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Cortical kinematic processing of executed and observed goal-directed hand actions
Brice Marty1, Mathieu Bourguignon2, Veikko Jousmäki2
1Laboratoire de Cartographie fonctionnelle du Cerveau, UNI-ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), B-1070 Brussels, Belgium.
Neuroimage
|July 1, 2015
Summary
Observing others' actions activates brain regions similarly to executing one's own actions. This magnetoencephalography (MEG) study reveals neural coupling with movement kinematics in sensorimotor and parietal areas.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Motor Control
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Understanding how the brain processes observed movement kinematics is crucial for predicting action unfolding.
- Previous research has not fully clarified the neural mechanisms underlying the processing of observed motor actions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the frequency and location of neural activity coupled with executed and observed motor actions using magnetoencephalography (MEG).
- To determine how observed movement kinematics are processed in the brain.
Main Methods:
- Whole-scalp magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals were recorded from 11 healthy adults during self-execution and observation of goal-directed hand actions.
- Movement kinematics were monitored using accelerometers, and coherence between acceleration and MEG signals was computed.
- Cortical sources coherent with movement acceleration were identified using Dynamic Imaging of Coherent Sources.
Main Results:
- Statistically significant coherence between neural activity and movement acceleration peaked at the movement frequency (F0) and its first harmonic (F1) in both conditions.
- Coherent sources, beyond visual cortices, were identified in the right posterior superior temporal gyrus (F0), bilateral superior parietal lobule (F0 or F1), and primary sensorimotor cortex (F0 or F1).
Conclusions:
- Observing others' actions engages the brain in a manner similar to self-action execution concerning kinematic processing.
- These findings provide new insights into how human brain activity covaries with essential features of observed movements.
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