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Trends in Cognitive Sciences Sep 2022Mirror neurons (MNs) were first described in a seminal paper in 1992 as a class of monkey premotor cells discharging during both action execution and observation.... (Review)
Review
Mirror neurons (MNs) were first described in a seminal paper in 1992 as a class of monkey premotor cells discharging during both action execution and observation. Despite their debated origin and function, recent studies in several species, from birds to humans, revealed that beyond MNs properly so called, a variety of cell types distributed among multiple motor, sensory, and emotional brain areas form a 'mirror mechanism' more complex and flexible than originally thought, which has an evolutionarily conserved role in social interaction. Here, we trace the current limits and envisage the future trends of this discovery, showing that it inspired translational research and the development of new neurorehabilitation approaches, and constitutes a point of no return in social and affective neuroscience.
Topics: Brain; Brain Mapping; Humans; Mirror Neurons; Motor Cortex; Psychomotor Performance
PubMed: 35803832
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.06.003 -
Nature Reviews. Neuroscience Feb 2023Humans are able to rapidly perform novel tasks, but show pervasive performance costs when attempting to do two things at once. Traditionally, empirical and theoretical... (Review)
Review
Humans are able to rapidly perform novel tasks, but show pervasive performance costs when attempting to do two things at once. Traditionally, empirical and theoretical investigations into the sources of such multitasking interference have largely focused on multitasking in isolation to other cognitive functions, characterizing the conditions that give rise to performance decrements. Here we instead ask whether multitasking costs are linked to the system's capacity for knowledge generalization, as is required to perform novel tasks. We show how interrogation of the neurophysiological circuitry underlying these two facets of cognition yields further insights for both. Specifically, we demonstrate how a system that rapidly generalizes knowledge may induce multitasking costs owing to sharing of task contingencies between contexts in neural representations encoded in frontoparietal and striatal brain regions. We discuss neurophysiological insights suggesting that prolonged learning segregates such representations by refining the brain's model of task-relevant contingencies, thereby reducing information sharing between contexts and improving multitasking performance while reducing flexibility and generalization. These proposed neural mechanisms explain why the brain shows rapid task understanding, multitasking limitations and practice effects. In short, multitasking limits are the price we pay for behavioural flexibility.
Topics: Humans; Psychomotor Performance; Cognition; Brain; Learning
PubMed: 36347942
DOI: 10.1038/s41583-022-00653-x -
Handbook of Clinical Neurology 2023The parietal lobe has been implicated in the sensorimotor control and integration that supports the skillful use of our hands to reach for, grasp, and manipulate objects... (Review)
Review
The parietal lobe has been implicated in the sensorimotor control and integration that supports the skillful use of our hands to reach for, grasp, and manipulate objects in the environment. This area is involved in several circuits within the classic subdivisions of the dorsal stream. Recently, the dorsal stream has been further divided into a "dorso-dorsal" and a "ventro-dorsal" streams. The ventro-dorsal stream is regarded as functionally linked to object manipulation. The dorso-dorsal stream is proposed to subserve reaching and online control of actions. Affordances indicate action possibilities characterized by object properties the environment provides. Affordances are likely represented by the dorsal stream. They code structural object properties that can elicit actions. A further subdivision of affordances into "stable" and "variable" allows an understanding of the neuronal mechanisms underlying object manipulation. Whereas stable affordances emerge from slow processing of visual information based on knowledge of object properties from previous experiences and object interaction, variable affordances emerge from fast online processing of visual information during actual object interaction, within a changing environment. The relevance of the dorsal stream subdivisions in this context is that the dorso-dorsal stream is associated with coding of variable affordances, while that of the dorso-ventral stream is implicated in action representations elicited by stable affordances. A greater interaction between these and ventral stream perceptual and semantic representations allows the parietal control of hand movement. An understanding of these networks is likely to underlie recovery from complex deficits described in limb apraxias.
Topics: Humans; Psychomotor Performance; Brain Mapping; Movement; Hand; Parietal Lobe
PubMed: 37562866
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-323-98818-6.00029-7 -
Nature Human Behaviour Sep 2019Explaining and predicting individual behavioural differences induced by clinical and social factors constitutes one of the most promising applications of neuroimaging.... (Review)
Review
Explaining and predicting individual behavioural differences induced by clinical and social factors constitutes one of the most promising applications of neuroimaging. In this Perspective, we discuss the theoretical and statistical foundations of the analyses of inter-individual differences in task-related functional neuroimaging. Leveraging a five-year literature review (July 2013-2018), we show that researchers often assess how activations elicited by a variable of interest differ between individuals. We argue that the rationale for such analyses, typically grounded in resource theory, offers an over-large analytical and interpretational flexibility that undermines their validity. We also recall how, in the established framework of the general linear model, inter-individual differences in behaviour can act as hidden moderators and spuriously induce differences in activations. We conclude with a set of recommendations and directions, which we hope will contribute to improving the statistical validity and the neurobiological interpretability of inter-individual difference analyses in task-related functional neuroimaging.
