title: The motor cortex is causally related to predictive eye movements during action observation.
abstract: We examined the hypothesis that predictive gaze during observation of other people's actions depends on the activation of corresponding action plans in the observer. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation and eye-tracking technology we found that stimulation of the motor hand area, but not of the leg area, slowed gaze predictive behavior (compared to no TMS). This result shows that predictive eye movements to others' action goals depend on a somatotopical recruitment of the observer's motor system. The study provides direct support for the view that a direct matching process implemented in the mirror-neuron system plays a functional role for real-time goal prediction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. claudia.elsner@psyk.uu.se
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Elsner
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Ausilio
authors.forename: Gustaf
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gredebäck
authors.forename: Terje
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Falck-Ytter
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fadiga
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology*; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000294:innervation; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D019370:Observation; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult