About the Project

In humans, motor cognition can be studied within the framework of action representation, which is responsible for covert actions such as action perception. Action perception allows the observer to distinguish one action from another, to identify what and how is done. Intention understanding allows the observer to identify why an action is being done, and may involve identification of the actor’s immediate goal and the actor’s higher-level intention. Our main aim is to investigate the link between action perception and intention understanding. In other words, to examine how a spectator understands the actions of other subjects. Which is the mechanism that an observer is using to assign meaning to an action performed by another subject? In the present project our objectives are to investigate the neural mechanism of assigning meaning to the actions of other subjects, by exploring which characteristics of the observed action are critical for its recognition/interpretation by the observer.

There are two contemporary relevant, though competing, theories: first, that mirror neurons in two specific areas of the brain encode the goal of actions and are responsible for action interpretation; second, that specific movement characteristics (such as movement kinematics), which are encoded in several components of the execution-simulated circuit supporting action observation, play critical role in assigning meaning to the observed action. In order to resolve this important debate, we will perform double dissociation fMRI experiments in humans, to reveal the components of the observation-related brain network which are affected by (i) actions that have the same goals but different kinematics and (ii) actions that have the same kinematics but different goals.

The complementary expertise of the scientists participating in the present project in (i) cognitive sciences, (ii)neuroimaging and (iii) neuropsychology promises achievement of the ambitious aim of the AMAOS project. The area of mental simulation of actions is an area where European scientific thinking remains ahead of the rest of the world.