain
No full textIn the premotor cortex of the monkey there are neurons (mirror neurons) that become active both when the monkey performs a given action and when it observes a similar action performed by other individuals. Some of the properties of mirror neurons are reported here. We propose that their activity constitutes a system for matching observation and execution of motor actions. We posit that this matching system might be relevant for action “understanding”. On the basis of some recent experimental evidence showing that, in humans, motor actions observation activates Broca's region, we propose that such a matching system might be at the basis of the evolution of speech. © 1997, Walter de Gruyter. All rights reserved
Interaction-Mediated Tool Use Differently Enhances Physical and Social Cognition in Macaques (Macaca fascicularis)
Full text linkIn primates, learning to use a tool modulates cognitive functions related to the physical properties of objects. However, the impact of tool-use learning on social aspects of cognition has not been explored. We addressed this question via a training paradigm by using six, adult, long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), who were born in captivity and housed in the animal facility of the Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation of the University of Ferrara, Italy. We tested the effects of interaction-mediated tool use on overall cognitive performance in an experimental group (n = 2 males and n = 1 females). To evaluate changes in cognitive performance, we applied the Primate Cognition Test Battery at different stages of the training procedure that involved an interaction between the animal and an experimenter and the macaque using a rake to retrieve food items. As a control, we evaluated the performance of an age- and sex-matched group performing an interactive, manual grasping task. Several parameters related to the recognition of the position and noise of specific objects (i.e., space and causality in physical cognition), and those related to image-object association and object pointing to draw the attention of experimenter (i.e., communication aspects of social cognition) showed a significant improvement in the interaction-mediated tool-use group after the training period. The effects were transient, but the enhancement related to the noise and object pointing persisted for 35 days without further training. The control group showed no changes in cognitive performance. Our results show that interaction-mediated tool use enhances cognitive performance in both physical and social cognition domains
Changes in the excitability of the fingers flexor H-reflex while watching an hand movement
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Interaction, Cooperation and Entrainment in Music: Experience and Perspectives
No full textDiscusses the state of the art in motor control, perception and memory Addresses a large readership from humanities and natural sciences Presents a novel approach including video material, images and digital media
Scale-invariant changes in corticospinal excitability reflect multiplexed oscillations in the motor output
No full textIn the absence of disease, humans produce smooth and accurate movement trajectories. Despite such 'macroscopic' aspect, the 'microscopic' structure of movements reveals recurrent (quasi-rhythmic) discontinuities. To date, it is unclear how the sensorimotor system contributes to the macroscopic and microscopic architecture of movement. Here, we investigated how corticospinal excitability changes in relation to microscopic fluctuations that are naturally embedded within larger macroscopic variations in motor output. Participants performed a visuomotor tracking task. In addition to the 0.25 Hz modulation that is required for task fulfilment (macroscopic scale), the motor output shows tiny but systematic fluctuations at ∼2 and 8 Hz (microscopic scales). We show that motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) during task performance are consistently modulated at all (time) scales. Surprisingly, MEP modulation covers a similar range at both micro- and macroscopic scales, even though the motor output differs by several orders of magnitude. Thus, corticospinal excitability finely maps the multiscale temporal patterning of the motor output, but it does so according to a principle of scale invariance. These results suggest that corticospinal excitability indexes a relatively abstract level of movement encoding that may reflect the hierarchical organisation of sensorimotor processes. KEY POINTS: Motor behaviour is organised on multiple (time)scales. Small but systematic ('microscopic') fluctuations are engrained in larger and slower ('macroscopic') variations in motor output, which are instrumental in deploying the desired motor plan. Corticospinal excitability is modulated in relation to motor fluctuations on both macroscopic and microscopic (time)scales. Corticospinal excitability obeys a principle of scale invariance, that is, it is modulated similarly at all (time)scales, possibly reflecting hierarchical mechanisms that optimise motor encoding
The ontogenesis of action syntax
No full textLanguage and action share similar organizational principles. Both are thought to be hierarchical and recursive in nature. Here we address the relationship between language and action from developmental and neurophysiological perspectives. We discuss three major aspects: The extent of the analogy between language and action; the necessity to extend research on the yet largely neglected aspect of action syntax; the positive contribution of a developmental approach to this topic. We elaborate on the claim that adding an ontogenetic approach will help to obtain a comprehensive picture about both the interplay between language and action and its development, and to answer the question whether the underlying mechanisms of detecting syntactic violations of action sequences are similar to or different from the processing of language syntactic violations
Parallel fast and slow motor inhibition processes in Joint Action coordination
No full textMotor inhibition is essential to adapt to an ever-changing environment and to noise in state prediction. As a consequence, inhibitory motor control must also play a key role during Joint Action (JA) tasks, where the motor system has to further integrate inferences about others' action. Yet, very little research has been carried out on the contribution of motor inhibition in JA tasks. Here, we used an interactive task in which subjects were required to open a bottle with one hand. The bottle was held and stabilized by a co-actor (JA) or by a mechanical holder (vice clamp, no-JA). A first motion capture study characterized the reaching and grasping kinematics of the two conditions. In a second study, by means of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), we measured (i) corticospinal excitability (CSE), (ii) cortical silent period (cSP) and (iii) short-interval intracortical inhibition (sICI), during the reaching phase of the task. These latter two indexes respectively reflect slow corticospinal (GABAb-mediated) and fast intracortical (GABAa-mediated) inhibition. We found no modulation for CSE, while cSP was increased and intracortical inhibition was downregulated during JA. Interestingly, the cSP correlated with partners' predictability as a whole and with partners’ behaviour in the previous trial. These results, beside showing clear dissociation between fast and slow inhibition during JA, also shed new light on the predictive role played by corticospinal inhibitory mechanisms in online mutual behavioural co-adaptation
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