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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 8, 2026

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Published on: December 31, 2013

Observing object lifting errors modulates cortico-spinal excitability and improves object lifting performance.

Gavin Buckingham¹, Jeremy D Wong², Minnie Tang³

¹Department of Psychology, School of Life Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK; The Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Canada.

Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior

|August 20, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Observing others make errors during object lifting reduces one's own lifting errors. This suggests the sensorimotor system adapts to visual cues from novice versus expert performance.

Keywords:

Action observation Grip force error Motor learning Object lifting Size-weight illusion

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Motor Control
Human Performance

Background:

Observing actions modulates cortico-spinal excitability and behavior.
The sensorimotor impact of observing errors remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate how observing lifting errors affects motor performance and cortico-spinal excitability.
Determine if visual observation of errors influences sensorimotor adaptation.

Main Methods:

Participants observed videos of actors lifting cubes, either with errors (EV) or without errors (NEV).
Object lifting performance was assessed after video observation.
Motor evoked potentials measured cortico-spinal excitability during passive observation.

Main Results:

Viewing errors (EV) led to fewer subsequent lifting errors compared to viewing error-free lifts (NEV).
Cortico-spinal excitability showed size-based modulation when observing expert lifts (NEV), which was absent when observing errors (EV).

Conclusions:

The sensorimotor system is sensitive to visual differences between novice and expert performance.
Observing errors alters cortico-spinal excitability and subsequent motor behavior.