ABSTRACT In recent years the paradigms of inhibition of return and Simon effect have been applied... more ABSTRACT In recent years the paradigms of inhibition of return and Simon effect have been applied in social contexts, showing the presence of these phenomena also in situations of task sharing between two participants. Nevertheless the nature of these effects has not been clarified. To this aim, the present review discusses the relation between "classic" effects of inhibition of return and Simon effect and the "social" effects found more recently. Analysis of the literature shows same similarities between the two phenomena for different aspects, suggesting the utility of considering them jointly in order to clarify their social nature.
In this study we investigated whether objects and their name evoke the activation of the same mot... more In this study we investigated whether objects and their name evoke the activation of the same motor programs. In the first experiment participants had to make speeded responses based on the category of an object. They had to signal whether an object, presented visually, either within or outside their reachable space, was natural or manufactured, by making reach-to-precision or reach-to-power grasp responses. We found a compatibility effect between the response required by task, and the grip evoked by the object, for reachable space only. Nevertheless, this finding holds for artefacts and not for natural objects. In the second experiment, participants had to make reach-to-precision or reach-to-power grasp responses when deciding whether an object, presented either within or outside their reachable space, was congruent with a previously displayed word. In this case we found a compatibility effect between the response required by task and the grip evoked by the object's name, however this effect was not limited by participants' reaching range. Our data suggest that objects and objects' name likely correspond to different motor representations. That is, while the former seem to house both stable (i.e., shape and size) and temporary (i.e., orientation and distance with respect to the perceiver) action-relevant information, the latter seem to house only stable action-relevant information.
The Stroop-matching task is a variation of the Stroop task in which participants have to compare ... more The Stroop-matching task is a variation of the Stroop task in which participants have to compare a Stroop stimulus attribute (color or word) to a second stimulus. The Stroop-matching response conflict (SMRC) represents an interference related to the processes involved in selection/execution of manual responses. In the present study we developed a variation of the Stroop-matching task in which the Stroop stimuli were matched to graspable objects (a cup) with intact or broken handles laterally oriented (Experiment 1) or to colored bars laterally presented (Experiment 2). It allowed testing the presence of the correspondence effect for lateralized handles and bars, and its possible influence on SMRC. Two different intervals (100 and 800 ms) were also included to investigate time-modulations in behavioral performance (reaction time and accuracy). Fifty-five volunteers participated in the study. In both experiments, significant SMRC was found, but no interaction occurred between SMRC and correspondence effect, supporting that the hypothesis of different and relatively independent psychological mechanisms is at the basis of each effect. Because significant facilitation for ipsilateral motor responses (correspondence effect) occurred for graspable objects but not for lateralized bars, the attentional shift/spatial coding view was not able to completely explain our data, and therefore, the grasping affordance hypothesis remained as the most plausible explanation. The time course of facilitation observed in the first experiment and by others indicates the importance of further studies to better understand the time dynamic of facilitation/inhibition of motor responses induced by graspable objects.
Kinesiology: international journal of fundamental and applied kinesiology, Jun 30, 2006
Following a classical perspective, acquiring a new motor skill implies moving from a declarative ... more Following a classical perspective, acquiring a new motor skill implies moving from a declarative knowledge of the motor task to be learned to a procedural knowledge of it. Some recent research on the motor system challenges this view. In the ventral premotor cortex of a monkey, neurons have been discovered that discharge both when an animal executes a specific goal-directed action (i.e. grasping a piece of food) and when it observes the same or a similar action executed by a conspecific or an experimenter. These neurons are called "mirror neurons". In humans the mirror neuron system code for the execution and observation of goal-directed actions is executed with different biological effectors like the hand, the mouth, and the foot. The mirror neuron system has been demonstrated to be involved in action recognition, motor imagery and on line imitation of simple movements, which are already present in the motor repertoire of the acting individuals. Furthermore, in a very recent functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) study, the involvement of this system in learning novel, complex hand actions has been tested. In the experiment musically naïve participants were asked to learn to play different guitar chords, after observing models given by an expert guitarist. The mirror neuron system has been found active in all phases of the motor learning process, namely from the observation of the model till the execution of it by the participants. These results strongly support the notion that learning a new motor pattern implies re-arranging the elementary motor acts constituting it in order to fit a given model. This is an operation that the brain apparently does within the motor system, without the involvement of any specific associative areas.
It is well-accepted that processing observed actions involves at some extent the same neural mech... more It is well-accepted that processing observed actions involves at some extent the same neural mechanisms responsible for action execution. More recently, it has been forwarded that also the processing of verbs expressing a specific motor content is subserved by the neural mechanisms allowing individuals to perform the content expressed by that linguistic material. This view is also known as embodiment and contrasts with a more classical approach to language processing that considers it as amodal. In the present study, we used a go/no-go paradigm, in which participants were requested to respond to real words and pictures and refrain from responding when presented stimuli were pseudowords and scrambled images. Real stimuli included pictures depicting hand- and foot-related actions and verbs expressing hand- and foot-related actions. We, therefore, directly compared the modulation of hand motor responses during the observation of actions and the presentation of verbs, expressing actions in the same category. The results have shown that participants gave slower hand motor responses during the observation of hand actions and the processing of hand-related verbs as than observed foot actions and related verbs. These findings support embodiment showing that whatever the modality of presentation (observed action or verb), the modulation of hand motor responses was similar, thus suggesting that processing seen actions and related verbs shares common mechanisms most likely involving the motor system and the underlying motor experience.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Jul 1, 2007
One of the claims of embodiment theory is that linguistic meaning is grounded in sensorimotor sys... more One of the claims of embodiment theory is that linguistic meaning is grounded in sensorimotor systems. For example, the simulation approach to language comprehension asserts that language becomes meaningful by simulating the content of a sentence using the same sensory and motor systems that might be used in dealing with the real events described by the sentence. This claim has been supported by behavioural work demonstrating interactions between language-based tasks and perception or action tasks. ...
Background: Visual reaction times (RT) have been used for the evaluation of the response to visua... more Background: Visual reaction times (RT) have been used for the evaluation of the response to visual stimuli in amblyopic subjects in a case-control study. Materials and methods: A Study Group, consisting in nine subjects with amblyopia and anomalous retinal correspondence, and a Control Group of nine normal subjects, were examined. In order to measure RT a test was carried out using a personal computer, for generating the visual stimuli on a special 14" monitor and for recording the response. A program was specifically created to record the dimensions of the stimuli and times of presentation in milliseconds. An electrographic tracing controlled the visual fixation. Visual stimuli of different dimensions were presented to the amblyopic eye, the dominant and non dominant eye, and in binocular vision, and RT were recorded. Results: In all cases RT represented a decreasing function of the stimulus dimension, with no statistical difference between the two groups (p=0.471). In both groups, RT values deriving from the greatest stimuli were rather inferior to those measured with smaller stimuli (p<0.001). In the Study Group the same stimulus produced longer reaction times in the amblyopic eye compared with those of the dominant eye (p<0.001), as well as those recorded during binocular vision (p<0.001). Conclusions: RT to visual stimuli could supply objective information on uncertain or hidden amblyopia. The extension of the experimental protocol to a larger population under school age could provide a clinical application for the early diagnosis of sensory alterations.
Background: Regular breakfast consumption is associated with better health status and healthier f... more Background: Regular breakfast consumption is associated with better health status and healthier food intake throughout the day, but this association is a complex interaction of several factors. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of nutritional and cognitive-perceived characteristics of breakfast on metabolic and behavioral variables related to food intake. The study was a randomized, crossover, controlled trial, with 4 experimental conditions consisting of 3 isoenergetic breakfasts and 1 energy-free control meal. Breakfasts had similar nutritional profiles but differed for glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL), and perceived healthiness, satiety, palatability, or energy content. Fifteen healthy normalweight men [means ± SDs; age: 24 ± 2 y; body mass index (BMI; kg/m 2 ) 23.4 ± 1.6] underwent each experimental condition in random order during 4 different weeks, separated by ≥1-wk washout. On the third day of each intervention week, postprandial blood variables (with insulin as primary outcome), satiety ratings, and food intake during an ad libitum lunch consumed 4 h after breakfast (secondary outcomes) were measured for each experimental condition. Results: A main effect of time, treatment, and time × treatment was found for postprandial insulin, glucose, and nonesterified fatty acids (P < 0.001 for all) after having the 3 iso-energetic breakfasts or the energy-free control one. Postprandial satiety was similar for the 3 energy-containing breakfasts, but higher when compared with the energy-free control (P < 0.001). No difference in energy intake was observed for the ad libitum lunch, whereas prolonged breakfast skipping was compensated by an increase (around +10%) in the average energy intake during the rest of the day, resulting in no differences in the total daily energy intake among the 4 conditions. Although other advantages might exist for breakfasts based on low-GI/low-GL foods, our findings support the hypothesis that minor differences in nutritional and perceived characteristics of breakfast are of limited importance regarding medium-term energy intake in healthy men. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as BRNN-014 NCT02516956.
Following a classical perspective, acquiring a new motor skill implies moving from a declarative ... more Following a classical perspective, acquiring a new motor skill implies moving from a declarative knowledge of the motor task to be learned to a procedural knowledge of it. Some recent research on the motor system challenges this view. In the ventral premotor cortex of a monkey, neurons have been discovered that discharge both when an animal executes a specific goal-directed action (i.e. grasping a piece of food) and when it observes the same or a similar action executed by a conspecific or an experimenter. These neurons are called "mirror neurons". In humans the mirror neuron system code for the execution and observation of goal-directed actions is executed with different biological effectors like the hand, the mouth, and the foot. The mirror neuron system has been demonstrated to be involved in action recognition, motor imagery and on line imitation of simple movements, which are already present in the motor repertoire of the acting individuals. Furthermore, in a very recent functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) study, the involvement of this system in learning novel, complex hand actions has been tested. In the experiment musically naïve participants were asked to learn to play different guitar chords, after observing models given by an expert guitarist. The mirror neuron system has been found active in all phases of the motor learning process, namely from the observation of the model till the execution of it by the participants. These results strongly support the notion that learning a new motor pattern implies re-arranging the elementary motor acts constituting it in order to fit a given model. This is an operation that the brain apparently does within the motor system, without the involvement of any specific associative areas.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Oct 1, 2011
While increasing evidence points to a critical role for the motor system in language processing, ... more While increasing evidence points to a critical role for the motor system in language processing, the focus of previous work has been on the linguistic category of verbs. Here we tested whether nouns are effective in modulating the motor system and further whether ...
While increasing evidence points to a critical role for the motor system in language processing, ... more While increasing evidence points to a critical role for the motor system in language processing, the focus of previous work has been on the linguistic category of verbs. Here we tested whether nouns are effective in modulating the motor system and further whether different kinds of nouns - those referring to artifacts or natural items, and items that are graspable or ungraspable - would differentially modulate the system. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) study was carried out to compare modulation of the motor system when subjects read nouns referring to objects which are Artificial or Natural and which are Graspable or Ungraspable. TMS was applied to the primary motor cortex representation of the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle of the right hand at 150 ms after noun presentation. Analyses of Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs) revealed that across the duration of the task, nouns referring to graspable artifacts (tools) were associated with significantly greater MEP areas. Analyses of the initial presentation of items revealed a main effect of graspability. The findings are in line with an embodied view of nouns, with MEP measures modulated according to whether nouns referred to natural objects or artifacts (tools), confirming tools as a special class of items in motor terms. Additionally our data support a difference for graspable versus non graspable objects, an effect which for natural objects is restricted to initial presentation of items.
Psychological Research-psychologische Forschung, Oct 26, 2000
Inhibition of return (IOR) is a response delay when the target is preceded by an irrelevant stimu... more Inhibition of return (IOR) is a response delay when the target is preceded by an irrelevant stimulus (cue) at the same location. In a previous study, we investigated the separate and joint eects on IOR of cue onset and oset. IOR was much greater when cue onset was followed by cue oset (on-o cue) than when the cue was a single event (on or o cues). The aim of the present study was to test whether the greater IOR with an on-o cue is due to the presence of two cue events. Three experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1 we replicated, with a dierent delay between cue onset and oset, the ®nding that IOR is greater with an on-o cue than with a single cue event. In Experiments 2 and 3, we used cues formed by two events. In Experiment 2, an ono cue was compared with an o-on cue, whereas in Experiment 3 an on-on cue was compared with an o-o cue. Results showed that the magnitude of IOR did not simply depend on the number of cue events occurring before the target. IOR was greater with two dierent events than with two identical events and greater when was preceded by an o-event than an on-event. Therefore, IOR was greatest with an on-o cue, which likely also bene®ted from a gap eect. Possible mechanisms underlying IOR were discussed.
