Cognitive underpinnings of social interaction
- PMID: 25405540
- DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2014.973424
Cognitive underpinnings of social interaction
Abstract
Human social interaction is part of what defines us. Here I present an overview of recent studies of imitation, a subdomain of social interaction that can be dissected and examined in a scientific fashion. I use these studies to test two core claims: (a) that there is more than one copying mechanism in the human brain and (b) that mimicry (a form of copying) is particularly relevant for understanding social behaviour. Evidence in favour of the first claim comes from neuroimaging studies that show distinct brain systems for understanding action kinematics, action goals, and irrational actions. Further studies of participants with autism show abnormal copying of irrational actions. Evidence in favour of the second claim comes from behavioural studies of the social cues that prime mimicry and from neuroimaging studies of the pathways involved in this priming. These studies suggest that medial prefrontal cortex has a core role in controlling mimicry responses and support the STORM (social top-down response modulation) model. Future work should determine what organizing principles govern the control of social responses and how these critical mechanisms for interpersonal connection differ in autism.
Keywords: Autism; Imitation; Keywords: Social interaction; Mimicry.
Similar articles
-
Emulation and mimicry for social interaction: a theoretical approach to imitation in autism.Q J Exp Psychol (Hove). 2008 Jan;61(1):101-15. doi: 10.1080/17470210701508798. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove). 2008. PMID: 18038342 Review.
-
Cognitive mechanisms for responding to mimicry from others.Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2016 Apr;63:106-23. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.02.006. Epub 2016 Feb 11. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2016. PMID: 26877104 Review.
-
Task-dependent and distinct roles of the temporoparietal junction and inferior frontal cortex in the control of imitation.Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2015 Jul;10(7):1003-9. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsu148. Epub 2014 Dec 5. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2015. PMID: 25481003 Free PMC article.
-
STORMy Interactions: Gaze and the Modulation of Mimicry in Adults on the Autism Spectrum.Psychon Bull Rev. 2017 Apr;24(2):529-535. doi: 10.3758/s13423-016-1136-0. Psychon Bull Rev. 2017. PMID: 27506527 Free PMC article.
-
Social cognition: imitation, imitation, imitation.Curr Biol. 2005 Jul 12;15(13):R498-500. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2005.06.031. Curr Biol. 2005. PMID: 16005280 Review.
Cited by
-
Neural Activity and Decoding of Action Observation Using Combined EEG and fNIRS Measurement.Front Hum Neurosci. 2019 Oct 15;13:357. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00357. eCollection 2019. Front Hum Neurosci. 2019. PMID: 31680910 Free PMC article.
-
The effect of being watched on facial EMG and autonomic activity in response to another individual's facial expressions.Sci Rep. 2019 Oct 14;9(1):14759. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-51368-6. Sci Rep. 2019. PMID: 31611576 Free PMC article.
-
A Review of Functional and Structural Neurobiology of the Action Observation Network in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Coordination Disorder.Brain Sci. 2019 Mar 28;9(4):75. doi: 10.3390/brainsci9040075. Brain Sci. 2019. PMID: 30925819 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Observational Learning in Low-Functioning Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Behavioral and Neuroimaging Study.Front Psychol. 2019 Jan 9;9:2737. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02737. eCollection 2018. Front Psychol. 2019. PMID: 30687188 Free PMC article.
-
Social decision making in autism: On the impact of mirror neurons, motor control, and imitative behaviors.CNS Neurosci Ther. 2018 Aug;24(8):669-676. doi: 10.1111/cns.13001. Epub 2018 Jul 2. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2018. PMID: 29963752 Free PMC article. Review.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical
