The limits of action emulation – A psychophysiological investigation in athletes and patients with autism spectrum disorder

“一个好的冰球运动员会在冰球所在的位置踢球。一个伟大的冰球运动员总是在冰球的方向上比赛。”有史以来最好的冰球运动员之一韦恩·格雷茨基如是说。这句话清楚地说明了精确的行动和动作的重要性，以及它们在时间和空间限制的情况下的预测。为了控制和执行有效和成功的行动，一个人必须能够以高技能水平进行行动，并预测自己行动的结果。此外，还必须考虑与环境相互作用的结果。换句话说，为了实现一个目标，外部和内部因素必须与预期或期望的目标状态相适应。坚持我们的Gretzky例子，这意味着行动可能受到内部因素的影响，如天赋，训练或技术水平，准确性或外部因素，如对手球队，曲棍球运动员和/或冰球的速度，或竞技场的噪音和照明条件。研究这种相互作用如何在神经生理学水平上实现需要考虑不同的理论框架。我们认为，从心理生理学的角度来看具身认知，即行为模拟，可能会对这个问题提供更深入的见解。本项目旨在从心理生理学角度对动作模拟进行研究，并在两种模型条件下测试动作模拟的极限，即运动员和高功能自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）患者作为一个连续统一体的两个极端：高功能动作模拟的运动员和高功能自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）患者。我们将把来自网球和羽毛球等运动的运动员与典型的非运动员匹配样本进行比较。此外，我们将检查高功能ASD患者。到目前为止，人们还不清楚额顶叶脑区究竟是如何支持动作模拟的。在这方面，我们的目标是双重的：首先，我们的目标是展示动作模拟是如何建立在心理生理层面上的。其次，我们的目的是测试背额顶叶网络是否以及如何在动作模拟的核心。我们将关注动作仿真的一个基本方面，即运动控制中的在线预测。在这里，我们测试动作的执行、预测和模拟。在每个研究人群中，我们将使用经颅磁刺激方法来描述动作模拟背后的功能神经解剖结构的“因果关系”。

“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” So said Wayne Gretzky, one of the best ice hockey players of all times. This quote makes clear the importance of precise actions and movements, and their prediction in situations with constraints in time and space. To control and execute efficient and successful actions, one has to be able to conduct the actions on a high skill level and to predict the outcomes of one’s own actions. In addition, the result of the interaction with the environment has to be considered. In other words, to achieve a goal, external and internal factors must be geared toward a prospective or desired goal state. To stick with our Gretzky example, this would mean that actions might be influenced by internal factors such as talent, training or skill level, and accuracy or by external factors such as the opponent team, speed of the hockey players and/or puck, or noise and lighting conditions in the arena. Investigating how such interactions are implemented on a neurophysiological level requires consideration of different theoretical frameworks. We argue that a psychophysiological perspective on embodied cognition, that is, action emulation, might provide deeper insight into this question.The goal of this project is to put forward a psychophysiological perspective on action emulation and to test the limits of action emulation in two model conditions, that is, athletes and high-functioning patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as two extremes lying on opposite sides of a continuum: athletes with highly functional action emulation and patients with ASD with highly dysfunctional action emulation. We will compare athletes from sports such as tennis and badminton to a typically functioning non-athlete matched sample. Moreover, we will examine high-functioning patients with ASD. Up to now, it has been unclear how exactly fronto-parietal brain regions support action emulation. Our objectives are twofold in this regard: First, we aim to show how action emulation is grounded on a psychophysiological level. Second, we aim to test whether and how the dorsal frontoparietal network is at the core of action emulation. We will focus on a basic aspect of action emulation, that is, online prediction in motor control. Here, we test execution, prediction, and emulation of action. In each of the investigated populations, we will use transcranial magnetic stimulation methods to delineate the “causal” relevance of the functional neuroanatomical structures underlying action emulation.