European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, Apr 1, 1991
... Carlo UmiltB, Lucia Ri &amp;#x27;0 Isabella Dascola and Giacorno-olatti Istitwo di Fisiol... more ... Carlo UmiltB, Lucia Ri &amp;#x27;0 Isabella Dascola and Giacorno-olatti Istitwo di Fisiologia U rn , Univcrsikidi P am , P am , Italy ... Subsequent studies (Berlucchi, Tassinari, Marzi &amp;amp; Di Stefano, 1989; Klein, 1988; Maylor, 1985; Maylor &amp;amp; Hockey, 1985; 1987; Possamai, 1986; Spencer et al ...
The aim of the present study was to investigate how spatial attention influences directional manu... more The aim of the present study was to investigate how spatial attention influences directional manual and saccadic reaction times. Two experiments were carried out. In experiment 1 subjects were instructed to perform pointing responses toward targets that were located either in the same or the opposite hemifield with respect to the hemifield in which an imperative stimulus was presented. In experiment 2, they were instructed to make saccadic or pointing responses. The direction of the responses was indicated by the shape of the imperative stimulus. Reaction time (RT), movement time, and, in experiment 2, saccadic trajectory were measured. The imperative stimulus location was either cued (endogenous attention) or uncued. In the latter case the imperative stimulus presentation attracted attention (exogenous attention). The main results of the experiments were the following: First, exogenous attention markedly decreased the RTs when the required movement was directed toward the imperative stimulus location. This directional effect was much stronger for pointing than for ocular responses. Second, endogenously allocated attention did not influence differentially RTs of pointing responses directed toward or away the attended hemifield. In contrast, endogenous attention markedly favored the saccadic responses when made away from the cued hemifield. Third, regardless of cueing, the direction of movement affected both pointing and saccadic reaction times. Saccadic reaction times were faster when the required movement was directed upward, while manual reaction times were faster when the movement was directed downward. Fourth, lateralized spatial attention deviated the trajectory of the saccades contralateral to the attention location. This pattern of results supports the notion that spatial attention depends on the activation of the same sensorimotor circuits that program actions in space.
ABSTRACT In recent years the paradigms of inhibition of return and Simon effect have been applied... more ABSTRACT In recent years the paradigms of inhibition of return and Simon effect have been applied in social contexts, showing the presence of these phenomena also in situations of task sharing between two participants. Nevertheless the nature of these effects has not been clarified. To this aim, the present review discusses the relation between &quot;classic&quot; effects of inhibition of return and Simon effect and the &quot;social&quot; effects found more recently. Analysis of the literature shows same similarities between the two phenomena for different aspects, suggesting the utility of considering them jointly in order to clarify their social nature.
In this study we investigated whether objects and their name evoke the activation of the same mot... more In this study we investigated whether objects and their name evoke the activation of the same motor programs. In the first experiment participants had to make speeded responses based on the category of an object. They had to signal whether an object, presented visually, either within or outside their reachable space, was natural or manufactured, by making reach-to-precision or reach-to-power grasp responses. We found a compatibility effect between the response required by task, and the grip evoked by the object, for reachable space only. Nevertheless, this finding holds for artefacts and not for natural objects. In the second experiment, participants had to make reach-to-precision or reach-to-power grasp responses when deciding whether an object, presented either within or outside their reachable space, was congruent with a previously displayed word. In this case we found a compatibility effect between the response required by task and the grip evoked by the object's name, however this effect was not limited by participants' reaching range. Our data suggest that objects and objects' name likely correspond to different motor representations. That is, while the former seem to house both stable (i.e., shape and size) and temporary (i.e., orientation and distance with respect to the perceiver) action-relevant information, the latter seem to house only stable action-relevant information.
