Research

17 pages, 818 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of Motor Imagery in School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Longitudinal Study

by Anna-Maria Johansson, Thomas Rudolfsson, Anna Bäckström, Louise Rönnqvist, Claes von Hofsten, Kerstin Rosander and Erik Domellöf

Brain Sci. 2022, 12(10), 1307; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci12101307 - 28 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1386

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a diagnosis based on social communication deficits and prevalence of repetitive stereotyped behaviors, but sensorimotor disturbances are commonly exhibited. This longitudinal study aimed at exploring the development of the ability to form mental motor representations (motor imagery; MI) [...] Read more.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a diagnosis based on social communication deficits and prevalence of repetitive stereotyped behaviors, but sensorimotor disturbances are commonly exhibited. This longitudinal study aimed at exploring the development of the ability to form mental motor representations (motor imagery; MI) in 14 children with ASD and 17 typically developing (TD) children at 7, 8 and 9 years of age. MI was investigated using a hand laterality paradigm from which response times (RT) and error rates were extracted and compared with performance on a visually based mental rotation task (VI). A criterion task was used to ensure that the children could perform the task. The results showed wide performance variability in the ASD group with more failures than TD in the MI criterion task, especially at 7 years. For all age levels and both the MI and VI tasks, the error rates were significantly higher and RTs longer for the ASD group compared with TD. Signs of MI strategies were however noted in the ASD group as biomechanically constrained orientations had longer RTs than less constrained orientations, a RT pattern that differed from the VI task. The presence of MI in the ASD group was most evident at 9 years, but the error rates remained high at all ages, both in the MI and VI task. In comparison, the TD group showed stable MI strategies at all ages. These findings indicate that MI ability is delayed and/or impaired in children with ASD which may be related to difficulties performing required mental rotations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Intention in Motor Cognition)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 1934 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Motor Planning and Inhibition Performance in Non-Clinical Sample—Reliability and Factor Structure of the Tower of London and Go/No Go Computerized Tasks

by Ernest Tyburski, Magdalena Kerestey, Pavlo Kerestey, Stanisław Radoń and Shane T. Mueller

Brain Sci. 2021, 11(11), 1420; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci11111420 - 27 Oct 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2145

Abstract

In two studies, we examine the test-retest reliability and factor structure of the computerized Tower of London (TOL) and Go/No Go (GNG). Before analyses, raw results of variables that were not normally distributed were transformed. Study 1 examined the reliability of a broad [...] Read more.

In two studies, we examine the test-retest reliability and factor structure of the computerized Tower of London (TOL) and Go/No Go (GNG). Before analyses, raw results of variables that were not normally distributed were transformed. Study 1 examined the reliability of a broad spectrum of indicators (Initial Time Thinking, ITT; Execution Time, ET; Full Time, FT; Extra Moves, EM; No Go Errors, NGE; Reaction Time for Go Responses, RTGR) across an eight-week delay in a sample of 20 young adults. After correction for multiple comparisons and correlations, our results demonstrate that the tasks have ambiguous test-retest reliability coefficients (non-significant r for all indicators, and interclass correlation (ICC) for TOL; significant ICC for GNG; show lack of reliable change over time for all indicators in both tasks); moreover, ITT exhibits strong practice effects. Study 2 investigated both tasks’ factor structure and conducted a more detailed analysis of indicators for each trial (ITT, ET, EM) in the TOL task in the group of 95 young adults. Results reveal a satisfactory 2-factor solution, with the first factor (planning inhibition) defined by ITT, NGE, and RTGR, and the second factor (move efficiency) defined by EM and ET. The detailed analysis identified a 6-factor solution with the first factor defined by ITT for more difficult trials and the remaining five factors defined by EM and ET for each trial, reflecting move efficiency for each trial separately. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Intention in Motor Cognition)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

39 pages, 17150 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Facial Signals and Social Actions in Multimodal Face-to-Face Interaction

by Naomi Nota, James P. Trujillo and Judith Holler

Brain Sci. 2021, 11(8), 1017; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci11081017 - 30 Jul 2021

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3600

Abstract

In a conversation, recognising the speaker’s social action (e.g., a request) early may help the potential following speakers understand the intended message quickly, and plan a timely response. Human language is multimodal, and several studies have demonstrated the contribution of the body to [...] Read more.

