Behavioral and neuroimaging investigation of objects in the real world

对人类来说，能够识别物体很重要，但能够适当地与它们互动也是至关重要的。例如，在做饭时，我们可能不只是寻找特定的物体或工具(如铲子)，还会抓住并移动它(如将铲子放入水槽中)或适当使用(如用铲子翻动汉堡)。这些功能虽然看似毫不费力，但需要大脑许多区域的协调。我的研究目标是了解人脑是如何处理物体的，特别是那些与动作相关的物体。 虽然当工具被描述为图像(例如杂志中的图片)时，我们能够很容易地识别它们，但我们永远不会试图抓住或使用工具的图片。然而，令人惊讶的是，过去在物体视觉方面进行的大部分研究都使用了照片，而不是真实的物体。只有极少的情况下(比如字谜游戏)，我们才会假装使用一件东西(比如假装在手里没有铲子的情况下翻动汉堡)。同样，过去对工具的大部分研究都集中在哑剧动作上，尽管研究表明，哑剧动作并实际执行依赖于不同的大脑机制。 我的实验室已经开发出了研究真实物体上的真实行为的技术。这种方法甚至适用于脑成像，在脑成像中，处理真实对象比处理图片更具挑战性。我们的研究将考察真实物体与物体图片在行为和大脑激活方面的异同。这项研究将使我们能够更好地理解大脑机制，使我们能够有效地识别物体并对其采取行动。它将有助于解释那些在识别物体或执行动作方面有困难的患者的大脑障碍。它甚至可能有助于神经假体的发展，使运动障碍患者能够使用大脑信号来指导人造机械臂的运动。虽然在开发这项用于伸手和抓取的技术方面取得了显著进展，但最终用户必须能够与真实的对象交互并使用真实的工具。

While it is important for humans to be able to recognize objects, it is also essential to be able to interact appropriately with them. For example, while making dinner, we may not just look for a particular object or tool (such as a spatula), but also grasp and move it (such as putting the spatula in the sink) or use it appropriately (such as using a spatula to flip a hamburger). These functions, though seemingly effortless, require the coordination of many brain areas. The goal of my research is to understand how the human brain processes objects, particularly those associated with actions. Although we are able to easily recognize tools when they are depicted as images (such as a picture in a magazine), we would never try to grasp or use a picture of a tool. Yet surprisingly, much of the past research done in object vision has used photographs rather than real objects. Only rarely (such as charades) might we pantomime the use of an object (such as pretending to flip a hamburger without having a spatula in your hand). Yet again, much of the past research on tools has focused on pantomimed actions even though research suggests that pantomiming an action and actually performing it rely on different brain mechanisms. My lab has developed techniques for studying real actions upon real objects. This approach even works with brain imaging, where it is more challenging to work with real objects than pictures. Our research will examine similarities and differences in behavior and brain activation for real objects compared to pictures of objects. This research will enable us to better understand the brain mechanisms that enable us to efficiently recognize and act upon objects. It will be useful for interpreting brain disorders in patients who have problems recognizing objects or performing actions. It may even contribute to the development of neural prosthetics, enabling patients with motor disorders to use brain signals to guide movements of an artificial robotic arm. While striking progress has been made in developing this technology for reaching and grasping, ultimately users have to be able to interact with real objects and use real tools.