The modulation of the motor resonance triggered by reach-to-grasp movements: No role of human physical similarity as conveyed by age
| Autor: | Barbara F. M. Marino, Paola Ricciardelli |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Marino, B, Ricciardelli, P |
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Aging Movement Kinematics 050105 experimental psychology Functional Laterality Visual processing 03 medical and health sciences Young Adult 0302 clinical medicine Sex Factors Humans 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Reach to grasp Range of Motion Articular Mirror neuron Motor resonance Communication Chi-Square Distribution Hand Strength business.industry General Neuroscience 05 social sciences Age Factors Observer (special relativity) Middle Aged Biomechanical Phenomena Motor resonance Mirror-neuron system Reach-to-grasp movements Physical similarity Hand kinematics Behavior understanding Categorization Visual Perception Female Perception business Psychology M-PSI/01 - PSICOLOGIA GENERALE 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Psychomotor Performance Cognitive psychology |
| Zdroj: | Experimental brain research. 235(7) |
| ISSN: | 1432-1106 |
| Popis: | The activation of the mirror-neuron circuit during the observation of motor acts is thought to be the basis of human capacity to read the intentions behind the behavior of others. Growing empirical evidence shows a different activation of the mirror-neuron resonance mechanism depending on how much the observer and the observed agent share their motor repertoires. Here, the possible modulatory effect of physical similarity between the observer and the agent was investigated in three studies. We used a visuo-motor priming task in which participants were asked to categorize manipulable and non-manipulable objects into natural or man-made kinds after having watched precision and power reach-to-grasp movements. Physical similarity was manipulated by presenting reach-to-grasp movements performed by the hands of actors of three different age ranges that are adults of the same age as the participants, children, and elderly. Faster responses were observed in trials where power grip movements were performed by the adults and precision grip movements were performed by the elderly (Main Study). This finding is not in keeping with the idea that physical similarity shapes the mirror-neuron resonance. Instead, it suggests an effect of the kinematic organization of the reach-to-grasp movements, which systematically changed with the actor age as revealed by a kinematic analysis. The differential effect played by adult and elderly actor primes was lost when static grasping hands (Control Study 1) and reach-to-grasp movements with uniform kinematic profiles (Control Study 2) were used. Therefore, we found preliminary evidence that mirror-neuron resonance is not shaped by physical similarity but by the kinematics of the observed action. This finding is novel as it suggests that human ability to read the intentions behind the behavior of others may benefit from a mere visual processing of spatiotemporal patterns. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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