In a conversation, recognising the speaker’s social action (e.g., a request) early may help the potential following speakers understand the intended message quickly, and plan a timely response. Human language is multimodal, and several studies have demonstrated the contribution of the body to communication. However, comparatively few studies have investigated (non-emotional) conversational facial signals and very little is known about how they contribute to the communication of social actions. Therefore, we investigated how facial signals map onto the expressions of two fundamental social actions in conversations: asking questions and providing responses. We studied the distribution and timing of 12 facial signals across 6778 questions and 4553 responses, annotated holistically in a corpus of 34 dyadic face-to-face Dutch conversations. Moreover, we analysed facial signal clustering to find out whether there are specific combinations of facial signals within questions or responses. Results showed a high proportion of facial signals, with a qualitatively different distribution in questions versus responses. Additionally, clusters of facial signals were identified. Most facial signals occurred early in the utterance, and had earlier onsets in questions. Thus, facial signals may critically contribute to the communication of social actions in conversation by providing social action-specific visual information. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Intention in Motor Cognition)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 1861 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Kinematics of Social Action: Visual Signals Provide Cues for What Interlocutors Do in Conversation

by James P. Trujillo and Judith Holler

Brain Sci. 2021, 11(8), 996; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci11080996 - 28 Jul 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2651

Abstract

During natural conversation, people must quickly understand the meaning of what the other speaker is saying. This concerns not just the semantic content of an utterance, but also the social action (i.e., what the utterance is doing—requesting information, offering, evaluating, checking mutual understanding, [...] Read more.

During natural conversation, people must quickly understand the meaning of what the other speaker is saying. This concerns not just the semantic content of an utterance, but also the social action (i.e., what the utterance is doing—requesting information, offering, evaluating, checking mutual understanding, etc.) that the utterance is performing. The multimodal nature of human language raises the question of whether visual signals may contribute to the rapid processing of such social actions. However, while previous research has shown that how we move reveals the intentions underlying instrumental actions, we do not know whether the intentions underlying fine-grained social actions in conversation are also revealed in our bodily movements. Using a corpus of dyadic conversations combined with manual annotation and motion tracking, we analyzed the kinematics of the torso, head, and hands during the asking of questions. Manual annotation categorized these questions into six more fine-grained social action types (i.e., request for information, other-initiated repair, understanding check, stance or sentiment, self-directed, active participation). We demonstrate, for the first time, that the kinematics of the torso, head and hands differ between some of these different social action categories based on a 900 ms time window that captures movements starting slightly prior to or within 600 ms after utterance onset. These results provide novel insights into the extent to which our intentions shape the way that we move, and provide new avenues for understanding how this phenomenon may facilitate the fast communication of meaning in conversational interaction, social action, and conversation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Intention in Motor Cognition)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 1310 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adults Do Not Distinguish Action Intentions Based on Movement Kinematics Presented in Naturalistic Settings

by Joanna M. Rutkowska, Marlene Meyer and Sabine Hunnius

Brain Sci. 2021, 11(6), 821; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci11060821 - 21 Jun 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2691

Abstract

Predicting others’ actions is an essential part of acting in the social world. Action kinematics have been proposed to be a cue about others’ intentions. It is still an open question as to whether adults can use kinematic information in naturalistic settings when [...] Read more.

