Hearing Sounds, Understanding Actions: Action Representation in Mirror Neurons

Kohler, E.; Keysers, Christian; Umiltà, Maria Alessandra; Fogassi, Leonardo; Gallese, Vittorio; Rizzolatti, Giacomo

doi:10.1126/science.1070311

Cited by 1,453 publications

(926 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Through practice, it is hypothesised that the processing of task-relevant kinematic patterns (observed, heard, and/or performed) of the action is enriched and consolidated (Gallese, 2000). In keeping with the supramodal brain theory, the kinematic pattern created by the action resonates in the perceiver's own motor system whether the sound is seen or heard (Aglioti & Pazzaglia, 2010Cesari et al, 2014;Kohler et al, 2002;Lahav et al, 2007;Pizzamiglio et al, 2005;Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004). Although this account is consistent with our findings, the actual neural processes supporting pick-up and use of information about another person's action through sound is in need of further investigation.…”

Section: Action Anticipation Through Its Sound Alone 23 23supporting

confidence: 87%

“…Neurophysiological data has shown that neurons in the premotor and parietal cortex are activated during the execution and also the observation of a given action (Di Pellegrino, Fadiga, Fogassi, Gallese, & Rizzolatti, 1992;Romani, Cesari, Urgesi, Facchini, & Aglioti, 2005). In macaque monkeys, it has been shown that certain neurons are activated by both seeing and/or hearing actions, as well as by performing the same actions (Kohler et al, 2002). Moreover, neural activation caused by performance and perception of ACTION ANTICIPATION THROUGH ITS SOUND ALONE 24 24 the same action has been found to be greater for familiar compared to unfamiliar actions (CalvoMerino et al, 2005).…”

Section: Action Anticipation Through Its Sound Alone 23 23mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Expert players accurately detect an opponent’s movement intentions through sound alone.

Camponogara¹,

Rodger²,

Craig³

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfor

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Sounds offer a rich source of information about events taking place in our physical and social environment. However, outside the domains of speech and music, little is known about whether humans can recognize and act upon the intentions of another agent’s actions detected through auditory information alone. In this study we assessed whether intention can be inferred from the sound an action makes, and in turn, whether this information can be used to prospectively guide movement. In 2 experiments experienced and novice basketball players had to virtually intercept an attacker by listening to audio recordings of that player’s movements. In the first experiment participants had to move a slider, while in the second one their body, to block the perceived passage of the attacker as they would in a real basketball game. Combinations of deceptive and nondeceptive movements were used to see if novice and/or experienced listeners could perceive the attacker’s intentions through sound alone. We showed that basketball players were able to more accurately predict final running direction compared to nonplayers, particularly in the second experiment when the interceptive action was more basketball specific. We suggest that athletes present better action anticipation by being able to pick up and use the relevant kinematic features of deceptive movement from event-related sounds alone. This result suggests that action intention can be perceived through the sound a movement makes and that the ability to determine another person’s action intention from the information conveyed through sound is honed through practice.

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Section: Action Anticipation Through Its Sound Alone 23 23supporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Action Anticipation Through Its Sound Alone 23 23mentioning

confidence: 99%

Expert players accurately detect an opponent’s movement intentions through sound alone.

Camponogara¹,

Rodger²,

Craig³

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfor

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Some have argued that the cortical motor system has evolved primarily for the organization of different types of actions rather than for movement control per se [see Gallese et al, 1996; Kohler et al, 2002; Rizzolatti et al, 1988, for animal studies and Fernandino and Iacoboni, 2010, for a review]. In humans, Rijntjes et al [1999] have identified action‐dependent activation maps with clusters corresponding to different types of action consequences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motor imagery of hand actions: Decoding the content of motor imagery from brain activity in frontal and parietal motor areas

et al. 2015

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How motor maps are organized while imagining actions is an intensely debated issue. It is particularly unclear whether motor imagery relies on action‐specific representations in premotor and posterior parietal cortices. This study tackled this issue by attempting to decode the content of motor imagery from spatial patterns of Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signals recorded in the frontoparietal motor imagery network. During fMRI‐scanning, 20 right‐handed volunteers worked on three experimental conditions and one baseline condition. In the experimental conditions, they had to imagine three different types of right‐hand actions: an aiming movement, an extension–flexion movement, and a squeezing movement. The identity of imagined actions was decoded from the spatial patterns of BOLD signals they evoked in premotor and posterior parietal cortices using multivoxel pattern analysis. Results showed that the content of motor imagery (i.e., the action type) could be decoded significantly above chance level from the spatial patterns of BOLD signals in both frontal (PMC, M1) and parietal areas (SPL, IPL, IPS). An exploratory searchlight analysis revealed significant clusters motor‐ and motor‐associated cortices, as well as in visual cortices. Hence, the data provide evidence that patterns of activity within premotor and posterior parietal cortex vary systematically with the specific type of hand action being imagined. Hum Brain Mapp 37:81–93, 2016. © 2015 The Authors. Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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“…Mirror neurons have also been shown to respond not only to visual input but also to auditory cues associated with motor acts [e.g., the sound of breaking a peanut (Kohler et al. 2002; Keysers et al. 2003)].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Power modulation of electroencephalogram mu and beta frequency depends on perceived level of observed actions

Simon

Mukamel

2016

Brain and Behavior

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IntroductionThe ability to understand actions and intentions of others is of great importance to social relationships and is associated with the mirror neuron system of the human brain. Whether conscious perception of specific actions is necessary to trigger activity in this system, or alternatively whether this response is independent of conscious perception is not known.MethodsWe addressed this issue by rendering videos of right hand movements invisible to conscious perception, and measuring electroencephalogram (EEG) power suppression in the mu (8–13 Hz) and beta (15–25 Hz) range as index corresponding to the magnitude of mirror neuron activity.ResultsIn the beta range over bilateral sensorimotor sites, we find that suppression indices follow the reported perceptual level of subjects with stronger suppression for consciously perceived trials. Furthermore, in the nonperceived trials, oscillation power is significantly suppressed relative to baseline. In the low mu range (8–10 Hz), oscillation power over the left sensorimotor site is significantly more suppressed in the consciously perceived versus nonperceived trials.ConclusionsOur data suggest that the intensity of mirror system responses during action observation decreases with the observers' perception level yet remains significant during observation of invisible actions. Such subliminal activity could help explain phenomena such as covert imitation.

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Hearing Sounds, Understanding Actions: Action Representation in Mirror Neurons

Cited by 1,453 publications

References 16 publications

Expert players accurately detect an opponent’s movement intentions through sound alone.

Expert players accurately detect an opponent’s movement intentions through sound alone.

Motor imagery of hand actions: Decoding the content of motor imagery from brain activity in frontal and parietal motor areas

Power modulation of electroencephalogram mu and beta frequency depends on perceived level of observed actions

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