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New Variations for Strategy Set-shifting in the Rat
Published on: January 23, 2017
The strategic control of multiple routes in imitation of actions
Alessia Tessari1, Raffaella Ida Rumiati
1Laboratorio di Neuropsicologia Cognitiva e di NeuroImaging, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Trieste, Italy. rumiati@sissa.it
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to bring to the surface the strategic use of imitative processes in the context of a 2-route model: (a) direct imitation, used in reproducing new, meaningless actions, and (b) imitation based on stored semantic knowledge of familiar meaningful actions. Three experiments were carried out with healthy participants who reproduced meaningful and meaningless actions within an established time limit. The study investigated 3 factors that could potentially affect the selection of processes used for imitation: (a) the composition of the experimental list (blocked or mixed presentation), (b) the presence-absence of instructions (Experiments 1 and 2), and (c) the relative proportions of the stimuli (Experiment 3). Overall, the results suggest that each of these factors influences the selection of imitative strategies in healthy individuals with temporarily reduced capacities, as happens in the case of brain-damaged patients.
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