The Stroop-matching task is a variation of the Stroop task in which participants have to compare ... more The Stroop-matching task is a variation of the Stroop task in which participants have to compare a Stroop stimulus attribute (color or word) to a second stimulus. The Stroop-matching response conflict (SMRC) represents an interference related to the processes involved in selection/execution of manual responses. In the present study we developed a variation of the Stroop-matching task in which the Stroop stimuli were matched to graspable objects (a cup) with intact or broken handles laterally oriented (Experiment 1) or to colored bars laterally presented (Experiment 2). It allowed testing the presence of the correspondence effect for lateralized handles and bars, and its possible influence on SMRC. Two different intervals (100 and 800 ms) were also included to investigate time-modulations in behavioral performance (reaction time and accuracy). Fifty-five volunteers participated in the study. In both experiments, significant SMRC was found, but no interaction occurred between SMRC and correspondence effect, supporting that the hypothesis of different and relatively independent psychological mechanisms is at the basis of each effect. Because significant facilitation for ipsilateral motor responses (correspondence effect) occurred for graspable objects but not for lateralized bars, the attentional shift/spatial coding view was not able to completely explain our data, and therefore, the grasping affordance hypothesis remained as the most plausible explanation. The time course of facilitation observed in the first experiment and by others indicates the importance of further studies to better understand the time dynamic of facilitation/inhibition of motor responses induced by graspable objects.
Kinesiology: international journal of fundamental and applied kinesiology, Jun 30, 2006
Following a classical perspective, acquiring a new motor skill implies moving from a declarative ... more Following a classical perspective, acquiring a new motor skill implies moving from a declarative knowledge of the motor task to be learned to a procedural knowledge of it. Some recent research on the motor system challenges this view. In the ventral premotor cortex of a monkey, neurons have been discovered that discharge both when an animal executes a specific goal-directed action (i.e. grasping a piece of food) and when it observes the same or a similar action executed by a conspecific or an experimenter. These neurons are called "mirror neurons". In humans the mirror neuron system code for the execution and observation of goal-directed actions is executed with different biological effectors like the hand, the mouth, and the foot. The mirror neuron system has been demonstrated to be involved in action recognition, motor imagery and on line imitation of simple movements, which are already present in the motor repertoire of the acting individuals. Furthermore, in a very recent functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) study, the involvement of this system in learning novel, complex hand actions has been tested. In the experiment musically naïve participants were asked to learn to play different guitar chords, after observing models given by an expert guitarist. The mirror neuron system has been found active in all phases of the motor learning process, namely from the observation of the model till the execution of it by the participants. These results strongly support the notion that learning a new motor pattern implies re-arranging the elementary motor acts constituting it in order to fit a given model. This is an operation that the brain apparently does within the motor system, without the involvement of any specific associative areas.
It is well-accepted that processing observed actions involves at some extent the same neural mech... more It is well-accepted that processing observed actions involves at some extent the same neural mechanisms responsible for action execution. More recently, it has been forwarded that also the processing of verbs expressing a specific motor content is subserved by the neural mechanisms allowing individuals to perform the content expressed by that linguistic material. This view is also known as embodiment and contrasts with a more classical approach to language processing that considers it as amodal. In the present study, we used a go/no-go paradigm, in which participants were requested to respond to real words and pictures and refrain from responding when presented stimuli were pseudowords and scrambled images. Real stimuli included pictures depicting hand- and foot-related actions and verbs expressing hand- and foot-related actions. We, therefore, directly compared the modulation of hand motor responses during the observation of actions and the presentation of verbs, expressing actions in the same category. The results have shown that participants gave slower hand motor responses during the observation of hand actions and the processing of hand-related verbs as than observed foot actions and related verbs. These findings support embodiment showing that whatever the modality of presentation (observed action or verb), the modulation of hand motor responses was similar, thus suggesting that processing seen actions and related verbs shares common mechanisms most likely involving the motor system and the underlying motor experience.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Jul 1, 2007
One of the claims of embodiment theory is that linguistic meaning is grounded in sensorimotor sys... more One of the claims of embodiment theory is that linguistic meaning is grounded in sensorimotor systems. For example, the simulation approach to language comprehension asserts that language becomes meaningful by simulating the content of a sentence using the same sensory and motor systems that might be used in dealing with the real events described by the sentence. This claim has been supported by behavioural work demonstrating interactions between language-based tasks and perception or action tasks. ...
