Neural Representations of Actions

• Time course of neural representations underlying action recognition
• Integration of action, scene and object information
• Action representations in experts vs novices
• Dynamic modulations of action representations in a virtual environment

In this project we investigate how actions are represented in the brain, in particular the lateral occipitotemporal cortex (LOTC). We look at midlevel representations of action features, and how they build up over time, and study how different sources of information, such as actions, scenes and objects, are integrated during the perception of observed actions.

Moreover, we investigate how representations of actions are affected by short- and long-term modulations among groups and individuals, for example in response to learning in experts, or in response to situational changes in the (virtual) environment.

From Action Goals to Action Plans

• Studying internal simulations during action planning and observation
• Characterizing the role of EBA during action planning
• Mapping the connectivity profile of EBA within the dorsal and ventral visual stream

Using manipulations of body posture during action planning and action observation tasks we could show that both, planning and observing actions, rely on the same predictive mechanisms. The predictions implemented by this mechanism are based on the current physical configuration of the actors/obsevers body. Moreover, we could show that these predictions pertain to the goal state of the planned/oberved action, and involve neural processes in the extrastriate body area (EBA).

Notably, EBA has been defined as visual area involved in body perception. A number of studies showed that EBA is co-activated in motor control, however, the role of EBA in motor control remained unclear. In a series of studies using fMRI and TMS we showed that EBA represents desired goal states that can later be used by dorsal stream areas for the generation and execution of action plans.

A brain region’s function depends on its connections with other parts of the brain. We provide anatomical evidence, using resting-state fMRI and diffusion MRI, that EBA may indeed be involved in motor control tasks. Specifically, we could show that EBA has stronger connections with the dorsal visual stream involved in action planning, compared to other visually defined areas located in the ventral visual stream.