Topics: Brain; Functional Neuroimaging; Humans; Individuality; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Psychomotor Performance; Reinforcement, Psychology; Task Performance and Analysis
PubMed: 31451737
DOI: 10.1038/s41562-019-0681-8 -
Scientific Reports Sep 2019Limited evidence exists regarding cognitive and psychomotor function in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Therefore, we aimed to compare the neurocognitive...
Limited evidence exists regarding cognitive and psychomotor function in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Therefore, we aimed to compare the neurocognitive and psychomotor function of 60 IBD patients with 60 age/sex-matched controls. Computer-based instrument Complex Reactinometer Drenovac (CRD) was used for assessment of cognitive domains: convergent thinking (simple mathematical tasks; CRD-11), perceptive abilities (light signal position discrimination; CRD-311) and sophisticated operative thinking (complex psychomotor coordination; CRD-411). The most important analyzed parameters were total test solving time (T); minimal time of particular test solving (T) and total number of wrong reactions (N). Performance in all three cognitive tests showed statistically significantly longer T and T in IBD patients (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in N. Aforementioned findings were adjusted for BMI, age and duration of education. Our study has shown impaired neurocognitive and psychomotor function in IBD patients compared to controls, especially in mental processing speed and mental endurance of perceptive abilities, convergent thinking and complex operative thinking.
Topics: Adult; Cognition; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; Male; Neuropsychological Tests; Psychomotor Performance
PubMed: 31551482
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-50192-2 -
Current Opinion in Psychology Apr 2020The first goal of this article is to review recent advances in understanding how new motor skills facilitate infants' exploration-the active acquisition of information... (Review)
Review
The first goal of this article is to review recent advances in understanding how new motor skills facilitate infants' exploration-the active acquisition of information about their environments. New postural abilities, such as sitting and walking, qualitatively change how infants can learn about objects, places, and people with potential downstream effects on infants' later cognitive and linguistic development. What's missing, however, is a characterization of how new exploratory abilities change infants' everyday experiences. Presumably, changes in opportunities for learning mediate the downstream effects of posture on other developmental achievements. Accordingly, the second goal of this article is to discuss the importance of measuring the ecology of infants' everyday experiences and how they vary.
Topics: Child Development; Exploratory Behavior; Humans; Infant; Infant Behavior; Learning; Psychomotor Performance; Social Environment
PubMed: 31445428
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.06.035 -
Journal of Neuroengineering and... Nov 2020Our ability to acquire, refine and adapt skilled limb movements is a hallmark of human motor learning that allows us to successfully perform many daily activities. The...
BACKGROUND
Our ability to acquire, refine and adapt skilled limb movements is a hallmark of human motor learning that allows us to successfully perform many daily activities. The capacity to acquire, refine and adapt other features of motor performance, such as visual search, eye-hand coordination and visuomotor decisions, may also contribute to motor learning. However, the extent to which refinements of multiple behavioral features and their underlying neural processes independently contribute to motor learning remains unknown. In the current study, we used an ethological approach to test the hypothesis that practice-related refinements of multiple behavioral features would be independently predictive of motor learning.
METHODS
Eighteen healthy, young adults used an upper-limb robot with eye-tracking to practice six trials of a continuous, visuomotor task once a week for six consecutive weeks. Participants used virtual paddles to hit away 200 "Targets" and avoid hitting 100 "Distractors" that continuously moved towards them from the back of the workspace. Motor learning was inferred from trial-by-trial acquisition and week-by-week retention of improvements on two measures of task performance related to motor execution and motor inhibition. Adaptations involving underlying neural processes were inferred from trial-by-trial acquisition and week-by-week retention of refinements on measures of skilled limb movement, visual search, eye-hand coordination and visuomotor decisions. We tested our hypothesis by quantifying the extent to which refinements on measures of multiple behavioral features (predictors) were independently predictive of improvements on our two measures of task performance (outcomes) after removing all shared variance between predictors.
