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Action plans used in action observation

Author

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  • J. Randall Flanagan

    (Queen's University)

  • Roland S. Johansson

    (Umeå University)

Abstract

How do we understand the actions of others? According to the direct matching hypothesis, action understanding results from a mechanism that maps an observed action onto motor representations of that action1,2,3,4. Although supported by neurophysiological1,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13 and brain-imaging3,14,15,16,17,18 studies, direct evidence for this hypothesis is sparse. In visually guided actions, task-specific proactive eye movements are crucial for planning and control19,20,21,22. Because the eyes are free to move when observing such actions, the direct matching hypothesis predicts that subjects should produce eye movements similar to those produced when they perform the tasks. If an observer analyses action through purely visual means, however, eye movements will be linked reactively to the observed action. Here we show that when subjects observe a block stacking task, the coordination between their gaze and the actor's hand is predictive, rather than reactive, and is highly similar to the gaze–hand coordination when they perform the task themselves. These results indicate that during action observation subjects implement eye motor programs directed by motor representations of manual actions and thus provide strong evidence for the direct matching hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • J. Randall Flanagan & Roland S. Johansson, 2003. "Action plans used in action observation," Nature, Nature, vol. 424(6950), pages 769-771, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:424:y:2003:i:6950:d:10.1038_nature01861
    DOI: 10.1038/nature01861
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    Cited by:

    1. Francesca Foti & Deny Menghini & Laura Mandolesi & Francesca Federico & Stefano Vicari & Laura Petrosini, 2013. "Learning by Observation: Insights from Williams Syndrome," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, January.
    2. Claire Monroy & Marlene Meyer & Sarah Gerson & Sabine Hunnius, 2017. "Statistical learning in social action contexts," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, May.
    3. Christian Seegelke & Charmayne Mary Lee Hughes & Thomas Schack, 2013. "Simulating My Own or Others Action Plans? – Motor Representations, Not Visual Representations Are Recalled in Motor Memory," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(12), pages 1-1, December.
    4. Dmitry Smirnov & Fanny Lachat & Tomi Peltola & Juha M Lahnakoski & Olli-Pekka Koistinen & Enrico Glerean & Aki Vehtari & Riitta Hari & Mikko Sams & Lauri Nummenmaa, 2017. "Brain-to-brain hyperclassification reveals action-specific motor mapping of observed actions in humans," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(12), pages 1-23, December.
    5. Maurits Adam & Birgit Elsner, 2020. "The impact of salient action effects on 6-, 7-, and 11-month-olds’ goal-predictive gaze shifts for a human grasping action," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, October.
    6. Miya K Rand & Sebastian Rentsch, 2016. "Eye-Hand Coordination during Visuomotor Adaptation with Different Rotation Angles: Effects of Terminal Visual Feedback," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(11), pages 1-31, November.
    7. Jairo Perez-Osorio & Hermann J Müller & Eva Wiese & Agnieszka Wykowska, 2015. "Gaze Following Is Modulated by Expectations Regarding Others’ Action Goals," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(11), pages 1-19, November.
    8. Ettore Ambrosini & Vasudevi Reddy & Annette de Looper & Marcello Costantini & Beatriz Lopez & C Sinigaglia, 2013. "Looking Ahead: Anticipatory Gaze and Motor Ability in Infancy," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(7), pages 1-9, July.
    9. Anne Keitel & Wolfgang Prinz & Moritz M Daum, 2014. "Perception of Individual and Joint Action in Infants and Adults," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(9), pages 1-9, September.
    10. Ariel Goldstein & Ido Rivlin & Alon Goldstein & Yoni Pertzov & Ran R Hassin, 2020. "Predictions from masked motion with and without obstacles," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-35, November.

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