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Cited by 1,387Embodied and Extended CognitionMotor Control and AdaptationAction Observation and Synchronization

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The emulation theory of representation: Motor control, imagery, and perception

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Grush, Rick·2004·Behavioral and Brain Sciences
DOI 10.1017/s0140525x04000093
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Abstract

The emulation theory of representation is developed and explored as a framework that can revealingly synthesize a wide variety of representational functions of the brain. The framework is based on constructs from control theory (forward models) and signal processing (Kalman filters). The idea is that in addition to simply engaging with the body and environment, the brain constructs neural circuits that act as models of the body and environment. During overt sensorimotor engagement, these models are driven by efference copies in parallel with the body and environment, in order to provide expectations of the sensory feedback, and to enhance and process sensory information. These models can also be run off-line in order to produce imagery, estimate outcomes of different actions, and evaluate and develop motor plans. The framework is initially developed within the context of motor control, where it has been shown that inner models running in parallel with the body can reduce the effects of feedback delay problems. The same mechanisms can account for motor imagery as the off-line driving of the emulator via efference copies. The framework is extended to account for visual imagery as the off-line driving of an emulator of the motor-visual loop. I also show how such systems can provide for amodal spatial imagery. Perception, including visual perception, results from such models being used to form expectations of, and to interpret, sensory input. I close by briefly outlining other cognitive functions that might also be synthesized within this framework, including reasoning, theory of mind phenomena, and language.

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Metadata

Authors
Grush, R.
Affiliations
University of California San Diego (US)
Corresponding author
Grush, Rick
ORCID
Grush, Rick
Venue
Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2004-06
Volume
27
Issue
3
Pages
377-396
ISSN
  • 0140-525X (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-1825
DOI
10.1017/s0140525x04000093
OpenAlex
W2123786976
Cited by
1,387
References
312
Citations by year
2026: 32 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 65 · 2023: 39 · 2022: 59 · 2021: 47 · 2020: 136 · 2019: 66 · 2018: 55 · 2017: 49 · 2016: 38 · 2015: 74 · 2014: 66 · 2013: 97 · 2012: 50
FWCI
19.81
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • Behavioral and Brain Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (15700257, 15016113)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Embodied and Extended Cognition
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
Keywords
forward model, Kalman filter, efference copy, sensorimotor control, motor imagery, visual imagery, perception, feedback delay, motor planning, theory of mind, language, reasoning
MeSH terms
Brain, Environment, Humans, Imagination, Language, Models, Theoretical, Perception, Psychomotor Performance, Psychophysiology, Visual Perception

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