title: Action observers implicitly expect actors to act goal-coherently, even if they do not: an fMRI study.
abstract: Actions observed in everyday life normally consist of one person performing sequences of goal-directed actions. The present fMRI study tested the hypotheses that observers are influenced by the actor's identity, even when this information is task-irrelevant, and that this information shapes their expectation on subsequent actions of the same actor. Participants watched short video clips of action steps that either pertained to a common action with an overarching goal or not, and were performed by either one or by varying actors (2 × 2 design). Independent of goal coherence, actor coherence elicited activation in dorsolateral and ventromedial frontal cortex, together pointing to a spontaneous attempt to integrate all actions performed by one actor. Interestingly, watching an actor performing unrelated actions elicited additional activation in left inferior frontal gyrus, suggesting a search in semantic memory in an attempt to construct an overarching goal that can reconcile the disparate action steps with a coherent intention. Post-experimental surveys indicate that these processes occur mostly unconsciously. Findings strongly suggest a spontaneous expectation bias toward actor-related episodes in action observers, and hence to the immense impact of actor information on action observation.
authors: University of Münster, Institute for Psychology, 48149, Münster, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research, Motor Cognition Group, 50931, Cologne, Germany.
authors: Mari
authors: M
authors: Hrkać
authors: Moritz F
authors: MF
authors: Wurm
authors: Ricarda I
authors: RI
authors: Schubotz
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: action recognition; episodic knowledge; functional MRI; person perception; ventrolateral prefrontal cortex
references: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2004 Mar;5(3):184-94
references: 14976518
references: Hum Brain Mapp. 2008 May;29(5):581-93
references: 17557297
references: J Neurosci. 2009 Oct 28;29(43):13735-41
references: 19864586
references: Acta Psychol (Amst). 2007 Jan;124(1):79-105
references: 17092476
references: Eur J Neurosci. 1997 Jul;9(7):1329-39
references: 9240390
references: Magn Reson Q. 1993 Dec;9(4):259-77
references: 8274375
references: Cereb Cortex. 2010 Mar;20(3):524-33
references: 19549622
references: J Magn Reson Imaging. 2000 Apr;11(4):445-51
references: 10767074
references: Hum Brain Mapp. 2011 Dec;32(12):2141-50
references: 21259389
references: Neuroimage. 2004 Dec;23(4):1299-307
references: 15589094
references: Brain Res. 2006 Jun 22;1096(1):125-37
references: 16750818
references: Hum Brain Mapp. 2012 Aug;33(8):1812-20
references: 21674697
references: J Neurosci. 2004 Jun 16;24(24):5467-74
references: 15201318
references: J Neurosci. 2006 Jan 25;26(4):1133-7
references: 16436599
references: Neuroimage. 2001 Nov;14(5):1136-49
references: 11697945
references: Hippocampus. 2009 Aug;19(8):718-30
references: 19173228
references: Neuroimage. 2012 Jan 16;59(2):1551-9
references: 21878395
references: J Cogn Neurosci. 2009 Dec;21(12):2358-68
references: 19016600
references: Neuropsychologia. 2007 Jan 7;45(1):163-73
references: 16759672
references: Neuroreport. 2007 Nov 19;18(17):1771-4
references: 18090309
references: J Pers Soc Psychol. 2002 Nov;83(5):1051-65
references: 12416911
references: Psychol Sci. 2003 Sep;14(5):402-8
references: 12930468
references: J Neurosci. 1997 Jun 1;17(11):4302-11
references: 9151747
references: Biol Psychiatry. 2009 Mar 1;65(5):361-6
references: 19058792
references: Neurosci Lett. 2011 Oct 17;504(1):49-52
references: 21911038
references: Cereb Cortex. 2005 Mar;15(3):239-49
references: 15238433
references: Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2003 Apr;16(2):273-84
references: 12668237
references: J Cogn Neurosci. 2006 Dec;18(12):2077-87
references: 17129192
references: Neuropsychologia. 2007 Oct 1;45(13):2883-901
references: 17675110
references: Am J Psychiatry. 2004 Jan;161(1):99-108
references: 14702257
references: J Cogn Neurosci. 2002 Jul 1;14(5):721-31
references: 12167257
references: J Exp Psychol Gen. 1988 Mar;117(1):34-50
references: 2966230
references: Neuroimage. 1995 Sep;2(3):173-81
references: 9343600
references: Comput Med Imaging Graph. 2001 Nov-Dec;25(6):449-57
references: 11679206
references: Annu Rev Psychol. 2012;63:287-313
references: 21838544
references: Cogn Neuropsychol. 2001 Jun 1;18(4):323-41
references: 20945219
references: Nat Neurosci. 2009 May;12(5):535-40
references: 19396166
references: Neuron. 2011 Jun 23;70(6):1054-69
references: 21689594
references: Hum Brain Mapp. 2013 Jul;34(7):1713-27
references: 22422724
references: Neuroimage. 2005 Apr 15;25(3):653-60
references: 15808966
references: Cereb Cortex. 2008 May;18(5):997-1009
references: 17716990
references: Trends Cogn Sci. 2008 May;12(5):201-8
references: 18420448
references: Cereb Cortex. 2012 Mar;22(3):567-76
references: 21690262
references: Brain Res. 2006 Apr 7;1081(1):179-90
references: 16533501
references: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2009 Mar;4(1):10-22
references: 19015079