Departmental Papers (Psychology)
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
9-2006
Publication Source
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
Volume
18
Issue
9
Start Page
1498
Last Page
1517
DOI
10.1162/jocn.2006.18.9.1498
Abstract
The ability to recognize actions is important for cognitive development and social cognition. Areas in the lateral occipitotemporal cortex show increased activity when subjects view action sequences; however, whether this activity distinguishes between specific actions as necessary for action recognition is unclear. We used a functional magnetic resonance imaging adaptation paradigm to test for brain regions that exhibit action-specific activity. Subjects watched a series of action sequences in which the action performed or the person performing the action could be repeated from a previous scan. Three regions—the superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), human motion-sensitive cortex (MT/MST), and extrastriate body area (EBA)—showed decreased activity for previously seen actions, even when the actions were novel exemplars because the persons involved had not been seen previously. These action-specific adaptation effects provide compelling evidence that representations in the pSTS, MT/MST, and EBA abstract actions from the agents involved and distinguish between different particular actions.
Copyright/Permission Statement
This article was originally published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (http://www.mitpressjournals.org/forthcoming/jocn). This version is made available under authorization of MIT Press.
Recommended Citation
Kable, J. W., & Chatterjee, A. (2006). Specificity of Action Representations in the Lateral Occipitotemporal Cortex. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 18 (9), 1498-1517. http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/jocn.2006.18.9.1498
Date Posted: 06 December 2017
This document has been peer reviewed.