title: Observing functional actions affects semantic processing of tools: evidence of a motor-to-semantic priming.
abstract: Recent evidence shows that activation of motor information can favor identification of related tools, thus suggesting a strict link between motor and conceptual knowledge in cognitive representation of tools. However, the involvement of motor information in further semantic processing has not been elucidated. In three experiments, we aimed to ascertain whether motor information provided by observation of actions could affect processing of conceptual knowledge about tools. In Experiment 1, healthy participants judged whether pairs of tools evoking different functional handgrips had the same function. In Experiment 2 participants judged whether tools were paired with appropriate recipients. Finally, in Experiment 3 we again required functional judgments as in Experiment 1, but also included in the set of stimuli pairs of objects having different function and similar functional handgrips. In all experiments, pictures displaying either functional grasping (aimed to use tools) or structural grasping (just aimed to move tools independently from their use) were presented before each stimulus pair. The results demonstrated that, in comparison with structural grasping, observing functional grasping facilitates judgments about tools' function when objects did not imply the same functional manipulation (Experiment 1), whereas worsened such judgments when objects shared functional grasp (Experiment 3). Instead, action observation did not affect judgments concerning tool-recipient associations (Experiment 2). Our findings support a task-dependent influence of motor information on high-order conceptual tasks and provide further insights into how motor and conceptual processing about tools can interact.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Bellis
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferrara
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Errico
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Panico
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sagliano
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Conson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Viale Ellittico 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy. luigi.trojano@unina2.it.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trojano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D060865:Repetition Priming / Q000502:physiology*; D012660:Semantics; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Action observation; Functional actions; Motor knowledge; Semantic judgment; Structural actions; Tool objects