Controlling automatic imitative tendencies: Interactions between mirror neuron and cognitive control systems

Cross, Katy A.; Torrisi, Salvatore; Losin, Elizabeth A. Reynolds; Iacoboni, Marco

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.06.060

Cited by 104 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 96 publications

(161 reference statements)

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“…Thus, the posterior part of the inferior frontal gyrus seems to be activated when participants attended to the biological characters (humanlike appearance) of the pseudo-postures, but might be normally under inhibitory control. One of the most promising brain regions, which pertain to the inhibitory control of motoric embodiment, is the prefrontal cortex, i.e., the anterior part of inferior frontal gyrus [10] [16] and/or anterior insula [19]. This prefrontal control network could suppress the MNS activity in response to the degree of the configural similarity between observed objects and human body postures stored as conceptual knowledge.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, in the occipital region, we found significant main effects of the ease of picture-naming in channels 13, 15, 20, 21, and 24 (F(1, 13) = 6.00, p < 0.05; F(1, 13) = 6.37, p < 0.05; F(1, 13) = 5.99, p < 0.05; F(1, 13) = 4.87, p < 0.05; F(1, 13) = 9.63, p < 0.01, respectively), and significant interactions between the picture-naming condition and period in channels 13,15,16,20,22,23, and 24 (F(10, 130) = 2.09, p < 0.05; F(10, 130) = 2.25, p < 0.05; F(10, 130) = 2.34, p < 0.05; F(10, 130) = 2.00, p < 0.05; F(10, 130) = 2.07, p < 0.05; F(10, 130) = 3.00, p < 0.01; F(10, 130) = 3.46, p < 0.01, respectively). Post-hoc comparisons using Shaffer's modified Bonferroni correction revealed that these interactions were due to the large responses under the easy condition as compared to those under the difficult condition during the period from target-presentation to confidence-judgment (p < 0.05).…”

Section: Nirs Data In the Novel Contour Shape Conditionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…We presumed that the channels 13,15,16,20,21,22,23, and 24 roughly cover the occipital lobe. The results in the novel contour shape condition showed that the occipital visual cortex is activated during the observation of easy-to-name shapes.…”

Section: Nirs Data In the Novel Contour Shape Conditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The activities in human MNS are modulated by the degree of intervention from other brain regions that have some higher-order cognitive functions, such as the cognitive control that inhibits unwanted behavior [15] [16]. For example, Cross et al [16] investigated the interactions between the cognitive control and mirror neuron systems by using an "imitation-inhibition task" in which participants have to execute their index or middle finger movement, respectively, in response to the observed congruent (i.e., the same) or incongruent (i.e., the different) finger movement of a video-taped hand. In the incongruent trials, the stimulus and response were dissimilar.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This conflict yielded more activation in the prefrontal neural network, specifically in the anterior insula associated with cognitive control system. Cross et al [16] suggested that anterior insula suppresses the automatic activity in MNS in response to the observed incongruent actions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Visual Perception of Incomplete Human-Like Body Postures: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

Itô¹,

Saito²,

Oi³

et al. 2014

JBBS

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Previous studies have reported that the mirror neuron system plays a crucial role in social cognition. We examined whether the higher-order cognitive functions are involved in the activations in the mirror neuron area when we perceive simplified pseudo-postures. We measured 14 participants' brain activation during the posture-recognition task using near-infrared spectroscopy. The participants' task was to observe five sequentially presented target pseudo-postures and judge whether a test pseudo-posture was identical to one of the preceding five target pseudo-postures. The results in the majority of participants (n = 10/14) revealed that the activity in the inferior frontal mirror neuron area is modulated by perception of human-likeness, but not in the remaining four participants (n = 4/14). These results suggest that the degree of the activation of higherorder cognitive functions, which may be engaged in the inhibitory and/or facilitative processing of human body or bodily movement, leads to the distinctive activities in the inferior frontal mirror neuron area.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nirs Data In the Novel Contour Shape Conditionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Nirs Data In the Novel Contour Shape Conditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Visual Perception of Incomplete Human-Like Body Postures: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

