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Research paper thumbnail of Hand–foot motor priming in thepresence of temporary inabilityto use hands

Research paper thumbnail of Digital Intentions in the Fingers: I Know What You Are Doing with Your Smartphone

Brain Sciences

Every day, we make thousands of finger movements on the touchscreen of our smartphones. The same ... more Every day, we make thousands of finger movements on the touchscreen of our smartphones. The same movements might be directed at various distal goals. We can type “What is the weather in Rome?” in Google to acquire information from a weather site, or we may type it on WhatsApp to decide whether to visit Rome with a friend. In this study, we show that by watching an agent’s typing hands, an observer can infer whether the agent is typing on the smartphone to obtain information or to share it with others. The probability of answering correctly varies with age and typing style. According to embodied cognition, we propose that the recognition process relies on detecting subtle differences in the agent’s movement, a skill that grows with sensorimotor competence. We expect that this preliminary work will serve as a starting point for further research on sensorimotor representations of digital actions.

Research paper thumbnail of The Role of the Motor System in Cognitive Functions

Routledge eBooks, Feb 17, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of The Role of the Sensorimotor System in Cognitive Functions

Brain Sciences, May 5, 2022

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Research paper thumbnail of Implicit Associations between Adverbs of Place and Actions in the Physical and Digital Space

Brain Sciences, Nov 17, 2021

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Research paper thumbnail of Observation of the point-light animation of a grasping hand activates sensorimotor cortex in nine-month-old infants

Cortex, Oct 1, 2019

Measuring changes in sensorimotor alpha band activity in nine-month-old infants we sought to unde... more Measuring changes in sensorimotor alpha band activity in nine-month-old infants we sought to understand the involvement of the sensorimotor cortex during observation of the Point-Light (PL) animation of a grasping hand. Attenuation of alpha activity was found both when the PL display moved towards the to-be-grasped object and when the object was deleted from the video. Before the beginning of the movement of the PL stimuli, only in the presence of the object evoked attenuation of sensorimotor alpha activity was documented, possibly interpreted either as movement prediction or as graspable object perception. Our main findings demonstrate that, during observation of stimuli moving with biological kinematics, the infants' sensorimotor system is activated when the pictorial information is absent or highly reduced, and independently of the presence of the goal-directed object. The possible compensatory function of the sensorimotor system during observation of highly degraded moving stimuli is discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Hand–foot motor priming in the presence of temporary inability to use hands

Visual Cognition, 2012

To verify if the link between observed hand actions and executed foot actions found in aplasics i... more To verify if the link between observed hand actions and executed foot actions found in aplasics is essentially induced by the constant use of foot substituting the hand, we investigated if the vision of a grasping hand is able to prime a foot response in normals. Participants were required to detect the time-to-contact of a hand grasping an object either with a suitable or a less suitable movement, an experimental paradigm known to induce a priming effect. Participants responded either with the hand or the foot, while having free or bound hands. Results showed that for hand responses motor priming effect was stronger when the hands were free, whereas for foot responses it was stronger when the hands were bound. These data are interpreted as a further evidence that a difficulty to move affects specific cognitive functions and that the vision of a grasping hand may prime a foot response.

Research paper thumbnail of Editorial: How Do Motivational States Influence Motor Resonance?

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Feb 14, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of Movement observation activates motor cortex in fibromyalgia patients: a fNIRS study

Scientific Reports, 2022

Scientific evidence points to a shared neural representation between performing and observing an ... more Scientific evidence points to a shared neural representation between performing and observing an action. The action observation notoriously determines a modulation of the observer’s sensorimotor system, a phenomenon called Motor Resonance (MR). Fibromyalgia (FM) patients suffer from a condition characterized by generalized musculoskeletal pain in which even simple movement can exacerbate their symptoms. Maladaptive functioning of the primary motor cortex is a common finding in patients with chronic pain. Activation of the motor cortex is known to induce an analgesic effect in patients with chronic pain. In this exploratory study, we intend to verify if the mere observation of a movement could elicit activation of the motor cortical areas in patients with FM. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the presence of MR in patients affected by fibromyalgia. We adopted a behavioral paradigm known for detecting the presence of MR and a neurophysiological experiment. Participan...

