title: Cognitive Control Structures in the Imitation Learning of Spatial Sequences and Rhythms-An fMRI Study.
abstract: Imitation learning involves the acquisition of novel motor patterns based on action observation (AO). We used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the imitation learning of spatial sequences and rhythms during AO, motor imagery (MI), and imitative execution in nonmusicians and musicians. While both tasks engaged the fronto-parietal mirror circuit, the spatial sequence task recruited posterior parietal and dorsal premotor regions more strongly. The rhythm task involved an additional network for auditory working memory. This partial dissociation supports the concept of task-specific mirror mechanisms. Two regions of cognitive control were identified: 1) dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) was found to be more strongly activated during MI of novel spatial sequences, which allowed us to extend the 2-level model of imitation learning by Buccino et al. (2004) to spatial sequences. 2) During imitative execution of both tasks, the posterior medial frontal cortex was robustly activated, along with the DLPFC, which suggests that both regions are involved in the cognitive control of imitation learning. The musicians' selective behavioral advantage for rhythm imitation was reflected cortically in enhanced sensory-motor processing during AO and by the absence of practice-related activation differences in DLPFC during rhythm execution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sakreida
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YF, UK.|Magnetic Resonance and Image Analysis Research Centre, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GE, UK.|Division of Ultrahigh Field MRI, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Iwate 020-8505, Japan.
authors.forename: Satomi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Di Dio
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool L16 9JD, UK.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ziessler
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en réadaptation (CRIR), Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) du Centre-Est-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada H2H 2N8.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Turgeon
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Imaging Centre (CRIC), School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YF, UK.|Magnetic Resonance and Image Analysis Research Centre, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GE, UK.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vogt
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007100:Imitative Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology; D009146:Music; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010507:Periodicity; D065853:Spatial Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: cognitive control; fronto-parietal mirror circuit; motor imagery; musical expertise; performance monitoring