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

你正在观看两个音乐家表演古典二重唱。每个人都负责演奏自己的乐器，每种乐器都有自己的声音。然而，你听到的是一段美妙的音乐。你可能会问自己，“它们是如何协调它们的动作来实现这种同步的？“在过去的15年里，对联合行动的兴趣激增。联合行动（JA）是指两个或多个人协调行动以完成任务目标。研究人员一直在狂热地探索人们如何能够成功地实现共同的任务目标。下面的研究计划有两个目标。第一个是确定影响JA的因素。例如，与他人建立联系的机会如何影响JA？从体育的角度来看，群体凝聚力如何影响JA？作为一个互动运动队的成员（例如，足球）使一个人比一个共同活动的运动队的成员（例如，田径），在那里他们可以与其他人并肩作战，但互动很少？最后，老年人是如何影响JA的？有一致的证据表明，同情心在中年后期达到顶峰，之后开始下降。同理心允许你接受另一个人的观点，这在与某人共同努力实现一个共同的任务目标时很重要。第二个目标是探索大脑活动在进行JA时如何变化。为了进一步扩大我们对年龄如何影响JA表现的理解，将测量称为“mu”的大脑节律。mu节律反映了与移情过程相关的细胞活动。如果老年人因为无法从他人的角度感知情况而难以执行联合任务，那么这种mu节律应该与更善于接受观点的年轻人不同。最后，当一组三个人在一项联合任务中互动时，大脑活动会发生什么变化？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的责任，大脑活动应该有所不同。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如何在婴儿期和儿童期发展，并帮助创建一个全面的框架，研究整个感知运动寿命的联合行动。此外，它还将产生关于一个人在与多个人一起实现共同任务目标时如何感知和行动的新发现。

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.