Background: Visual reaction times (RT) have been used for the evaluation of the response to visua... more Background: Visual reaction times (RT) have been used for the evaluation of the response to visual stimuli in amblyopic subjects in a case-control study. Materials and methods: A Study Group, consisting in nine subjects with amblyopia and anomalous retinal correspondence, and a Control Group of nine normal subjects, were examined. In order to measure RT a test was carried out using a personal computer, for generating the visual stimuli on a special 14" monitor and for recording the response. A program was specifically created to record the dimensions of the stimuli and times of presentation in milliseconds. An electrographic tracing controlled the visual fixation. Visual stimuli of different dimensions were presented to the amblyopic eye, the dominant and non dominant eye, and in binocular vision, and RT were recorded. Results: In all cases RT represented a decreasing function of the stimulus dimension, with no statistical difference between the two groups (p=0.471). In both groups, RT values deriving from the greatest stimuli were rather inferior to those measured with smaller stimuli (p<0.001). In the Study Group the same stimulus produced longer reaction times in the amblyopic eye compared with those of the dominant eye (p<0.001), as well as those recorded during binocular vision (p<0.001). Conclusions: RT to visual stimuli could supply objective information on uncertain or hidden amblyopia. The extension of the experimental protocol to a larger population under school age could provide a clinical application for the early diagnosis of sensory alterations.
Background: Regular breakfast consumption is associated with better health status and healthier f... more Background: Regular breakfast consumption is associated with better health status and healthier food intake throughout the day, but this association is a complex interaction of several factors. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of nutritional and cognitive-perceived characteristics of breakfast on metabolic and behavioral variables related to food intake. The study was a randomized, crossover, controlled trial, with 4 experimental conditions consisting of 3 isoenergetic breakfasts and 1 energy-free control meal. Breakfasts had similar nutritional profiles but differed for glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL), and perceived healthiness, satiety, palatability, or energy content. Fifteen healthy normalweight men [means ± SDs; age: 24 ± 2 y; body mass index (BMI; kg/m 2 ) 23.4 ± 1.6] underwent each experimental condition in random order during 4 different weeks, separated by ≥1-wk washout. On the third day of each intervention week, postprandial blood variables (with insulin as primary outcome), satiety ratings, and food intake during an ad libitum lunch consumed 4 h after breakfast (secondary outcomes) were measured for each experimental condition. Results: A main effect of time, treatment, and time × treatment was found for postprandial insulin, glucose, and nonesterified fatty acids (P < 0.001 for all) after having the 3 iso-energetic breakfasts or the energy-free control one. Postprandial satiety was similar for the 3 energy-containing breakfasts, but higher when compared with the energy-free control (P < 0.001). No difference in energy intake was observed for the ad libitum lunch, whereas prolonged breakfast skipping was compensated by an increase (around +10%) in the average energy intake during the rest of the day, resulting in no differences in the total daily energy intake among the 4 conditions. Although other advantages might exist for breakfasts based on low-GI/low-GL foods, our findings support the hypothesis that minor differences in nutritional and perceived characteristics of breakfast are of limited importance regarding medium-term energy intake in healthy men. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as BRNN-014 NCT02516956.
Following a classical perspective, acquiring a new motor skill implies moving from a declarative ... more Following a classical perspective, acquiring a new motor skill implies moving from a declarative knowledge of the motor task to be learned to a procedural knowledge of it. Some recent research on the motor system challenges this view. In the ventral premotor cortex of a monkey, neurons have been discovered that discharge both when an animal executes a specific goal-directed action (i.e. grasping a piece of food) and when it observes the same or a similar action executed by a conspecific or an experimenter. These neurons are called "mirror neurons". In humans the mirror neuron system code for the execution and observation of goal-directed actions is executed with different biological effectors like the hand, the mouth, and the foot. The mirror neuron system has been demonstrated to be involved in action recognition, motor imagery and on line imitation of simple movements, which are already present in the motor repertoire of the acting individuals. Furthermore, in a very recent functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) study, the involvement of this system in learning novel, complex hand actions has been tested. In the experiment musically naïve participants were asked to learn to play different guitar chords, after observing models given by an expert guitarist. The mirror neuron system has been found active in all phases of the motor learning process, namely from the observation of the model till the execution of it by the participants. These results strongly support the notion that learning a new motor pattern implies re-arranging the elementary motor acts constituting it in order to fit a given model. This is an operation that the brain apparently does within the motor system, without the involvement of any specific associative areas.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Oct 1, 2011
While increasing evidence points to a critical role for the motor system in language processing, ... more While increasing evidence points to a critical role for the motor system in language processing, the focus of previous work has been on the linguistic category of verbs. Here we tested whether nouns are effective in modulating the motor system and further whether ...
