Incongruent imagery interferes with action initiation |
| |
Authors: | Richard Ramsey Jennifer Cumming Daniel Eastough Martin G. Edwards |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK;2. School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK;3. Institute of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Worcester, Worcester WR2 6AJ, UK;4. Faculté de Psychologie et des Sciences de l’Education, Université catholique de Louvain, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium |
| |
Abstract: | It has been suggested that representing an action through observation and imagery share neural processes with action execution. In support of this view, motor-priming research has shown that observing an action can influence action initiation. However, there is little motor-priming research showing that imagining an action can modulate action initiation. The current study examined whether action imagery could prime subsequent execution of a reach and grasp action. Across two motion analysis tracking experiments, 40 participants grasped an object following congruent or incongruent action imagery. In Experiment 1, movement initiation was faster following congruent compared to incongruent imagery, demonstrating that imagery can prime the initiation of grasping. In Experiment 2, incongruent imagery resulted in slower movement initiation compared to a no-imagery control. These data show that imagining a different action to that which is performed can interfere with action production. We propose that the most likely neural correlates of this interference effect are brain regions that code imagined and executed actions. Further, we outline a plausible mechanistic account of how priming in these brain regions through imagery could play a role in action cognition. |
| |
Keywords: | Imagery Common coding Premotor Parietal Priming Action cognition |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|