Observing Action Sequences Elicits Sequence-Specific Neural Representations in Frontoparietal Brain Regions.
Observing Action Sequences Elicits Sequence-Specific Neural Representations in Frontoparietal Brain Regions.
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DOI：
10.1523/jneurosci.1597-18.2018
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发表时间：
2018-11-21
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Ramsey R
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Apšvalka D;Cross ES;Ramsey R
通过观察他人来学习新技能对于整个生命周期的社会和运动发展非常重要。先前的研究表明，观察学习与身体练习在认知和大脑水平上有共同的基础。此外，神经影像学研究已经使用多变量分析技术来了解神经表征在各个领域，包括视觉，听觉，记忆和行动，但很少有研究调查神经可塑性的表征空间。因此，虽然运动序列可以通过观察其他人的动作来学习，但神经科学中一个很大程度上尚未回答的问题是经验如何塑造神经系统的表征空间。在这里，在男性和女性参与者的样本中，我们结合了训练前和训练后的功能磁共振成像会议6天的观察实践，以确定是否观察动作序列激发序列特异性表征在人类额顶叶脑区和这些表征的程度变得更加明显的观察实践。我们的研究结果表明，所观察到的动作序列是由额顶叶皮层中不同的活动模式建模的，并且这种表示在很大程度上概括为非常相似但未经训练的序列。这些发现促进了我们对观察学习过程中模型化的内容（序列特定信息）以及模型化方式（额顶叶皮层的重组与之前在物理练习后显示的相似）的理解。因此，在一个比以前更细粒度的神经水平上，我们的研究结果揭示了额顶叶皮层的表征结构如何将视觉信息映射到运动回路上，以提高运动性能。通过观察他人来学习是发展专业知识和熟练行为的基石。然而，目前还不清楚视觉信号是如何映射到运动回路上的。在这里，我们表明，观察到的动作序列是由不同的模式，在额顶叶皮层的活动，这种表示在很大程度上概括为非常相似，但未经训练的序列。这些发现促进了我们对观察学习过程中模型化的内容（序列特定信息）以及模型化方式（额顶叶皮层的重组与之前在物理练习后显示的相似）的理解。更一般地说，这些研究结果表明，如何运动回路参与动作序列的感知显示高保真以前的工作，专注于动作序列的物理性能。
Learning new skills by watching others is important for social and motor development throughout the lifespan. Prior research has suggested that observational learning shares common substrates with physical practice at both cognitive and brain levels. In addition, neuroimaging studies have used multivariate analysis techniques to understand neural representations in a variety of domains, including vision, audition, memory, and action, but few studies have investigated neural plasticity in representational space. Therefore, although movement sequences can be learned by observing other people's actions, a largely unanswered question in neuroscience is how experience shapes the representational space of neural systems. Here, across a sample of male and female participants, we combined pretraining and posttraining fMRI sessions with 6 d of observational practice to determine whether the observation of action sequences elicits sequence-specific representations in human frontoparietal brain regions and the extent to which these representations become more distinct with observational practice. Our results showed that observed action sequences are modeled by distinct patterns of activity in frontoparietal cortex and that such representations largely generalize to very similar, but untrained, sequences. These findings advance our understanding of what is modeled during observational learning (sequence-specific information), as well as how it is modeled (reorganization of frontoparietal cortex is similar to that previously shown following physical practice). Therefore, on a more fine-grained neural level than demonstrated previously, our findings reveal how the representational structure of frontoparietal cortex maps visual information onto motor circuits in order to enhance motor performance. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Learning by watching others is a cornerstone in the development of expertise and skilled behavior. However, it remains unclear how visual signals are mapped onto motor circuits for such learning to occur. Here, we show that observed action sequences are modeled by distinct patterns of activity in frontoparietal cortex and that such representations largely generalize to very similar, but untrained, sequences. These findings advance our understanding of what is modeled during observational learning (sequence-specific information), as well as how it is modeled (reorganization of frontoparietal cortex is similar to that previously shown following physical practice). More generally, these findings demonstrate how motor circuit involvement in the perception of action sequences shows high fidelity to prior work, which focused on physical performance of action sequences.