title: Parietal and premotor cortices: activation reflects imitation accuracy during observation, delayed imitation and concurrent imitation.
abstract: This study investigated whether activation within areas belonging to the action observation and imitation network reveals a linear relation to the subsequent accuracy of imitating a bimanual rhythmic movement measured via a motion capturing system. 20 participants were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) when asked to imitate observed bimanual movements either concurrently versus with a delay (2s) or simply to observe the movements without imitation. Results showed that action observation relates to activation within classic mirror-related areas. Activation patterns were more widespread when participants were asked to imitate the movement. During observation with concurrent imitation, activation in the left inferior parietal lobe (IPL) was associated negatively with imitation accuracy. During observation in the delayed imitation condition, higher subsequent imitation accuracy was coupled with higher activation in the right superior parietal lobe (SPL) and the left parietal operculum (POp). During the delayed imitation itself, a negative association between imitation accuracy and brain activation was revealed in the right ventral premotor cortex (vPMC). We conclude that the IPL is involved in online comparison and visuospatial attention processes during imitation, the SPL provides a kinesthetic blueprint during movement observation, the POp preserves body identity, and the vPMC recruits motor representations--especially when no concurrent visual guidance is possible.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Sports Science, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany. Electronic address: Britta.Krueger@sport.uni-giessen.de.
authors.forename: Britta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Krüger
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Muenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bischoff
authors.affiliation: Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blecker
authors.affiliation: Institute for Sports Science, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Langhanns
authors.affiliation: Institute for Sports Science, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kindermann
authors.affiliation: Institute for Sports Science, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Isabell
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sauerbier
authors.affiliation: Institute for Sports Science, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reiser
authors.affiliation: Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.affiliation: Institute for Sports Science, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Munzert
authors.affiliation: Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pilgramm
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Action observation; Imitation; Motion capturing; Parametric modulation; fMRI