Modulation in the mirror neuron system when action prediction is not satisfied

Abstract

The ability to understand competitive games is closely connected to the mirror neuron system (MNS). This network is activated not only when an action is performed, but also when it is observed. Apart from allowing the understanding of actions performed by others, the MNS has been implicated in predicting subsequent actions. However, the results concerning the modulation of this network by the final outcome of these predictions are contradictory. These contradictions may be related to the use of complex experimental conditions. The aim of this research is to identify changes in the activity of the MNS when the predictions are or are not satisfied in a simple intransitive action-based game. An event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study was conducted. It consisted of the observation of videos with two actors playing the well-known rock-paper-scissors game. The participants were asked to predict the response of the second actor when the first actor performed one of the three possible actions. In some videos (congruents) the prediction was satisfied, but in the rest of the videos (incongruents) the prediction was not satisfied. When the result was shown, higher activity in the MNS was observed in the congruent videos than in the incongruent ones. Therefore, the observation of a simple manual game leads to a significant activation of the MNS, and this activity seems to be modulated by the final outcome of a prediction, and when predictions are satisfied the activity is higher.

Predictability of action sub-steps modulates motor system activation during the observation of goal-directed actions

“…Wurm and colleagues (2014) showed that activity in several regions of the AON -in particular in the inferior frontal gyrus and occipitotemporal cortex -decreased as a function of goal predictability. These findings support the notion that the action observation network is modulated by action predictability (see also Plata Bello et al, 2015).…”

“…Moreover, our findings complement recent fMRI research suggesting that brain regions involved in action perception (i.e. premotor, parietal and occipitotemporal areas, often referred to as the action observation network (AON), see Cross et al, 2012;Cross, Kraemer, Hamilton, Kelley, & Grafton, 2009;Gazzola & Keysers, 2009;Schubotz, 2007) are modulated by action predictability (Plata Bello, Modroño, Marcano, & González-Mora, 2015;Wurm, Hrkać, Morikawa, & Schubotz, 2014). Wurm and colleagues (2014), for instance, assessed the processing of multi-step actions which were either characterized by the presence of an overarching action goal or not (see also .…”

Uncertainty in contextual and kinematic cues jointly modulate motor resonance in primary motor cortex

“…In the predictive coding framework contextual information or prior knowledge is able to guide the observer towards inferring the most likely intention of an observed movement even if sensory input is uncertain or lacking completely. This theory is supported by several studies showing that predictions regarding observed actions can modulate the mirror responses (Cross, Stadler, Parkinson, Schütz-Bosbach, & Prinz, 2013;Plata Bello, Modroño, Marcano, & González-Mora, 2015;Press, Weiskopf, & Kilner, 2012;Thioux & Keysers, 2015;Wurm & Schubotz, 2012. Our results show that grip specific facilitation of human M1 is consistent with this idea, suggesting that contextual cues activated top-down mechanisms which facilitated highly specific motor representations in M1.…”

Visual inputs decrease brain activity in frontal areas during silent lipreading

“…This information activated per se frontal speech areas that are closely tied to the motor plan that has to be executed to produce the same speech movement [29]. The presentation of an incongruent visual stimuli would lead to different results [30].…”