Tool use acquisition induces a multifunctional interference effect during object processing: evidence from the sensorimotor mu rhythm

Tool-use skills represent a significant cognitive leap in human evolution, playing a crucial role in the emergence of complex technologies. Yet, the neural mechanisms underlying such capabilities are still debated. Here we explore with fMRI the functional brain networks involved in tool-related action understanding. Participants viewed images depicting action-consistent (e.g., nail-hammer) and action-inconsistent (e.g., scarf-hammer) object-tool pairs, under three conditions: semantic (recognizing the tools previously seen in the pairs), mechanical (assessing the usability of the pairs), and control (looking at the pairs without explicit tasks). During the observation of the pairs, task-based left-brain functional connectivity differed within conditions. Compared to the control, both the semantic and mechanical conditions exhibited co-activations in dorsal (precuneus) and ventro-dorsal (inferior frontal gyrus) regions. However, the semantic condition recruited medial and posterior temporal areas, whereas the mechanical condition engaged inferior parietal and posterior temporal regions. Also, when distinguishing action-consistent from action-inconsistent pairs, an extensive frontotemporal neural circuit was activated. These findings support recent accounts that view tool-related action understanding as the combined product of semantic and mechanical knowledge. Furthermore, they emphasize how the left inferior parietal and anterior temporal lobes might be considered as hubs for the cross-modal integration of physical and conceptual knowledge, respectively.

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Tool use acquisition induces a multifunctional interference effect during object processing: evidence from the sensorimotor mu rhythm

Cited by 3 publications

References 91 publications

Eating Russula mushrooms is a matter of semantic knowledge. Comment on “The elicitation of affordance depends on conceptual attributes: evidence from a virtual reality study” by Lai et al. (2023)

Eating Russula mushrooms is a matter of semantic knowledge. Comment on “The elicitation of affordance depends on conceptual attributes: evidence from a virtual reality study” by Lai et al. (2023)

Mechanical and semantic knowledge mediate the implicit understanding of the physical world

On the functional brain networks involved in tool-related action understanding

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