Research paper thumbnail of Is a neural theory of language possible? Issues from an interdisciplinary perspective

Research paper thumbnail of The relevance of signal timing in human-robot collaborative manipulation

Science Robotics, 2021

A robot should communicate its intention to collaborate shortly after a human has picked an objec... more A robot should communicate its intention to collaborate shortly after a human has picked an object to avoid interferences.

Research paper thumbnail of The Premotor Theory of Attention

Elsevier eBooks, 2005

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of The Mirror-Neuron System

Annual Review of Neuroscience, Jul 21, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of From spatial attention to attention to objects: An extension of the premotor theory of attention

Research paper thumbnail of Mirror neuron: a neurological approach to empathy

Springer eBooks, 2005

Humans are an exquisitely social species. Our survival and success depend critically on our abili... more Humans are an exquisitely social species. Our survival and success depend critically on our ability to thrive in complex social situations. But how do we understand others? Which are the mechanisms underlying this capacity? In the present essay we discuss a general neural mechanism ("mirror mechanism") that enables individuals to understand the meaning of actions done by others, their intentions, and their emotions, through activation of internal representations coding motorically the observed actions and emotions. In the first part of the essay we will show that the mirror mechanism for "cold" actions, those devoid of emotional content, is localized in parieto-frontal cortical circuits. These circuits become active both when we do an action and when we observe another individual doing the same action. Their activity allows the observer to understand the "what" of an action. We will show, then, that a "chained" organization of motor acts plus the mirror mechanism enable the observer to understand the intention behind an action (the "why" of an action) by observing the first motor act of an action. Finally, we will discuss some recent data showing that the mirror mechanism localized in other centers, like the insula, enables the observer to understand the emotions of others. We will conclude briefly discussing whether these biological data allow inferences about moral behavior.

Research paper thumbnail of Action for perception: A motor-visual attentional effect

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1999

Research paper thumbnail of Data for: Proactive gaze is driven by the translational movement reaching an object regardless of the type of kinematics

The file Data proactive.xlsx reports the latency of participants' gaze shifts towards the end... more The file Data proactive.xlsx reports the latency of participants' gaze shifts towards the end of a dots configuration translational movement, calculated from the time of dots configuration movement onset, in five different Experiments. The total duration of dots configuration movement was 1600 ms. Each sheet separately reports gaze latency in milliseconds recorded from each participant, during each trial, in each Experiment. The folder Stimuli contains 9 videos used as stimuli in Experiment 1 (Video 1, and 2), Experiment 2 (Video 3, and 4), Experiment 3 (Video 5, and 6), Experiment 4 (Video 7, and 8), and Experiment 5 (Video 9). The file Videos legends.docx describes each video.

Research paper thumbnail of Hand Actions and Speech Representation in Broca's Area

Cortex, 2006

This paper presents data and theoretical framework supporting a new interpretation of the role pl... more This paper presents data and theoretical framework supporting a new interpretation of the role played by Broca's area. Recent brain imaging studies report that, in addition to speech-related activation, Broca's area is also significantly involved during tasks devoid of verbal content. In consideration of the large variety of experimental paradigms inducing Broca's activation, here we present some neurophysiological data from the monkey homologue of Brodmann's areas (BA) 44 and 45 aiming to integrate on a common ground these apparently different functions. Finally, we will report electrophysiological data on humans which connect speech perception to the more general framework of other's action understanding.

Research paper thumbnail of Language in shadow

Social Neuroscience, Jun 1, 2006

Some questions have arisen during the preparation of your manuscript for typesetting. Please cons... more Some questions have arisen during the preparation of your manuscript for typesetting. Please consider each of the following points below and make any corrections required in the proofs. Please do not give answers to the questions on this sheet. All corrections should be made directly in the printed proofs.

