Visuo-motor resonance in older adults
Kate Burke, Annalisa Setti, Marco T. Liuzza, Anna M. Borghi, Fiona N. Newell
Poster
Time: 2009-07-02 09:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Last modified: 2009-06-04
Abstract
Recent evidence has shown that visual and auditory inputs related to meaningful actions (e.g. grasping a peanut or ripping paper) can activate the motor system and specifically, mirror neurons in the cortex (Fogassi & Gallese, 2004; Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004). This mechanism of ‘motor resonance’ is thought to be the neural underpinning of a congruency effect found at the behavioural level with a visuomotor priming paradigm (e.g. Bruzzo, Borghi & Ghirlanda, 2008). To our knowledge no study has investigated visuo-motor resonance in older adults, i.e. in a population subjected to the deterioration of perceptual and motor skills.
In the present study older and younger adults were asked to judge the weight (‘heavy’ or ‘light’) of images of objects. The pictures were preceded by primes depicting a generic grasping action or no action (arm with hand in fist position). We hypothesised that if motor resonance occurs in weight judgement, i.e. in a cognitive judgment not directly implying action upon the object, participants performance should be modulated by the type of prime. We further hypothesised that the motor resonance mechanism would interact with the action required to respond, i.e. right handed participants should be faster in responding ‘heavy’ to heavy objects with the right hand than with the left hand.
In addition we manipulated the interplay between the characteristics of the agent in the prime and the participant (i.e. male vs. female; older vs. younger). Hence we further hypothesised a modulation of the priming effect when the participant and the agent shared the same sex and/or age (Calvo-Merino, Glaser, Grèzes, Passingham, Haggard, 2005).
Our results show that the kind of prime (action or no action) modulates participants’ performance when the characteristics of the agent hand in the prime and those of the participant are shared. The mapping between the hand used to respond to the weight of the object also affects performance. These findings have important implications for the understanding of multisensory perception for action.
In the present study older and younger adults were asked to judge the weight (‘heavy’ or ‘light’) of images of objects. The pictures were preceded by primes depicting a generic grasping action or no action (arm with hand in fist position). We hypothesised that if motor resonance occurs in weight judgement, i.e. in a cognitive judgment not directly implying action upon the object, participants performance should be modulated by the type of prime. We further hypothesised that the motor resonance mechanism would interact with the action required to respond, i.e. right handed participants should be faster in responding ‘heavy’ to heavy objects with the right hand than with the left hand.
In addition we manipulated the interplay between the characteristics of the agent in the prime and the participant (i.e. male vs. female; older vs. younger). Hence we further hypothesised a modulation of the priming effect when the participant and the agent shared the same sex and/or age (Calvo-Merino, Glaser, Grèzes, Passingham, Haggard, 2005).
Our results show that the kind of prime (action or no action) modulates participants’ performance when the characteristics of the agent hand in the prime and those of the participant are shared. The mapping between the hand used to respond to the weight of the object also affects performance. These findings have important implications for the understanding of multisensory perception for action.