Itô¹,

Saito²,

Oi³

et al. 2014

JBBS

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A neural signature for combined action observation and motor imagery? An fNIRS study into prefrontal activation, automatic imitation, and self–other perceptions

et al. 2022

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Introduction: Research indicates that both observed and imagined actions can be represented in the brain as two parallel sensorimotor representations. One proposal is that higher order cognitive processes would align these two hypothetical action simulations. Methods:We investigated this hypothesis using an automatic imitation paradigm, with functional near-infrared spectroscopy recordings over the prefrontal cortex during different motor simulation states. On each trial, participants (n = 14) observed a picture of a rhythmical action (instructed action) followed by a distractor movie showing the same or different action. Participants then executed the instructed action. Distractor actions were manipulated to be fast or slow, and instructions were manipulated during distractor presentation: action observation (AO), combined action observation and motor imagery (AO+MI) and observe to imitate (intentional imitation). A pure motor imagery (MI) condition was also included.Results: Kinematic analyses showed that although distractor speed effects were significant under all instructions (shorter mean cycle times in execution for fast compared to slow trials), this imitation bias was significantly stronger for combined AO+MI than both AO and MI, and stronger for intentional imitation than the other three automatic imitation conditions. In the left prefrontal cortex, cerebral oxygenation was significantly greater for combined AO+MI than all other instructions. Participants reported that their representation of the self overlapped with the observed model significantly more during AO+MI than AO. Conclusion:Left prefrontal activation may therefore be a neural signature of AO+MI, supporting attentional switching between concurrent representations of self (MI, topdown) and other (AO, bottom-up) to increase imitation and perceived closeness.

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The Promise and Pitfalls of Studying the Neurophysiological Correlates of Automatic Imitation

Darda,

Ramsey

2024

Automatic Imitation

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The automatic copying of other people—automatic imitation—is one of the most widely studied topics in psychology. In this chapter, we review current evidence for the neurophysiological correlates of automatic imitation. To do so, we focus on one heavily used and influential paradigm that manipulates stimulus-response compatibility and is conducive to investigation using neuroscientific methods. We distinguish between two distinct mental processes that occur during imitation: action representation and action selection. Observed actions are perceived and represented and a particular action needs to be selected to be executed. Neuroscientific evidence concerning action representation appears relatively robust and engages a widespread and distributed network of visual and motor regions that span the ventral visual stream, as well as frontoparietal cortex. In contrast, the neurophysiological correlates of action selection during imitation are far from clear. The dominant view in the literature is that this particular task indexes processes relating to the control of automatic imitative tendencies, which rely on a self-other distinction mechanism that is uniquely tied to human social interaction and engages the theory-of-mind network. However, our analysis shows that this claim lacks essential evidence for four forms of validity (construct, internal, external, and statistical-conclusion validities). Instead, given current evidence, the best estimate is that this task engages domain-general forms of control that are underpinned by the multiple-demand network. For claims to be supported regarding socially specific forms of control when using this task, there is a burden of proof on researchers to show robust evidence for each of the four validities that we have outlined. Fortunately, with the emergence of the meta-science movement over the past 10 years, there are more resources than ever to help achieve this aim. More generally, even though we focus on one imitation task to provide a thorough test-case example, given the widespread and well-established lack of validity in psychology in general, we fully expect our analysis to be relevant across the full range of imitation tasks covered in this book, including imitation of speech, gestures, and emotions.

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Controlling automatic imitative tendencies: Interactions between mirror neuron and cognitive control systems

Cited by 104 publications

References 96 publications

Visual Perception of Incomplete Human-Like Body Postures: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

Visual Perception of Incomplete Human-Like Body Postures: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

A neural signature for combined action observation and motor imagery? An fNIRS study into prefrontal activation, automatic imitation, and self–other perceptions

The Promise and Pitfalls of Studying the Neurophysiological Correlates of Automatic Imitation

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