Research paper thumbnail of Human motor cortex excitability during the perception of others’ action

Current Opinion in Neurobiology, Apr 1, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Hand–foot motor priming in thepresence of temporary inabilityto use hands

Research paper thumbnail of Digital Intentions in the Fingers: I Know What You Are Doing with Your Smartphone

Brain Sciences

Every day, we make thousands of finger movements on the touchscreen of our smartphones. The same ... more Every day, we make thousands of finger movements on the touchscreen of our smartphones. The same movements might be directed at various distal goals. We can type “What is the weather in Rome?” in Google to acquire information from a weather site, or we may type it on WhatsApp to decide whether to visit Rome with a friend. In this study, we show that by watching an agent’s typing hands, an observer can infer whether the agent is typing on the smartphone to obtain information or to share it with others. The probability of answering correctly varies with age and typing style. According to embodied cognition, we propose that the recognition process relies on detecting subtle differences in the agent’s movement, a skill that grows with sensorimotor competence. We expect that this preliminary work will serve as a starting point for further research on sensorimotor representations of digital actions.

Research paper thumbnail of The Role of the Motor System in Cognitive Functions

Routledge eBooks, Feb 17, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of The Role of the Sensorimotor System in Cognitive Functions

Brain Sciences, May 5, 2022

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Research paper thumbnail of Implicit Associations between Adverbs of Place and Actions in the Physical and Digital Space

Brain Sciences, Nov 17, 2021

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Research paper thumbnail of Observation of the point-light animation of a grasping hand activates sensorimotor cortex in nine-month-old infants

Cortex, Oct 1, 2019

Measuring changes in sensorimotor alpha band activity in nine-month-old infants we sought to unde... more Measuring changes in sensorimotor alpha band activity in nine-month-old infants we sought to understand the involvement of the sensorimotor cortex during observation of the Point-Light (PL) animation of a grasping hand. Attenuation of alpha activity was found both when the PL display moved towards the to-be-grasped object and when the object was deleted from the video. Before the beginning of the movement of the PL stimuli, only in the presence of the object evoked attenuation of sensorimotor alpha activity was documented, possibly interpreted either as movement prediction or as graspable object perception. Our main findings demonstrate that, during observation of stimuli moving with biological kinematics, the infants' sensorimotor system is activated when the pictorial information is absent or highly reduced, and independently of the presence of the goal-directed object. The possible compensatory function of the sensorimotor system during observation of highly degraded moving stimuli is discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Hand–foot motor priming in the presence of temporary inability to use hands

Visual Cognition, 2012

To verify if the link between observed hand actions and executed foot actions found in aplasics i... more To verify if the link between observed hand actions and executed foot actions found in aplasics is essentially induced by the constant use of foot substituting the hand, we investigated if the vision of a grasping hand is able to prime a foot response in normals. Participants were required to detect the time-to-contact of a hand grasping an object either with a suitable or a less suitable movement, an experimental paradigm known to induce a priming effect. Participants responded either with the hand or the foot, while having free or bound hands. Results showed that for hand responses motor priming effect was stronger when the hands were free, whereas for foot responses it was stronger when the hands were bound. These data are interpreted as a further evidence that a difficulty to move affects specific cognitive functions and that the vision of a grasping hand may prime a foot response.

Research paper thumbnail of Editorial: How Do Motivational States Influence Motor Resonance?

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Feb 14, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of Movement observation activates motor cortex in fibromyalgia patients: a fNIRS study

Scientific Reports, 2022

Scientific evidence points to a shared neural representation between performing and observing an ... more Scientific evidence points to a shared neural representation between performing and observing an action. The action observation notoriously determines a modulation of the observer’s sensorimotor system, a phenomenon called Motor Resonance (MR). Fibromyalgia (FM) patients suffer from a condition characterized by generalized musculoskeletal pain in which even simple movement can exacerbate their symptoms. Maladaptive functioning of the primary motor cortex is a common finding in patients with chronic pain. Activation of the motor cortex is known to induce an analgesic effect in patients with chronic pain. In this exploratory study, we intend to verify if the mere observation of a movement could elicit activation of the motor cortical areas in patients with FM. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the presence of MR in patients affected by fibromyalgia. We adopted a behavioral paradigm known for detecting the presence of MR and a neurophysiological experiment. Participan...

