Task-dependent and distinct roles of the temporoparietal junction and inferior frontal cortex in the control of imitation

Abstract

The control of neurological networks supporting social cognition is crucially important for social interaction. In particular, the control of imitation is directly linked to interaction quality, with impairments associated with disorders characterized by social difficulties. Previous work suggests inferior frontal cortex (IFC) and the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) are involved in controlling imitation, but the functional roles of these areas remain unclear. Here, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was used to enhance cortical excitability at IFC and the TPJ prior to the completion of three tasks: (i) a naturalistic social interaction during which increased imitation is known to improve rapport, (ii) a choice reaction time task in which imitation needs to be inhibited for successful performance and (iii) a non-imitative control task. Relative to sham stimulation, stimulating IFC improved the context-dependent control of imitation—participants imitated more during the social interaction and less during the imitation inhibition task. In contrast, stimulating the TPJ reduced imitation in the inhibition task without affecting imitation during social interaction. Neither stimulation site affected the non-imitative control task. These data support a model in which IFC modulates imitation directly according to task demands, whereas TPJ controls task-appropriate shifts in attention toward representation of the self or the other, indirectly impacting upon imitation.

Atypical neural responding to hearing one’s own name in adults with ASD.

“…Neurostimulation studies from our lab and others further showed a causal role of the rTPJ in self-other distinction (Bardi, Gheza, & Brass, 2017;Hogeveen et al, 2014;Santiesteban, Banissy, Catmur, & Bird, 2012;Sowden & Catmur, 2015). Research has shown reduced TPJ, and sometimes also mPFC activity in ASD during self-other distinction across several domains, including mentalizing (Eddy, 2016;Kennedy & Courchesne, 2008;Murdaugh, Nadendla, & Kana, 2014;Pfeifer et al, 2013;Spengler et al, 2010), adding to accumulating evidence that the TPJ is a core region implicated in ASD (Chien, Lin, Lai, Gau, & Tseng, 2015;Fishman, Keown, Lincoln, Pineda, & Müller, 2014;Kana, Uddin, Kenet, Chugani, & Müller, 2014).…”

Understanding intentions from actions: Direct perception, inference, and the roles of mirror and mentalizing systems

“…Recent data on imitative compatibility (the tendency to perform an action faster when observing the same action than a different action; Heyes, 2011;Stürmer, Aschersleben, & Prinz, 2000), a behavioural effect that is thought to index mirror neuron function (Catmur, Walsh, & Heyes, 2009;Heiser, Iacoboni, Maeda, Marcus, & Mazziotta, 2003;Hogeveen et al, in press), supports the conclusion that mirror responses can occur with limited attention. Catmur (under review) used an imitative compatibility design to demonstrate that the mapping of an observed movement onto the motor program for that movement occurs under conditions of limited attention (however see Chong, Cunnington, Williams, & Mattingley, 2009, for an alternative finding); and Dainton, Catmur, and Marsh (in preparation) showed that attention affects spatial, but not imitative, compatibility.…”

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Temporoparietal Junction and Inferior Frontal Cortex Improves Imitation-Inhibition and Perspective-Taking with no Effect on the Autism-Spectrum Quotient Score

“…Hogeveen et al (2015) indicated that anodal tDCS of the right TPJ improved the inhibition of imitation, but it did not facilitate imitation. Further, anodal tDCS of the right IFC improved both inhibition of imitation and imitation.…”