Predicting others’ actions is an essential part of acting in the social world. Action kinematics have been proposed to be a cue about others’ intentions. It is still an open question as to whether adults can use kinematic information in naturalistic settings when presented as a part of a richer visual scene than previously examined. We investigated adults’ intention perceptions from kinematics using naturalistic stimuli in two experiments. In experiment 1, thirty participants watched grasp-to-drink and grasp-to-place movements and identified the movement intention (to drink or to place), whilst their mouth-opening muscle activity was measured with electromyography (EMG) to examine participants’ motor simulation of the observed actions. We found anecdotal evidence that participants could correctly identify the intentions from the action kinematics, although we found no evidence for increased activation of their mylohyoid muscle during the observation of grasp-to-drink compared to grasp-to-place actions. In pre-registered experiment 2, fifty participants completed the same task online. With the increased statistical power, we found strong evidence that participants were not able to discriminate intentions based on movement kinematics. Together, our findings suggest that the role of action kinematics in intention perception is more complex than previously assumed. Although previous research indicates that under certain circumstances observers can perceive and act upon intention-specific kinematic information, perceptual differences in everyday scenes or the observers’ ability to use kinematic information in more naturalistic scenes seems limited. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Intention in Motor Cognition)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 2508 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Online Movement Correction in Response to the Unexpectedly Perturbed Initial or Final Action Goals: An ERP and sLORETA Study

by Lin Yu, Thomas Schack and Dirk Koester

Brain Sci. 2021, 11(5), 641; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci11050641 - 15 May 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2687

Abstract

In this experiment, we explored how unexpected perturbations in the initial (grip posture) and the final action goals (target position) influence movement execution and the neural mechanisms underlying the movement corrections. Participants were instructed to grasp a handle and rotate it to a [...] Read more.

In this experiment, we explored how unexpected perturbations in the initial (grip posture) and the final action goals (target position) influence movement execution and the neural mechanisms underlying the movement corrections. Participants were instructed to grasp a handle and rotate it to a target position according to a given visual cue. After participants started their movements, a secondary cue was triggered, which indicated whether the initial or final goals had changed (or not) while the electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. The results showed that the perturbed initial goals significantly slowed down the reaching action, compared to the perturbed final goals. In the event-related potentials (ERPs), a larger anterior P3 and a larger central-distributed late positivity (600–700 ms) time-locked to the perturbations were found for the initial than for the final goal perturbations. Source analyses found stronger left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) activations for the perturbed initial goals than for the perturbed final goals in the P3 time window. These findings suggest that perturbations in the initial goals have stronger interferences with the execution of grasp-to-rotate movements than perturbations in the final goals. The interferences seem to be derived from both inappropriate action inhibitions and new action implementations during the movement correction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Intention in Motor Cognition)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 4830 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamical EEG Indices of Progressive Motor Inhibition and Error-Monitoring

by Trung Van Nguyen, Prasad Balachandran, Neil G. Muggleton, Wei-Kuang Liang and Chi-Hung Juan

Brain Sci. 2021, 11(4), 478; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci11040478 - 09 Apr 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2643

Abstract

Response inhibition has been widely explored using the stop signal paradigm in the laboratory setting. However, the mechanism that demarcates attentional capture from the motor inhibition process is still unclear. Error monitoring is also involved in the stop signal task. Error responses that [...] Read more.

Response inhibition has been widely explored using the stop signal paradigm in the laboratory setting. However, the mechanism that demarcates attentional capture from the motor inhibition process is still unclear. Error monitoring is also involved in the stop signal task. Error responses that do not complete, i.e., partial errors, may require different error monitoring mechanisms relative to an overt error. Thus, in this study, we included a “continue go” (Cont_Go) condition to the stop signal task to investigate the inhibitory control process. To establish the finer difference in error processing (partial vs. full unsuccessful stop (USST)), a grip-force device was used in tandem with electroencephalographic (EEG), and the time-frequency characteristics were computed with Hilbert–Huang transform (HHT). Relative to Cont_Go, HHT results reveal (1) an increased beta and low gamma power for successful stop trials, indicating an electrophysiological index of inhibitory control, (2) an enhanced theta and alpha power for full USST trials that may mirror error processing. Additionally, the higher theta and alpha power observed in partial over full USST trials around 100 ms before the response onset, indicating the early detection of error and the corresponding correction process. Together, this study extends our understanding of the finer motor inhibition control and its dynamic electrophysiological mechanisms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Intention in Motor Cognition)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

