The Control of Automatic Imitation Based on Bottom–Up and Top–Down Cues to Animacy: Insights from Brain and Behavior
Open accessAbstract
Humans automatically imitate other people's actions during social interactions, building rapport and social closeness in the process. Although the behavioral consequences and neural correlates of imitation have been studied extensively, little is known about the neural mechanisms that control imitative tendencies. For example, the degree to which an agent is perceived as human-like influences automatic imitation, but it is not known how perception of animacy influences brain circuits that control imitation. In the current fMRI study, we examined how the perception and belief of animacy influence the control of automatic imitation. Using an imitation–inhibition paradigm that involves suppressing the tendency to imitate an observed action, we manipulated both bottom–up (visual input) and top–down (belief) cues to animacy. Results show divergent patterns of behavioral and neural responses. Behavioral analyses show that automatic imitation is equivalent when one or both cues to animacy are present but reduces when both are absent. By contrast, right TPJ showed sensitivity to the presence of both animacy cues. Thus, we demonstrate that right TPJ is biologically tuned to control imitative tendencies when the observed agent both looks like and is believed to be human. The results suggest that right TPJ may be involved in a specialized capacity to control automatic imitation of human agents, rather than a universal process of conflict management, which would be more consistent with generalist theories of imitative control. Evidence for specialized neural circuitry that “controls” imitation offers new insight into developmental disorders that involve atypical processing of social information, such as autism spectrum disorders.
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The rTPJ showed a higher response when an interaction partner was believed to be human and looked human compared to when these animacy cues were absent.
“In addition, rTPJ showed a higher response when an interaction partner was believed to be human and looked human compared to when these animacy cues were absent (Klapper et al., 2014).”
From The inhibition of automatic imitation: a meta-analysis and synthesis of fMRI studies (2018) · cites this paper as Klapper et al., 2014
The Discussion says rTPJ was engaged when the observed agent both looked human and was believed to be human. The Interactions results specify that this was a greater response to incongruent than congruent actions in that condition, not a demonstrated higher overall response than when both animacy cues were absent. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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“In addition, rTPJ showed a higher response when an interaction partner was believed to be human and looked human compared to when these animacy cues were absent (Klapper et al., 2014).”
Self-citation
- Authors
- Klapper, A., Ramsey, R., Wigboldus, D., & Cross, E. S.
- Affiliations
- Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
- Bangor University (GB)
- 1Radboud University Nijmegen
- Venue
- Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
- Publisher
- MIT Press - Journals
- Published
- 2014-11-01
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 2503-2513
- ISSN
- 0898-929X (ISSN-L)
- 1530-8898
- OpenAlex
- W2168299686
- Cited by
- 85
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 7.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Bangor University
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (451-11-002)
- Economic and Social Research Council (ES/K001884/1, ES/K001892/1)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Social Robot Interaction and HRI
- Keywords
- automatic imitation, animacy perception, bottom-up cues, right temporoparietal junction, social cognition, autism spectrum disorder, conflict management, social proximity
- MeSH terms
- Brain, Cues, Female, Hand, Humans, Imitative Behavior, Interpersonal Relations, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Motion Perception, Photic Stimulation, Psychomotor Performance, Psychophysics, Young Adult, Theory of Mind
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