Experience modulates automatic imitation
Abstract
Action observation gives rise to activation in corresponding areas of the premotor and primary motor cortices. We tested the hypothesis that this activation depends on visual-motor connections established through correlated experience of observing and executing the same action. Previous work has shown that hand opening and hand closing gestures are facilitated when subjects observe the movement they are performing, relative to a condition in which they observe a different movement from the one they are performing. Experiment 1 replicated this finding in a simple reaction time (RT) procedure using stimulus-response (SR) movements in orthogonal planes. This implies that the effect is an example of automatic imitation, an instruction-independent tendency to execute movements that are topologically similar to those observed, and not merely an example of spatially compatible responding. In Experiment 2, the automatic imitation effect found in Experiment 1 was abolished by a brief period of training in which subjects responded to hand opening by closing their hands, and to hand closing by opening their hands. This outcome is consistent with the hypothesis that, rather than being innate, the cortical connections mediating motor activation by action observation are formed through experience.
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Previous studies using the stimulus-response compatibility paradigm have found that participants respond faster on compatible than incompatible trials.
“Previous studies using this paradigm, which did not manipulate social attitudes, have found an automatic imitation effect: participants make their hand movement responses faster in compatible than in incompatible trials (Heyes, Bird, Johnson & Haggard, 2005;Leighton & Heyes, under review;Press, Walsh & Heyes, 2007;Stürmer, Aschersleben, & Prinz, 2000).”
From Social attitudes modulate automatic imitation (2010) · cites this paper as Heyes, Bird, Johnson & Haggard, 2005
Later studies have shown that automatic imitation is not dependent on stimulus salience or spatial compatibility.
“more recent studies corrected these problems and confirmed that automatic imitation was independent of stimulus salience or spatial compatibility”
From Is automatic imitation a specialized form of stimulus–response compatibility? Dissociating imitative and spatial compatibilities (2012) · cites this paper as Heyes et al., 2005
Automatic imitation has been shown to be modulated by social context cues.
“Automatic imitation has been shown to be modulated by social context cues (see e.g.3–11)”
From Event-related potentials of automatic imitation are modulated by ethnicity during stimulus processing, but not during motor execution (2018) · cites this paper as [5]
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“The difference between the incompatible and compatible conditions (referred to as the general compatibility effect) is said to be a measure of imitation control (Heyes et al., 2005; Heyes, 2011).”
- Authors
- Heyes, C., Bird, G., Johnson, H., & Haggard, P.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Heyes, Cecilia
- Venue
- Cognitive Brain Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2005-02
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 233-240
- ISSN
- 0926-6410 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2088639578
- Cited by
- 290
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 29
- FWCI
- 24.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cognitive Brain Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Leverhulme Trust
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
- Economic and Social Research Council
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Free Will and Agency
- Keywords
- automatic imitation, action observation, motor cortex, premotor cortex, stimulus-response compatibility, training effects, topological similarity, motor learning, reaction time
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Analysis of Variance, Conditioning, Operant, Female, Hand, Humans, Imitative Behavior, Male, Motor Cortex, Movement, Photic Stimulation, Psychomotor Performance, Reaction Time, Space Perception
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