Research paper thumbnail of Is a neural theory of language possible? Issues from an interdisciplinary perspective

Research paper thumbnail of The relevance of signal timing in human-robot collaborative manipulation

Science Robotics, 2021

A robot should communicate its intention to collaborate shortly after a human has picked an objec... more A robot should communicate its intention to collaborate shortly after a human has picked an object to avoid interferences.

Research paper thumbnail of The Premotor Theory of Attention

Elsevier eBooks, 2005

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of The Mirror-Neuron System

Annual Review of Neuroscience, Jul 21, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of From spatial attention to attention to objects: An extension of the premotor theory of attention

Research paper thumbnail of Mirror neuron: a neurological approach to empathy

Springer eBooks, 2005

Humans are an exquisitely social species. Our survival and success depend critically on our abili... more Humans are an exquisitely social species. Our survival and success depend critically on our ability to thrive in complex social situations. But how do we understand others? Which are the mechanisms underlying this capacity? In the present essay we discuss a general neural mechanism ("mirror mechanism") that enables individuals to understand the meaning of actions done by others, their intentions, and their emotions, through activation of internal representations coding motorically the observed actions and emotions. In the first part of the essay we will show that the mirror mechanism for "cold" actions, those devoid of emotional content, is localized in parieto-frontal cortical circuits. These circuits become active both when we do an action and when we observe another individual doing the same action. Their activity allows the observer to understand the "what" of an action. We will show, then, that a "chained" organization of motor acts plus the mirror mechanism enable the observer to understand the intention behind an action (the "why" of an action) by observing the first motor act of an action. Finally, we will discuss some recent data showing that the mirror mechanism localized in other centers, like the insula, enables the observer to understand the emotions of others. We will conclude briefly discussing whether these biological data allow inferences about moral behavior.

Research paper thumbnail of Action for perception: A motor-visual attentional effect

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1999

Research paper thumbnail of Data for: Proactive gaze is driven by the translational movement reaching an object regardless of the type of kinematics

The file Data proactive.xlsx reports the latency of participants' gaze shifts towards the end... more The file Data proactive.xlsx reports the latency of participants' gaze shifts towards the end of a dots configuration translational movement, calculated from the time of dots configuration movement onset, in five different Experiments. The total duration of dots configuration movement was 1600 ms. Each sheet separately reports gaze latency in milliseconds recorded from each participant, during each trial, in each Experiment. The folder Stimuli contains 9 videos used as stimuli in Experiment 1 (Video 1, and 2), Experiment 2 (Video 3, and 4), Experiment 3 (Video 5, and 6), Experiment 4 (Video 7, and 8), and Experiment 5 (Video 9). The file Videos legends.docx describes each video.

Research paper thumbnail of Hand Actions and Speech Representation in Broca's Area

Cortex, 2006

This paper presents data and theoretical framework supporting a new interpretation of the role pl... more This paper presents data and theoretical framework supporting a new interpretation of the role played by Broca's area. Recent brain imaging studies report that, in addition to speech-related activation, Broca's area is also significantly involved during tasks devoid of verbal content. In consideration of the large variety of experimental paradigms inducing Broca's activation, here we present some neurophysiological data from the monkey homologue of Brodmann's areas (BA) 44 and 45 aiming to integrate on a common ground these apparently different functions. Finally, we will report electrophysiological data on humans which connect speech perception to the more general framework of other's action understanding.

Research paper thumbnail of Language in shadow

Social Neuroscience, Jun 1, 2006

Some questions have arisen during the preparation of your manuscript for typesetting. Please cons... more Some questions have arisen during the preparation of your manuscript for typesetting. Please consider each of the following points below and make any corrections required in the proofs. Please do not give answers to the questions on this sheet. All corrections should be made directly in the printed proofs.

Research paper thumbnail of Human motor cortex excitability during the perception of others’ action

Current Opinion in Neurobiology, Apr 1, 2005