Understanding Others

Question 1

biological motion

Answer 1

the complex movement patterns for people/animals

Question 2

what determines our biological motion

Answer 2

skeletal structure; integration of multiple motion signals across space and time

Question 3

what is the purpose of us perceiving biological motion

Answer 3

we need to differentiation between people and objects in a cluttered world.

Question 4

when do humans develop recognition of biological motion

Answer 4

3 months old

Question 5

what do we need to identify biological motion

Answer 5

sparse input; 12 spots representing the body

Question 6

brain areas important for processing biological motion and differentiating between non and biological motion

Answer 6

posterior superior temporal sulcus, fusiform, occipital face areas

Question 7

what brain areas contribute to human form perception

Answer 7

extrastriate body area (EBA) and lateral occipital complex (LOC)

Question 8

levels (hierarchy) of understanding movement

Answer 8

kinematic, motor, goal, intention

Question 9

kinematic level of motion understanding

Answer 9

trajectory and velocity of actions

Question 10

motor level of motion understanding

Answer 10

motor commands and patterns needed to produce kinematics

Question 11

goal level of motion understanding

Answer 11

immediate purpose of action

Question 12

intention level of motion understanding

Answer 12

overall reason for the action

Question 13

theory of mind

Answer 13

ability to represent a person’s mental state in a given context

Question 14

how do we represent another’s mental state

Answer 14

recognize that people have minds, thoughts, desires and feelings. develop our own theory of how other minds work

Question 15

when do children develop theory of mind

Answer 15

around 4 years old; builds on perception of biological motion and goal directed action

Question 16

theory of mind development

Answer 16

develops through adulthood but does not necessarily lead to improved reprenations of others minds.

Question 17

brain areas involved in representation of theory of mind

Answer 17

medial prefrontal cortex (beliefs and goals of others), superior temporal sulcus, precuneus

Question 18

brain areas in processing ones thoughts vs thoughts of others

Answer 18

overlap (same brain areas)

Question 19

how were brain areas for theory of mind identified

Answer 19

PET scan

Question 20

positron emission tomography (PET) scan mechanism

Answer 20

small amount of radioactive substance into blood stream, more activity in an area will increase blood flow, radioactive substance breaks down ad positrons released, release gamma rays detected by scanner

Question 21

empathy

Answer 21

inferring the feelings of others by generating a similar state in ourselves, while knowing that the cause of our state is the other person

Question 22

brain areas in empathy network

Answer 22

anterior insular, medial prefrontal cortex, precuneus

Question 23

mirror neurons

Answer 23

neurons that respond when a subject performs an action AND when the subject observes someone performing the same action

Question 24

what intences do mirror neurons NOT respond

Answer 24

• person does not interact with object
• only the salient/ noticeable object
• actions mimicked without object

Question 25

types of mirror neurons

Answer 25

mouth mirror neurons, hand mirror neurons

Question 26

how can mouth motor neurons be communicative

Answer 26

processing nonverbal communication

Question 27

mirror neuron brain areas

Answer 27

premotor cortex and posterior parietal cortex

Question 28

3 hypothesis for where mirror neurons came from

Answer 28

adaptive hypothesis, associative learning hypothesis, Hebbian hypothesis

Question 29

mirror neurons: adaptive hypothesis

Answer 29

born with mirror neurons and selected for through natural selection

Question 30

mirror neurons: associative learning hypothesis

Answer 30

- 2 neurons firing close in time, strengthen synapse -predicted relationship prior to formation of mirror neuron *BOTH

Question 31

mirror neurons: Hebbian learning hypothesis

Answer 31

neurons fire together wire together to form synaptic plasticity

Question 32

action-observer network

Answer 32

a brain network responsible for understanding and processing observed actions, including the intentions and outcomes

Question 33

action-observer network brain areas

Answer 33

(high) inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal cortex, superior temporal sulcus (low)

Question 34

action-observer network higherachy

Answer 34

each cortical area in hierarchy makes predictions about the level below

Question 35

prediction error

Answer 35

difference between prediction from higher level sent to lower level(feedback), and actual representation in the lower level(feedforward)

Question 36

what does feedforward pathway do in action-observer network

Answer 36

refines models for new predictions based on prediction error

Question 37

what area is linked to understanding actions

Answer 37

inferior frtonal gyrus

Question 38

result of lesions in inferiro frontal gryus

Answer 38

deficit understanding others actions