Joint action: fMRI and Kinematic Analyses

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The neuroscience of joint action is an exciting new area within cognitive neuroscience, one that unites the analysis of complex movement patterns, rhythmic synchronization, and multi-body coordination. However, what has been little studied in this field are situations where there is physical contact between the two individuals engaged in joint action. The proposed research program aims to investigate this using two complementary, state-of-the-art technologies: functional MRI and motion capture. A major focus of this work will be in analyzing the differences between being a "leader" and a "follower" of such joint movements, as well as the influence of both sensory and motor factors on coordination and synchronization.***Neuroimaging methods will be used to examine the brains of individuals in an MRI scanner while they are interacting via hand contact with a person standing next to them. A key objective of the work will be to examine brain differences between being the leader (i.e., initiator) versus the follower (i.e., responder) of these joint movements. In addition, we will examine the neural effects of a host of sensory cues that influence the degree of coordination between the two individuals - such as an acoustic beat - as well as look at different types of movement patterns and motor constraints on coordination. ***Motion analysis will be carried out to examine the kinematic aspects of full-body joint movement, taking place in a performance laboratory furnished with 26 high-resolution motion capture cameras as well as the capacity to combine motion-capture data with electroencephalography and physiological recordings. The principal goal of the research will be to examine the effect of sensory cues on the coordination between two people moving together. Three categories of sensory cues will be examined: acoustic (a metronome beat), visual (perception of the partner's movements), and proprioceptive (force-cues coming from body contact). The aim of the research will be to examine how people are able to synchronize their movements with one another both when sensory cues support this synchronization and when they conflict with it. For example, how do two people maintain coordinated movement when each person hears a different metronome beat through headphones? As with the neuroimaging work, we will look at the effect of leadership on these joint movements, and examine how leaders and followers differ in both their movement parameters and their responsiveness to sensory cues.***Overall, this research program will provide a novel approach to understanding joint action, including examining the influences of leadership and a diversity of sensory cues on coordination during situations of physical contact. The parallel use of neuroimaging and kinematic studies will provide complementary information about the fundamental mechanisms underlying joint movement. ******