Rapid communication: Automatic priming of grip force following action observation
Open Access
- 1 May 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
- Vol. 64 (5) , 833-838
Abstract
Research shows that action observation can prime execution. Evidence for this comes from experiments that show that action observation influenced temporal (e.g., speed) or spatial (e.g., peak grasp aperture or trajectory) aspects of executed movement. In the paper presented here, we for the first time show that observation can also prime executed action force. Following observation of force actions, participants executed grip-force responses using a dynamometer, and the data showed that their force was modulated by the condition observed. The findings of the study are discussed in terms of a likely cause of the force modulation effect and potential uses that the effect may have for strength rehabilitation.Keywords
This publication has 16 references indexed in Scilit:
- Force requirements of observed object lifting are encoded by the observer’s motor system: a TMS studyEuropean Journal of Neuroscience, 2010
- Priming of reach trajectory when observing actions: Hand-centred effectsQuarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2009
- Automatic grasp imitation following action observation affects estimation of intrinsic object propertiesBrain Research, 2008
- Action observation has a positive impact on rehabilitation of motor deficits after strokeNeuroImage, 2007
- Interference of grasping observation during prehension, a behavioural studyExperimental Brain Research, 2006
- Motor facilitation following action observation: A behavioural study in prehensile actionBrain and Cognition, 2003
- Compatibility between Observed and Executed Finger Movements: Comparing Symbolic, Spatial, and Imitative CuesBrain and Cognition, 2000
- Relationships between Impairments in Strength of Limb Muscle Actions following StrokePerceptual and Motor Skills, 1998
- Action recognition in the premotor cortexBrain, 1996
- Motor facilitation during action observation: a magnetic stimulation studyJournal of Neurophysiology, 1995