While increasing evidence points to a critical role for the motor system in language processing, ... more While increasing evidence points to a critical role for the motor system in language processing, the focus of previous work has been on the linguistic category of verbs. Here we tested whether nouns are effective in modulating the motor system and further whether different kinds of nouns - those referring to artifacts or natural items, and items that are graspable or ungraspable - would differentially modulate the system. A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) study was carried out to compare modulation of the motor system when subjects read nouns referring to objects which are Artificial or Natural and which are Graspable or Ungraspable. TMS was applied to the primary motor cortex representation of the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle of the right hand at 150 ms after noun presentation. Analyses of Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs) revealed that across the duration of the task, nouns referring to graspable artifacts (tools) were associated with significantly greater MEP areas. Analyses of the initial presentation of items revealed a main effect of graspability. The findings are in line with an embodied view of nouns, with MEP measures modulated according to whether nouns referred to natural objects or artifacts (tools), confirming tools as a special class of items in motor terms. Additionally our data support a difference for graspable versus non graspable objects, an effect which for natural objects is restricted to initial presentation of items.
Psychological Research-psychologische Forschung, Oct 26, 2000
Inhibition of return (IOR) is a response delay when the target is preceded by an irrelevant stimu... more Inhibition of return (IOR) is a response delay when the target is preceded by an irrelevant stimulus (cue) at the same location. In a previous study, we investigated the separate and joint eects on IOR of cue onset and oset. IOR was much greater when cue onset was followed by cue oset (on-o cue) than when the cue was a single event (on or o cues). The aim of the present study was to test whether the greater IOR with an on-o cue is due to the presence of two cue events. Three experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1 we replicated, with a dierent delay between cue onset and oset, the ®nding that IOR is greater with an on-o cue than with a single cue event. In Experiments 2 and 3, we used cues formed by two events. In Experiment 2, an ono cue was compared with an o-on cue, whereas in Experiment 3 an on-on cue was compared with an o-o cue. Results showed that the magnitude of IOR did not simply depend on the number of cue events occurring before the target. IOR was greater with two dierent events than with two identical events and greater when was preceded by an o-event than an on-event. Therefore, IOR was greatest with an on-o cue, which likely also bene®ted from a gap eect. Possible mechanisms underlying IOR were discussed.
European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, Apr 1, 1991
... Carlo UmiltB, Lucia Ri &amp;#x27;0 Isabella Dascola and Giacorno-olatti Istitwo di Fisiol... more ... Carlo UmiltB, Lucia Ri &amp;#x27;0 Isabella Dascola and Giacorno-olatti Istitwo di Fisiologia U rn , Univcrsikidi P am , P am , Italy ... Subsequent studies (Berlucchi, Tassinari, Marzi &amp;amp; Di Stefano, 1989; Klein, 1988; Maylor, 1985; Maylor &amp;amp; Hockey, 1985; 1987; Possamai, 1986; Spencer et al ...
The aim of the present study was to investigate how spatial attention influences directional manu... more The aim of the present study was to investigate how spatial attention influences directional manual and saccadic reaction times. Two experiments were carried out. In experiment 1 subjects were instructed to perform pointing responses toward targets that were located either in the same or the opposite hemifield with respect to the hemifield in which an imperative stimulus was presented. In experiment 2, they were instructed to make saccadic or pointing responses. The direction of the responses was indicated by the shape of the imperative stimulus. Reaction time (RT), movement time, and, in experiment 2, saccadic trajectory were measured. The imperative stimulus location was either cued (endogenous attention) or uncued. In the latter case the imperative stimulus presentation attracted attention (exogenous attention). The main results of the experiments were the following: First, exogenous attention markedly decreased the RTs when the required movement was directed toward the imperative stimulus location. This directional effect was much stronger for pointing than for ocular responses. Second, endogenously allocated attention did not influence differentially RTs of pointing responses directed toward or away the attended hemifield. In contrast, endogenous attention markedly favored the saccadic responses when made away from the cued hemifield. Third, regardless of cueing, the direction of movement affected both pointing and saccadic reaction times. Saccadic reaction times were faster when the required movement was directed upward, while manual reaction times were faster when the movement was directed downward. Fourth, lateralized spatial attention deviated the trajectory of the saccades contralateral to the attention location. This pattern of results supports the notion that spatial attention depends on the activation of the same sensorimotor circuits that program actions in space.
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Papers by Lucia Riggio