Dataset Information

Observation of static pictures of dynamic actions enhances the activity of movement-related brain areas.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Physiological studies of perfectly still observers have shown interesting correlations between increasing effortfulness of observed actions and increases in heart and respiration rates. Not much is known about the cortical response induced by observing effortful actions. The aim of this study was to investigate the time course and neural correlates of perception of implied motion, by presenting 260 pictures of human actions differing in degrees of dynamism and muscular exertion. ERPs were recorded from 128 sites in young male and female adults engaged in a secondary perceptual task. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Our results indicate that even when the stimulus shows no explicit motion, observation of static photographs of human actions with implied motion produces a clear increase in cortical activation, manifest in a long-lasting positivity (LP) between 350-600 ms that is much greater to dynamic than less dynamic actions, especially in men. A swLORETA linear inverse solution computed on the dynamic-minus-static difference wave in the time window 380-430 ms showed that a series of regions was activated, including the right V5/MT, left EBA, left STS (BA38), left premotor (BA6) and motor (BA4) areas, cingulate and IF cortex. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Overall, the data suggest that corresponding mirror neurons respond more strongly to implied dynamic than to less dynamic actions. The sex difference might be partially cultural and reflect a preference of young adult males for highly dynamic actions depicting intense muscular activity, or a sporty context.

SUBMITTER: Proverbio AM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2671843 | biostudies-literature | 2009

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Observation of static pictures of dynamic actions enhances the activity of movement-related brain areas.

Proverbio Alice Mado AM Riva Federica F Zani Alberto A

PloS one 20090506 5

<h4>Background</h4>Physiological studies of perfectly still observers have shown interesting correlations between increasing effortfulness of observed actions and increases in heart and respiration rates. Not much is known about the cortical response induced by observing effortful actions. The aim of this study was to investigate the time course and neural correlates of perception of implied motion, by presenting 260 pictures of human actions differing in degrees of dynamism and muscular exertio ...[more]

PMID: 19421311

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Project description:People interact with entities in the environment in distinct and categorizable ways (e.g., kicking is making contact with foot). We can recognize these action categories across variations in actors, objects, and settings; moreover, we can recognize them from both dynamic and static visual input. However, the neural systems that support action recognition across these perceptual differences are unclear. Here, we used multivoxel pattern analysis of fMRI data to identify brain regions that support visual action categorization in a format-independent way. Human participants were scanned while viewing eight categories of interactions (e.g., pulling) depicted in two visual formats: (1) visually controlled videos of two interacting actors and (2) visually varied photographs selected from the internet involving different actors, objects, and settings. Action category was decodable across visual formats in bilateral inferior parietal, bilateral occipitotemporal, left premotor, and left middle frontal cortex. In most of these regions, the representational similarity of action categories was consistent across subjects and visual formats, a property that can contribute to a common understanding of actions among individuals. These results suggest that the identified brain regions support action category codes that are important for action recognition and action understanding.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Humans tend to interpret the observed actions of others in terms of categories that are invariant to incidental features: whether a girl pushes a boy or a button and whether we see it in real-time or in a single snapshot, it is still pushing Here, we investigated the brain systems that facilitate the visual recognition of these action categories across such differences. Using fMRI, we identified several areas of parietal, occipitotemporal, and frontal cortex that exhibit action category codes that are similar across viewing of dynamic videos and still photographs. Our results provide strong evidence for the involvement of these brain regions in recognizing the way that people interact physically with objects and other people.

Dataset Information

Observation of static pictures of dynamic actions enhances the activity of movement-related brain areas.

Publications

Observation of static pictures of dynamic actions enhances the activity of movement-related brain areas.

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