Motor facilitation during action observation: a magnetic stimulation study

Abstract

1. We stimulated the motor cortex of normal subjects (transcranial magnetic stimulation) while they 1) observed an experimenter grasping 3D-objects, 2) looked at the same 3D-objects, 3) observed an experimenter tracing geometrical figures in the air with his arm, and 4) detected the dimming of a light. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from hand muscles. 2. We found that MEPs significantly increased during the conditions in which subjects observed movements. The MEP pattern reflected the pattern of muscle activity recorded when the subjects executed the observed actions. 3. We conclude that in humans there is a system matching action observation and execution. This system resembles the one recently described in the monkey.

The multiform motor cortical output: Kinematic, predictive and response coding

“…The aim of this study was to disentangle the relative contribution and combination of different 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 14 person being observed and the observer's ones (Avenanti, Bolognini, Maravita, & Aglioti, 2007;Borroni et al, 2005;Borroni & Baldissera, 2008;Fadiga et al, 1995;Gangitano et al, 2001;Montagna et al, 2005;Strafella & Paus, 2000;Urgesi et al, 2006) and an anticipatory modulation of motor activations according to the final end of the perceived movement. While the video in which the soccer player suddenly stopped after kicking the ball ('still' condition) determined a decrease in CS excitability -signaling a transition to the motor profile designated by the action seen, observing the videos in which the player continued to run extended CS activity until the final phase of the action sequence.…”

“…A growing body of neurophysiologic studies have, moreover, demonstrated that action observation selectively activates the effector muscles involved in performing that action (for review see Fadiga, Craighero, & Olivier, 2005). The motor potentials (MEPs) evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) during action observation appear, in fact, to be specifically attuned to the muscles involved in the action being observed (Fadiga, Fogassi, Pavesi, & Rizzolatti, 1995;Sartori, Bucchioni, & Castiello, 2012a;Strafella & Paus, 2000;Urgesi, Candidi, Fabbro, Romani, & Aglioti, 2006) and to its temporal pattern (Aglioti, Cesari, Romani, & Urgesi, 2008;Borroni & Baldissera, 2008;Janssen, Steenbergen, & Carson, 2013;Kilner, Vargas, Duval, Blakemore, & Sirigu, 2004;Gangitano, Mottaghy, & Pascual-Leone, 2001;Urgesi, Maieron, Avenanti, Tidoni, Fabbro, & Aglioti, 2010). Behavioral studies have also demonstrated motor compatibility 4 effects, showing how the observation of a finger movement that corresponds to the instructed finger movement can facilitate the response (Brass & Heyes, 2005;Liepelt, Prinz, & Brass, 2010).…”

Object words modulate the activity of the mirror neuron system during action imitation

“…Action observation is relatively automatic according to a previous study (Chong, Williams, et al., 2008), which may account for the lack of the word type effect in the action observation stage. As a passive process, action observation will automatically activate the motor and premotor cortex (Buccino, Binkofski, & Riggio, 2004; Buccino et al., 2001; Fadiga, Fogassi, Pavesi, & Rizzolatti, 1995), which does not need the information of intention or goal. However, action imitation is an active process, which involves both how the action is going and the outcome or target of the action.…”

Egocentric and object-based transformations in the laterality judgement of human and animal faces and of non-corporeal objects

“…It is used to transform and manipulate mental images and to mentally simulate actions. The simulation of a movement requires an amount of time that is proportional to the time needed to actually perform it [32,41], determines a specific facilitation on motor potential evoked by TMS [16] and activates a neural network partially overlapping with that involved in the movement planning [13] and execution [23,32]. Moreover, neurovegetative activation during physical effort is proportional to that measured during the mental simulation of the same task [12] and different cerebral lesions may determine selective and dissociable imagery deficits [41].…”