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Updated: Sep 27, 2026
Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation
Published on: December 31, 2013
Premotor cortex in observing erroneous action: an fMRI study
Sophie Manthey1, Ricarda I Schubotz, D Yves von Cramon
1Max Planck Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Leipzig, Germany. manthey@cns.mpg.de
Abstract:
The lateral premotor cortex (PMC) is involved during action observation in monkeys and humans, reflecting a matching process between observed actions and their corresponding motor schemata. In the present study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate if paying attention to the two observable action components, objects and movements, modulates premotor activation during the observation of actions. Participants were asked to classify presented movies as showing correct actions, erroneous actions, or senseless movements. Erroneous actions were incorrect either with regard to employed objects, or to performed movements. The experiment yielded two major results: (1) The ventrolateral premotor cortex (vPMC) and the anterior part of the intraparietal sulcus (aIPS) are strongly activated during the observation of actions in humans. Premotor activation was dominantly located within Brodmann Area (BA) 6, and sometimes extended into BA 44. (2) The presentation of object errors and movements errors allowed to disentangle brain activations corresponding to the analysis of movements and objects in observed actions. Left premotor areas were more involved in the analysis of objects, whereas right premotor areas were dominant in the analysis of movements. It is suggested that the analysis of categorical information, like objects, and that of coordinate information, like movements, are pronounced in different hemispheres.
Insights
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) reveals that the lateral premotor cortex (PMC) and anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS) activate during action observation. Different brain hemispheres process object and movement information in observed actions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- The lateral premotor cortex (PMC) is recognized for its role in action observation, suggesting a mechanism for matching observed actions with internal motor representations.
- Previous research indicates PMC involvement in processing observed actions, but how attention to specific action components modulates this activation remains less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether focusing on objects and movements within observed actions modulates activation in the premotor cortex.
- To differentiate the neural processing of object-related and movement-related information during action observation.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to monitor brain activity.
- Participants observed video clips and classified them based on action correctness (correct, erroneous, or senseless movements).
- Erroneous actions were specifically designed to contain errors related to object use or movement execution.
Main Results:
- Significant activation was observed in the ventrolateral premotor cortex (vPMC) and anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS) during action observation.
- Distinct patterns of activation emerged: left premotor areas were more engaged in analyzing objects, while right premotor areas predominantly processed movements.
- These findings suggest a hemispheric specialization for processing categorical (object) versus coordinate (movement) information.
Conclusions:
- The study confirms the involvement of vPMC and aIPS in human action observation.
- Attention to specific action components, objects and movements, differentially modulates premotor cortex activity.
- Hemispheric lateralization plays a role in distinguishing object-based and movement-based analyses within observed actions.
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