scholarly journals Generalization of motor resonance during the observation of hand, mouth, and eye movements

2015 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 2295-2304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Finisguerra ◽  
Laura Maffongelli ◽  
Michela Bassolino ◽  
Marco Jacono ◽  
Thierry Pozzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Control ◽  
Action Observation ◽  
Muscular Activity ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Finger Movements ◽  
Action Execution ◽  
Directed Action ◽  
Motor Activities ◽  
System Activation ◽  
Neural Control Of Movement

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the motor cortex shows that hand action observation (AO) modulates corticospinal excitability (CSE). CSE modulation alternatively maps low-level kinematic characteristics or higher-level features, like object-directed action goals. However, action execution is achieved through the control of muscle synergies, consisting of coordinated patterns of muscular activity during natural movements, rather than single muscles or object-directed goals. This synergistic organization of action execution also underlies the ability to produce the same functional output (i.e., grasping an object) using different effectors. We hypothesize that motor system activation during AO may rely on similar principles. To investigate this issue, we recorded both hand CSE and TMS-evoked finger movements which provide a much more complete description of coordinated patterns of muscular activity. Subjects passively watched hand, mouth and eyelid opening or closing, which are performing non-object-directed (intransitive) actions. Hand and mouth share the same potential to grasp objects, whereas eyelid does not allow object-directed (transitive) actions. Hand CSE modulation generalized to all effectors, while TMS evoked finger movements only to mouth AO. Such dissociation suggests that the two techniques may have different sensitivities to fine motor modulations induced by AO. Differently from evoked movements, which are sensitive to the possibility to achieve object-directed action, CSE is generically modulated by “opening” vs. “closing” movements, independently of which effector was observed. We propose that motor activities during AO might exploit the same synergistic mechanisms shown for the neural control of movement and organized around a limited set of motor primitives.

Prior action execution has no effect on corticospinal facilitation during action observation

2012 ◽  
Vol 231 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Loporto ◽  
Craig J. McAllister ◽  
Martin G. Edwards ◽  
David J. Wright ◽  
Paul S. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Action Observation ◽  
Action Execution ◽  
Prior Action

Efference copy in kinesthetic perception: A copy of what is it?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark L. Latash
Keyword(s):  
Neural Control ◽  
Efference Copy ◽  
Single Element ◽  
Muscle Vibration ◽  
Sense Of Effort ◽  
Antagonist Muscles ◽  
Co Activation ◽  
Lower Accuracy ◽  
Neural Control Of Movement ◽  
Kinesthetic Perception

A number of notions in the fields of motor control and kinesthetic perception have been used without clear definitions. In this review, we consider definitions for efference copy, percept, and sense of effort based on recent studies within the physical approach, which assumes that the neural control of movement is based on principles of parametric control and involves defining time-varying profiles of spatial referent coordinates for the effectors. The apparent redundancy in both motor and perceptual processes is reconsidered based on the principle of abundance. Abundance of efferent and afferent signals is viewed as the means of stabilizing both salient action characteristics and salient percepts formalized as stable manifolds in high-dimensional spaces of relevant elemental variables. This theoretical scheme has led recently to a number of novel predictions and findings. These include, in particular, lower accuracy in perception of variables produced by elements involved in a multi-element task compared to the same elements in single-element tasks, dissociation between motor and perceptual effects of muscle co-activation, force illusions induced by muscle vibration, and errors in perception of unintentional drifts in performance. Taken together, these results suggest that participation of efferent signals in perception frequently involves distorted copies of actual neural commands, particularly those to antagonist muscles. Sense of effort is associated with such distorted efferent signals. Distortions in efference copy happen spontaneously and can also be caused by changes in sensory signals, e.g., those produced by muscle vibration.

High-frequency submaximal stimulation over muscle evokes centrally generated forces in human upper limb skeletal muscles

2009 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 370-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Sébastien Blouin ◽  
Lee D. Walsh ◽  
Peter Nickolls ◽  
Simon C. Gandevia
Keyword(s):  
Upper Limb ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Biceps Brachii ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Nerve Blocks ◽  
Ia Afferents ◽  
Lower Limb Muscles ◽  
Peripheral Mechanism ◽  
Central Origin ◽  
Motor Activities

Control of posture and movement requires control of the output from motoneurons. Motoneurons of human lower limb muscles exhibit sustained, submaximal activity to high-frequency electrical trains, which has been hypothesized to be partly triggered by monosynaptic Ia afferents. The possibility to trigger such behavior in upper limb motoneurons and the potential unique role of Ia afferents to trigger such behavior remain unclear. Subjects ( n = 9) received high-frequency trains of electrical stimuli over biceps brachii and flexor pollicis longus (FPL). We chose to study the FPL muscle because it has weak monosynaptic Ia afferent connectivity and it is involved in fine motor control of the thumb. Two types of stimulus trains (100-Hz bursts and triangular ramps) were tested at five intensities below painful levels. All subjects exhibited enhanced torque in biceps and FPL muscles after both types of high-frequency train. Torques also persisted after stimulation, particularly for the highest stimulus intensity. To separate the evoked torques that resulted from a peripheral mechanism (e.g., muscle potentiation) and that which resulted from a central origin, we studied FPL responses to high-frequency trains after complete combined nerve blocks of the median and radial nerves ( n = 2). During the blocks, high-frequency trains over the FPL did not yield torque enhancements or persisting torques. These results suggest that enhanced contractions of central origin can be elicited in motoneurons innervating the upper limb, despite weak monosynaptic Ia connections for FPL. Their presence in a recently evolved human muscle (FPL) indicates that these enhanced contractions may have a broad role in controlling tonic postural outputs of hand muscles and that they may be available even for fine motor activities involving the thumb.

scholarly journals fMRI Adaptation between Action Observation and Action Execution Reveals Cortical Areas with Mirror Neuron Properties in Human BA 44/45

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan de la Rosa ◽  
Frieder L. Schillinger ◽  
Heinrich H. Bülthoff ◽  
Johannes Schultz ◽  
Kamil Uludag
Keyword(s):  
Action Observation ◽  
Mirror Neuron ◽  
Action Execution ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Fmri Adaptation

Matching action observation to action execution

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 372
Author(s):  
M. Soriano ◽  
A. Cavallo ◽  
C. Becchio
Keyword(s):  
Action Observation ◽  
Action Execution

Historical analysis of the neural control of movement from the bedrock of animal experimentation to human studies

2004 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 1478-1485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter B. C. Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Neural Control ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Animal Experimentation ◽  
Physical Sciences ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Magnetic Brain Stimulation ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Neural Control Of Movement ◽  
Opening Up

The history of the investigation of the sensorimotor control of movement is outlined from its inception at the beginning of the 19th century. Particular emphasis is placed on the opening up of new possibilities by the development of new techniques, from chronophotography to magnetic brain stimulation, all of which have exploited developments in technology. Extrapolating from history, future advance in physiological understanding can be guaranteed to require seizing the new tools provided by the physical sciences and refining these to our particular need. The ever-present danger is that these are then deployed with triumphal optimism rather than critical doubt and earlier methods either jettisoned prematurely or used incautiously. The new techniques have enabled experimentation to become ever less intrusive, permitting a progressive shift from animal to human work, thereby offering the prospect of an increasing clinical reward.

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