RESULTS
We found that refinements on measures of skilled limb movement, visual search and eye-hand coordination were independently predictive of improvements on our measure of task performance related to motor execution. In contrast, only refinements of eye-hand coordination were independently predictive of improvements on our measure of task performance related to motor inhibition.
CONCLUSION
Our results provide indirect evidence that refinements involving multiple, neural processes may independently contribute to motor learning, and distinct neural processes may underlie improvements in task performance related to motor execution and motor inhibition. This also suggests that refinements involving multiple, neural processes may contribute to motor recovery after stroke, and rehabilitation interventions should be designed to produce refinements of all behavioral features that may contribute to motor recovery.
Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Adult; Eye Movements; Female; Humans; Learning; Male; Psychomotor Performance; Task Performance and Analysis; Young Adult
PubMed: 33203416
DOI: 10.1186/s12984-020-00766-3 -
Quarterly Journal of Experimental... Feb 2021There is a widespread stereotype that women are better at multitasking. Previous studies examining gender difference in multitasking used either a concurrent or...
There is a widespread stereotype that women are better at multitasking. Previous studies examining gender difference in multitasking used either a concurrent or sequential multitasking paradigm and offered mixed results. This study examined a possibility that men were better at concurrent multitasking while women were better at task switching. In addition, men and women were also compared in terms of multitasking experience, measured by a computer monitoring software, a self-reported Media Use Questionnaire, a laboratory task-switching paradigm, and a self-reported Multitasking Prevalence Inventory. Results showed a smaller concurrent multitasking (dual-task) cost for men than women and no gender difference in sequential multitasking (task-switching) cost. Men had more experience in multitasking involving video games while women were more experienced in multitasking involving music, instant messaging, and web surfing. The gender difference in dual-task performance, however, was not mediated by the gender differences in multitasking experience but completely explained by difference in the processing speed. The findings suggest that men have an advantage in concurrent multitasking, which may be a result of the individual differences in cognitive abilities.
Topics: Attention; Cognition; Executive Function; Female; Humans; Individuality; Male; Psychomotor Performance; Sex Characteristics; Sex Factors; Task Performance and Analysis
PubMed: 32933422
DOI: 10.1177/1747021820960707 -
Scientific Reports Jul 2023People show vast variability in skill performance and learning. What determines a person's individual performance and learning ability? In this study we explored the...
People show vast variability in skill performance and learning. What determines a person's individual performance and learning ability? In this study we explored the possibility to predict participants' future performance and learning, based on their behavior during initial skill acquisition. We recruited a large online multi-session sample of participants performing a sequential tapping skill learning task. We used machine learning to predict future performance and learning from raw data acquired during initial skill acquisition, and from engineered features calculated from the raw data. Strong correlations were observed between initial and final performance, and individual learning was not predicted. While canonical experimental tasks developed and selected to detect average effects may constrain insights regarding individual variability, development of novel tasks may shed light on the underlying mechanism of individual skill learning, relevant for real-life scenarios.
Topics: Humans; Motor Skills; Psychomotor Performance
PubMed: 37443195
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38231-5 -
Journal of Vision Jul 2023When steering a trajectory, we direct our gaze to locations (1-3 s ahead) that we want to steer through. How and why are these active gaze patterns conducive to...
When steering a trajectory, we direct our gaze to locations (1-3 s ahead) that we want to steer through. How and why are these active gaze patterns conducive to successful steering? While various sources of visual information have been identified that could support steering control, the role of stereotypical gaze patterns during steering remains unclear. Here, experimental and computational approaches are combined to investigate a possible direct connection between gaze and steering: Is there enough information in gaze direction that it could be used in isolation to steer through a series of waypoints? For this, we test steering models using waypoints supplied from human gaze data, as well as waypoints specified by optical features of the environment. Steering-by-gaze was modeled using a "pure-pursuit" controller (computing a circular trajectory toward a steering point), or a simple "proportional" controller (yaw-rate set proportional to the visual angle of the steering point). Both controllers produced successful steering when using human gaze data as the input. The models generalized using the same parameters across two scenarios: (a) steering through a slalom of three visible waypoints located within lane boundaries and (b) steering a series of connected S bends comprising visible waypoints without a visible road. While the trajectories on average broadly matched those generated by humans, the differences in individual trajectories were not captured by the models. We suggest that "looking where we are going" provides useful information and that this can often be adequate to guide steering. Capturing variation in human steering responses, however, likely requires more sophisticated models or additional sensory information.
Topics: Humans; Fixation, Ocular; Eye Movements; Automobile Driving; Vision, Ocular; Psychomotor Performance
PubMed: 37477935
DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.7.12