Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Cerebral Hemispheres

Cerebral Hemispheres

The human brain, a complex organ, is functionally divided into two cerebral hemispheres—left and right. These hemispheres are interconnected by a structure of paramount importance, the corpus callosum. This substantial bundle of neural fibers is not just a bridge between the hemispheres but a crucial element for the brain's comprehensive functioning. It enables efficient communication between the two hemispheres, allowing each side of the brain to control and receive sensory and motor...

Schemas

Schemas

A schema is a mental construct consisting of a cluster or collection of related concepts (Bartlett, 1932). There are many different types of schemata, and they all have one thing in common: schemata are a method of organizing information that allows the brain to work more efficiently. When a schema is activated, the brain makes immediate assumptions about the person or object being observed.

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...

Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior

Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior

Automatic processing refers to the cognitive operations that occur without conscious intent or awareness, playing a fundamental role in shaping social cognition and behavior. These processes enable individuals to navigate complex social environments efficiently by relying on mental shortcuts and pre-existing knowledge structures known as schemas. One of the most influential mechanisms underlying automatic processing is priming, which subtly activates mental representations through exposure to...

Lateralization

Lateralization

Brain lateralization refers to the division of mental processes and functions between the two hemispheres of the brain, a phenomenon that optimizes neural efficiency and underpins complex abilities in humans. This specialization allows each hemisphere to perform tasks where it has a comparative advantage, facilitating more refined cognitive capabilities across different domains.

Hierarchy of Motor Control

Hierarchy of Motor Control

The hierarchy of motor control refers to the different levels of organization and processing involved in controlling movement in the body. These levels range from higher cortical areas involved in planning and decision-making to lower spinal cord reflexes that respond automatically to external stimuli.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Animate monitoring is not uniform: implications for the animate monitoring hypothesis.

Frontiers in psychology·2023

Same author

An Eye Tracking Investigation of Pain Decoding Based on Older and Younger Adults' Facial Expressions.

Journal of nonverbal behavior·2021

Same author

Animates engender robust memory representations in adults and young children.

Cognition·2020

Same author

Memory for temporal order in action is slow developing, sensitive to deviant input, and supported by foundational cognitive processes.

Developmental psychology·2018

Same author

Children's Representation and Imitation of Events: How Goal Organization Influences 3-Year-Old Children's Memory for Action Sequences.

Cognitive science·2016

Same author

Human Action Perception is Consistent, Flexible, and Orientation Dependent.

Perception·2016

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2026

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Published on: December 31, 2013

Configural information is processed differently in human action.

¹Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195, USA. jloucks@uw.edu

|January 3, 2012

Summary

Human action perception relies on specialized configural processing that is orientation-specific. This configural processing, crucial for understanding dynamic human actions, is uniquely sensitive to orientation, unlike featural information.

More Related Videos

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 26, 2026

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Published on: December 31, 2013

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Visual Perception
Human Action Recognition

Background:

Observers' sensitivity to configural information in dynamic human action is disrupted by inversion.
Sensitivity to featural action information remains unaffected by inversion.
Existing research suggests specialized processing for human actions.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether featural and configural information in static action representations are processed similarly to dynamic actions.
To determine if configural processing's orientation sensitivity is unique to human actions compared to control stimuli.
To further support the hypothesis of specialized, orientation-specific configural processing in action perception.

Main Methods:

Two experiments were conducted to expand on previous findings regarding action perception.
Experiment 1 compared processing of featural and configural information in static versus dynamic action representations.
Experiment 2 compared orientation sensitivity in configural processing for human actions versus a control stimulus.

Main Results:

Featural and configural action information are processed similarly in both static and dynamic action representations.
Configural processing demonstrates unique sensitivity to orientation specifically in human actions.
This orientation sensitivity was not observed in a similar control stimulus.

Conclusions:

The perception of human action involves specialized configural processing that is uniquely sensitive to orientation.
These findings align with observations in face perception and visual expertise, suggesting common underlying mechanisms.
Action perception recruits distinct neural mechanisms that are dependent on stimulus orientation.