Collaborative Research: Dissociating Perceptual and Motor Correlates of EEG Mu-Alpha and Beta Oscillations in Emotional Action Simulation

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From jumping jacks to jumping for joy, the "body language" of human movement providesimportant information about the intentions and emotions of others. Growing evidence suggeststhat we understand others' mental states by internally recreating, or simulating, their externalactions. Yet questions remain about how different brain systems contribute to action simulation,and whether this process is linked to individual differences in social perception abilities. Thisresearch uses electroencephalography (EEG) to examine brain activity associated with actionsimulation during observation of emotional body movements, both in typically developingindividuals and in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a condition associated withsocial perception impairments. By testing the link between EEG measures of action simulationand emotion perception capabilities across a broad sample of individual socio-emotionalfunctioning, these data will provide a rigorous theoretical framework for understanding theneural basis of emotional action simulation. More broadly, the research may provide newinsights into the neural origins of social impairments observed in ASD, potentially leading toimproved diagnoses and therapies. Finally, these activities will promote undergraduate trainingin the STEM disciplines by providing authentic research opportunities for students includingwomen and underrepresented minorities.The proposed research will examine the relation between perceptual and motor circuits inemotion simulation. In a previous EEG study, the investigators found distinct neural markersassociated with the observation of emotional and emotionally-neutral actions. Emotional actionselicited a reduction of cortical "mu" alpha rhythms (9-12 Hz) linked to perceptual aspects ofaction simulation, but neutral actions produced enhanced beta-band oscillations (14-20 Hz)associated with motor planning and response inhibition. Both effects were attenuated in a nonclinicalsample of individuals reporting greater autistic tendencies, suggesting these neuralmarkers are sensitive to individual differences in social-emotional traits. The proposed researchwill investigate the contribution of motor circuits to mu-alpha suppression for emotional actionsby comparing action execution with observed emotional action and varying the familiarity andease of simulating observed emotional actions. Examination of individuals with ASD willdistinguish how mu and beta band activity relate to individual differences in emotionalprocessing, allowing assessment of whether neurodevelopmental disruptions of sensorimotorsystems play a role in emotion simulation deficits. Collectively, these studies will provideimportant insights into the relations between EEG measures, action simulation processes, andemotion perception.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.