How the human brain represents distinct motor features into a unique finalized action still remains undefined. Previous models proposed the distinct features of a motor act to be hierarchically organized in separated, but functionally interconnected, cortical areas. Here, we hypothesized that distinct patterns across a wide expanse of cortex may actually subserve a topographically organized coding of different categories of actions that represents, at a higher cognitive level and independently from the distinct motor features, the action and its final aim as a whole. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and pattern classification approaches on the neural responses of 14 right-handed individuals passively watching short movies of hand-performed tool-mediated, transitive, and meaningful intransitive actions, we were able to discriminate with a high accuracy and characterize the category-specific response patterns. Actions are distinctively coded in distributed and overlapping neural responses within an action-selective network, comprising frontal, parietal, lateral occipital and ventrotemporal regions. This functional organization, that we named action topography, subserves a higher-level and more abstract representation of finalized actions and has the capacity to provide unique representations for multiple categories of actions.

A topographical organization for action representation in the human brain / Handjaras, G.; Bernardi, G.; Benuzzi, F.; Nichelli, P. F.; Pietrini, P.; Ricciardi, E.. - In: HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING. - ISSN 1065-9471. - 36:10(2015), pp. 3832-3844. [10.1002/hbm.22881]

A topographical organization for action representation in the human brain

Benuzzi F.
;
Nichelli P. F.
;
Pietrini P.;
2015

Abstract

How the human brain represents distinct motor features into a unique finalized action still remains undefined. Previous models proposed the distinct features of a motor act to be hierarchically organized in separated, but functionally interconnected, cortical areas. Here, we hypothesized that distinct patterns across a wide expanse of cortex may actually subserve a topographically organized coding of different categories of actions that represents, at a higher cognitive level and independently from the distinct motor features, the action and its final aim as a whole. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and pattern classification approaches on the neural responses of 14 right-handed individuals passively watching short movies of hand-performed tool-mediated, transitive, and meaningful intransitive actions, we were able to discriminate with a high accuracy and characterize the category-specific response patterns. Actions are distinctively coded in distributed and overlapping neural responses within an action-selective network, comprising frontal, parietal, lateral occipital and ventrotemporal regions. This functional organization, that we named action topography, subserves a higher-level and more abstract representation of finalized actions and has the capacity to provide unique representations for multiple categories of actions.
2015
2-lug-2015
36
10
3832
3844
A topographical organization for action representation in the human brain / Handjaras, G.; Bernardi, G.; Benuzzi, F.; Nichelli, P. F.; Pietrini, P.; Ricciardi, E.. - In: HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING. - ISSN 1065-9471. - 36:10(2015), pp. 3832-3844. [10.1002/hbm.22881]
Handjaras, G.; Bernardi, G.; Benuzzi, F.; Nichelli, P. F.; Pietrini, P.; Ricciardi, E.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11380/1201669
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