8 pages, 980 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Neural Oscillation Associated with Contagious Itch in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis

by In-Seon Lee, Kyuseok Kim, Hi-Joon Park, Hyangsook Lee, Won-Mo Jung, Do-Won Kim and Younbyoung Chae

Brain Sci. 2021, 11(4), 438; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci11040438 - 29 Mar 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2346

Abstract

Objective: Itch is an unpleasant sensation associated with an urge to scratch and is a major health care issue associated with atopic dermatitis (AD). Contagious itch, i.e., subjective feelings of itchiness induced by watching others’ scratching behavior, is common in patients with AD. [...] Read more.

Objective: Itch is an unpleasant sensation associated with an urge to scratch and is a major health care issue associated with atopic dermatitis (AD). Contagious itch, i.e., subjective feelings of itchiness induced by watching others’ scratching behavior, is common in patients with AD. Using electroencephalography, we examined alpha (8–13 Hz) oscillations in sensorimotor areas associated with the desire to scratch in patients with AD. Methods: Thirty-six patients with AD and 34 healthy controls (HCs) participated in this study. They evaluated their itch levels after watching short videos of a model scratching or tapping parts of his body. Neural oscillations were recorded from nine electrodes, including those placed over sensorimotor areas. Time–frequency analysis was used to compare mu rhythm suppression over the sensorimotor areas in response to these videos between patients with AD and HCs. Results: The behavioral test showed that the visual stimuli induced increased feelings of itchiness in patients with AD relative to HCs under the tapping and scratching conditions. The time–frequency analysis revealed that mu rhythm suppression in response to scratching images was significantly prominent in patients with AD, but not in HCs. Conclusion: Patients with AD exhibited increased susceptibility to contagious itch. This phenomenon might be related to enhanced mu rhythm suppression in sensorimotor areas of the brain in these patients. Our findings provide new insight into the neurophysiological basis of itch sensations in patients with AD. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Intention in Motor Cognition)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 1218 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Motor Chunking in Internally Guided Sequencing

by Krishn Bera, Anuj Shukla and Raju S. Bapi

Brain Sci. 2021, 11(3), 292; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/brainsci11030292 - 26 Feb 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2400

Abstract

Motor skill learning involves the acquisition of sequential motor movements with practice. Studies have shown that we learn to execute these sequences efficiently by chaining several elementary actions in sub-sequences called motor chunks. Several experimental paradigms, such as serial reaction task, discrete [...] Read more.

Motor skill learning involves the acquisition of sequential motor movements with practice. Studies have shown that we learn to execute these sequences efficiently by chaining several elementary actions in sub-sequences called motor chunks. Several experimental paradigms, such as serial reaction task, discrete sequence production, and m × n task, have investigated motor chunking in externally specified sequencing where the environment or task paradigm provides the sequence of stimuli, i.e., the responses are stimulus driven. In this study, we examine motor chunking in a class of more realistic motor tasks that involve internally guided sequencing where the sequence of motor actions is self-generated or internally specified. We employ a grid-navigation task as an exemplar of internally guided sequencing to investigate practice-driven performance improvements due to motor chunking. The participants performed the grid-sailing task (GST) (Fermin et al., 2010), which required navigating (by executing sequential keypresses) a 10 × 10 grid from start to goal position while using a particular type of key mapping between the three cursor movement directions and the three keyboard buttons. We provide empirical evidence for motor chunking in grid-navigation tasks by showing the emergence of subject-specific, unique temporal patterns in response times. Our findings show spontaneous chunking without pre-specified or externally guided structures while replicating the earlier results with a less constrained, internally guided sequencing paradigm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Intention in Motor Cognition)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Human Intention in Motor Cognition

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (9 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI