An exploration of the behavioural, electrophysiological, and neural mechanisms underlying joint action

你正在观看两位音乐家表演古典二重唱。每个人都负责演奏他或她自己的乐器，每种乐器都发出自己的声音。然而，你听到的是一段美妙的音乐。你可能会问自己，“他们是如何协调他们的动作来实现这种同步的？”在过去15年里，人们对联合行动的兴趣激增。联合行动（JA）是两个或两个以上的个体协调他们的行动来完成一个任务目标。研究人员一直在狂热地探索人们如何能够成功地完成共同的任务目标。下面的研究计划有两个目标。首先是确定影响JA的因素。例如，与他人结合的机会如何影响JA？从体育的角度来看，群体凝聚力是如何影响JA的？作为互动型运动队（如足球）的一员，是否比参与互动型运动队（如田径）的一员更善于与他人交往？在互动型运动队中，他们可能与他人并肩作战，但很少互动。最后，年龄增长如何影响JA？有一致的证据表明，同理心在中年后期达到顶峰，之后开始下降。同理心可以让你接受他人的观点，这在与他人共同完成任务时很重要。第二个目标是探索当参与JA时大脑活动是如何变化的。为了进一步扩大我们对年龄如何影响JA表现的理解，我们将测量一种名为mu'的大脑节律。mu节律反映了与共情过程相关的细胞的活动。如果老年人因为无法从他人的角度看待问题而难以完成一项共同任务，那么这种节奏应该与更善于接受观点的年轻人不同。最后，当三个人共同完成一项任务时，大脑活动是如何变化的？更多的人意味着更少的工作。根据社会互动的程度和任务要求某人承担的责任，大脑活动应该有所不同。这项拟议的研究将为衰老对关节性能的影响提供新的见解。这将扩大和补充最近的努力，以确定JA是如何在婴儿期和儿童期发展的，并有助于建立一个全面的框架来研究整个感知运动生命周期的联合行动。此外，它将产生新的发现，关于一个人在与多人共同完成任务目标时是如何感知和行动的。

***You are watching two musicians performing a classical duet. Each is responsible for playing his or her own instrument and each instrument produces its own sound. Yet, what you hear is a beautiful piece of music. You might ask yourself, "How are they able to coordinate their movements to achieve such synchrony?" Over the last 15 years, there has been a surge of interest in joint action. Joint action (JA) is when two or more individuals coordinate their actions to accomplish a task goal. Researchers have been feverishly exploring how people are able to successfully achieve a shared task goal. The following research program has two objectives. The first is to identify factors that impact JA. For example, how does the opportunity to bond with another affect JA? From a sports perspective, how does group cohesion influence JA? Does being a member of an interactive sports team (e.g., football) make one more socially tuned' to others than someone who is a member of a coactive sports team (e.g., track and field), where they may perform side-by-side with others but with little interaction? Finally, how does older age affect JA? There is consistent evidence to suggest that empathy peaks in late middle-aged adults and begins to decline thereafter. Empathy allows you to take on another person's views and this is important when working towards a shared task goal with someone. The second objective is to explore how brain activity changes when engaging in JA. To further expand our understanding of how age impacts JA performance, a brain rhythm called mu' will be measured. The mu rhythm reflects activity in cells associated with the processes involved in empathy. If older adults have difficulty performing a joint task because of their inability to perceive a situation from another's point of view, then this mu rhythm should be different than younger adults who are better perspective takers. Lastly, how does brain activity change when there is a group of three people interacting on a joint task? More people can mean less work. Depending on the degree of social interaction and responsibility that the task requires of someone, brain activity should differ. The proposed research will provide novel insights into the impact that aging has on joint performance. This will broaden and complement recent efforts to determine how JA develops during infancy and childhood and help create a comprehensive framework to study joint action across the perceptual-motor lifespan. Additionally, it will generate new findings about how one perceives and acts when working towards a shared task goal with multiple people.