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Review
. 2010 Mar:1191:201-18.
doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05447.x.

Action knowledge, visuomotor activation, and embodiment in the two action systems

Laurel J Buxbaum  1 , Solène Kalénine
Affiliations
Review

Action knowledge, visuomotor activation, and embodiment in the two action systems

Laurel J Buxbaum et al. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2010 Mar.

Abstract

Scientific interest in the relationship between cognition and action has increased markedly in the past several years, fueled by the discovery of mirror neurons in monkey prefrontal and parietal cortex and by the emergence of a movement in cognitive psychology, termed the embodied cognition framework, which emphasizes the role of simulation in cognitive representations. Guided by a functional neuroanatomic model called the Two Action Systems account, which posits numerous points of differentiation between structure- and function-based actions, we focus on two of the major issues under recent scrutiny: the relationship between representations for action production and recognition, and the role of action in object representations. We suggest that mirror neurons in humans are not critical for full action understanding, and that only function-based (and not structure-based) action is a component of embodied object concepts.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(Left) Interference (in milliseconds) by distractors matching and not matching the target in structure (shape and size) from Botvinick et al. Interference was calculated by subtracting the mean of a no-distractor condition from the corresponding match and nonmatch distractor conditions. (The interference score enables comparison of the unique effects of distractors for trials with the same movement requirements.) In Fixed blocks, subjects knew in advance the precise response they would make. In Variable blocks, subjects were cued to their response by the structure of the object (precisiongrip to a slender projectile object; powergrip to a handle). The pattern of interference by distractors varied markedly as a function of task demands. (Right) Differences between interference scores for distractor conditions (nonmatch minus match) for each block type.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic illustration of a possible scenario in which preparation for action may prime responses to an object without necessitating that the action is a component of the object representation. See text for additional explanation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
An illustration of the apraxia model of Rothi et al.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Schematic drawing of the functional neuroanatomy of the posterior components of the dorso-dorsal, dorso-ventral, and ventral streams.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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