Not So Automatic Imitation: Expectation of Incongruence Reduces Interference in Both Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development

Gordon, Andrew; Geddert, Raphael; Hogeveen, Jeremy; Krug, Marie K.; Solomon, Marjorie

doi:10.1007/s10803-019-04355-9

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…These earlier results converge with recent metaanalytic data to demonstrate the powerful influence that orthogonal spatial-compatibility effects can exert on measures of AI acquired in SRC procedures and their potential to obscure relationships between imitation and other aspects of social cognition (Shaw et al, 2017). This raises questions over the associations reported in studies using rotated hand stimuli between AI and social behaviour, as acknowledged in more recent research (Galang & Obhi, 2020;Gordon et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…A growing awareness of the strong confounding effect that simple spatial compatibility exerts on measures of AI in SRC tasks has led several studies to attempt to control for this methodological issue. One approach used increasingly to investigate the neurocognitive mechanisms behind imitative tendencies isolated from any simple spatial-compatibility effects is to rotate a left stimulus hand 90°counter-clockwise from participants' perspective (Cook & Bird, 2012;de Guzman, Bird, Banissy, & Catmur, 2016;Farwaha & Obhi, 2020;Galang & Obhi, 2020;Gordon et al, 2020;Hogeveen & Obhi, 2013;Hogeveen et al, 2014). In this orthogonal setup, the fingers of the horizontal response hand move up and down but those of the vertical stimulus hand move left and right, which is considered a way of controlling for any nonsocial spatial influences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Imitation or Polarity Correspondence? Behavioural and Neurophysiological Evidence for the Confounding Influence of Orthogonal Spatial Compatibility on Measures of Automatic Imitation

Czekóová

Shaw

Lamoš

et al. 2021

Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci

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During social interactions, humans tend to imitate one another involuntarily. To investigate the neurocognitive mechanisms driving this tendency, researchers often employ stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) tasks to assess the influence that action observation has on action execution. This is referred to as automatic imitation (AI). The stimuli used frequently in SRC procedures to elicit AI often confound action-related with other nonsocial influences on behaviour; however, in response to the rotated hand-action stimuli employed increasingly, AI partly reflects unspecific up-right/down-left biases in stimulus-response mapping. Despite an emerging awareness of this confounding orthogonal spatial-compatibility effect, psychological and neuroscientific research into social behaviour continues to employ these stimuli to investigate AI. To increase recognition of this methodological issue, the present study measured the systematic influence of orthogonal spatial effects on behavioural and neurophysiological measures of AI acquired with rotated hand-action stimuli in SRC tasks. In Experiment 1, behavioural data from a large sample revealed that complex orthogonal spatial effects exert an influence on AI over and above any topographical similarity between observed and executed actions. Experiment 2 reproduced this finding in a more systematic, within-subject design, and high-density electroencephalography revealed that electrocortical expressions of AI elicited also are modulated by orthogonal spatial compatibility. Finally, source localisations identified a collection of cortical areas sensitive to this spatial confound, including nodes of the multiple-demand and semantic-control networks. These results indicate that AI measured on SRC procedures with the rotated hand stimuli used commonly might reflect neurocognitive mechanisms associated with spatial associations rather than imitative tendencies.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imitation or Polarity Correspondence? Behavioural and Neurophysiological Evidence for the Confounding Influence of Orthogonal Spatial Compatibility on Measures of Automatic Imitation

Czekóová

Shaw

Lamoš

et al. 2021

Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci

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“… Behavior 13, n = 34 Adults n = 56 * Dikker et al, 2017 Brain synchrony Intersubject brain-to-brain synchrony in classroom modulated by closeness and shared attention. EEG hyperscanning 17−18, n = 12 Fitzpatrick et al, 2016 Synchrony Spontaneous phase entrainment with parent during pendulum swing Behavior 12−16, n = 9 Fourie et al, 2020 Action observation AON activity stronger with age and higher for communicative gestures in IFG and MTG fMRI 9.5–17, n = 16 Gordon et al, 2020 Automatic imitation Strong effect, modulated by block congruency rate Behavior 14−24 n = 50 * Oberman et al, 2013 Action observation Mu suppression during observation but not executions increases with age EEG 6−17, n = 51 Pokorny et al, 2015 Action observation Same network as in adults studies. Effect of object presence in IFG and SMF fMRI 9−17, n = 18 Xavier et al, 2018 Synchrony Improvement with age in instructed synchronization of movement and posture with virtual character Behavior 6−19, n = 38 * Wadsworth et al, 2017 Imitation Online Instructed imitation of hand postures; AON activity except in STS fMRI 8−17, n = 15 …”

Section: Scope Definitions and Why Study Interpersonal Motor Alignmementioning

confidence: 99%

Developmental trajectory of interpersonal motor alignment: Positive social effects and link to social cognition

Rauchbauer

Grosbras

2020

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

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Highlights Interpersonal motor alignment (IMA) has positive effects on healthy social life. IMA - mimicry, synchrony, automatic imitation - is studied throughout development. It relies on motor resonance brain mechanisms identified throughout development. It is modulated by contextual and personal factors. IMA is underinvestigated in adolescence, yet it may aid to enhance resilience.

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“…Finally, behavioural measures of imitation have also provided little evidence for a broken mirror account of autism. Although one study reported some differences in instructed imitation (Cossu et al, 2012), a task with many demands unrelated to mirror neurons, the majority of recent studies have found either no difference in imitation between autistic and neurotypical participants, or greater imitation in people with autism (Sowden et al, 2016;Schunke et al, 2016;Schulte-Ruther et al, 2017;Gordon et al, 2020). Overall, therefore, the last ten years of research have produced no compelling evidence for the claim that autism is associated with mirror neuron dysfunction.…”

Section: Autismmentioning

confidence: 99%

What happened to mirror neurons?

Heyes¹,

Catmur²

2020

Preprint

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Ten years ago, Perspectives in Psychological Science published the Mirror Neuron Forum, debating the role of mirror neurons in action understanding, speech, imitation and autism, and asking whether mirror neurons are acquired through visual-motor learning. Subsequent research on these themes has made significant advances, which should encourage further system-level research: Action understanding - Multivoxel pattern analysis, patient studies, and brain stimulation suggest that mirror neuron brain areas contribute to low-level processing of observed actions (e.g. distinguishing types of grip), but not to high-level action interpretation (e.g. inferring actors’ intentions). Speech perception – Although it remains unclear whether mirror neurons play a specific, causal role in speech perception, there is compelling evidence for the involvement of the motor system in the discrimination of speech in perceptually noisy conditions. Imitation – There is strong evidence from patient, brain stimulation and brain imaging studies that mirror neuron brain areas play a causal role in copying of body movement topography. Autism – Studies using behavioural and neurological measures have tried and failed to find evidence supporting the “broken mirror” theory of autism. Furthermore, research on the origin of mirror neurons has confirmed the importance of domain-general visual-motor learning, rather than canalised visual-motor learning, or motor learning alone.

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Not So Automatic Imitation: Expectation of Incongruence Reduces Interference in Both Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development

Cited by 14 publications

References 74 publications

Imitation or Polarity Correspondence? Behavioural and Neurophysiological Evidence for the Confounding Influence of Orthogonal Spatial Compatibility on Measures of Automatic Imitation

Imitation or Polarity Correspondence? Behavioural and Neurophysiological Evidence for the Confounding Influence of Orthogonal Spatial Compatibility on Measures of Automatic Imitation

Developmental trajectory of interpersonal motor alignment: Positive social effects and link to social cognition

What happened to mirror neurons?

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