Abstract Observed human actions are complex and intricate streams of information. We readily process this information in order to understand meanings of actions and hence interact with others. In the same way, language processing involves dealing with information flows and meaning comprehension. We used a neurolinguistic paradigm (N400) to investigate the neural mechanism subtending the visual processing of actions and gestures belonging to the typical basketball game schemes in professional basketball players (as opposed to controls). Two hundred and eight coloured pictures representing basketball players engaged in actions were presented while the EEG was recorded from 24 Italian healthy volunteers (12 basketball players, 12 naïve students), engaged in a secondary perceptual task. Perception of correct and plausible actions (e.g., player shooting a basketball in a correct form) was contrasted with perception of incorrect or meaningless actions (e.g., players with incorrect position of body and or the shooting hands) in the 2 groups (expert players vs. naïve group). Only in basketball players a frontal long negative component (450-530 ms) larger for implausible than plausible actions was observed. This effect possibly reflected their ability to recognize the gesture violation after an assiduous long sporting training during which they learned how to produce correct meaningful gestures and to avoid the incorrect ones. The inverse solution (swLORETA) showed that the processing of incongruent actions in experts was associated with a stronger activity in several areas involved in action processing including the IP cortex, associated with the mental representation of meaningful actions and gestures, and the right FG, right STG and left ITG, all devoted to body and action processing including the action’s goal. Overall, the data indicate the existence of a specific neural network allowing the recognition of gesture violations in skilled brains (as a result of the intense sensorimotor training related to sporting practice), similarly to what happens with the acquisition of linguistic rules.
Shooting the basket brain: Electrophysiological evidence for a similar semantic processing involved in language and action visual perception
Zani A;
2012-01-01
Abstract
Abstract Observed human actions are complex and intricate streams of information. We readily process this information in order to understand meanings of actions and hence interact with others. In the same way, language processing involves dealing with information flows and meaning comprehension. We used a neurolinguistic paradigm (N400) to investigate the neural mechanism subtending the visual processing of actions and gestures belonging to the typical basketball game schemes in professional basketball players (as opposed to controls). Two hundred and eight coloured pictures representing basketball players engaged in actions were presented while the EEG was recorded from 24 Italian healthy volunteers (12 basketball players, 12 naïve students), engaged in a secondary perceptual task. Perception of correct and plausible actions (e.g., player shooting a basketball in a correct form) was contrasted with perception of incorrect or meaningless actions (e.g., players with incorrect position of body and or the shooting hands) in the 2 groups (expert players vs. naïve group). Only in basketball players a frontal long negative component (450-530 ms) larger for implausible than plausible actions was observed. This effect possibly reflected their ability to recognize the gesture violation after an assiduous long sporting training during which they learned how to produce correct meaningful gestures and to avoid the incorrect ones. The inverse solution (swLORETA) showed that the processing of incongruent actions in experts was associated with a stronger activity in several areas involved in action processing including the IP cortex, associated with the mental representation of meaningful actions and gestures, and the right FG, right STG and left ITG, all devoted to body and action processing including the action’s goal. Overall, the data indicate the existence of a specific neural network allowing the recognition of gesture violations in skilled brains (as a result of the intense sensorimotor training related to sporting practice), similarly to what happens with the acquisition of linguistic rules.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
