Reafferent copies of imitated actions in the right superior temporal cortex

TLDR

Imitation relies on matching observed actions to internal motor representations, but copying novel or modified actions requires an additional comparison mechanism that remains poorly understood. Functional MRI revealed a superior temporal sulcus sector that activates during hand action observation and imitation—without visual input of the imitator’s hand—and shows stronger motor‑related activity during imitation than control tasks, suggesting it mediates interaction between observed actions and reafferent motor copies.

Abstract

Imitation is a complex phenomenon, the neural mechanisms of which are still largely unknown. When individuals imitate an action that already is present in their motor repertoire, a mechanism matching the observed action onto an internal motor representation of that action should suffice for the purpose. When one has to copy a new action, however, or to adjust an action present in one's motor repertoire to a different observed action, an additional mechanism is needed that allows the observer to compare the action made by another individual with the sensory consequences of the same action made by himself. Previous experiments have shown that a mechanism that directly matches observed actions on their motor counterparts exists in the premotor cortex of monkeys and humans. Here we report the results of functional magnetic resonance experiments, suggesting that in the superior temporal sulcus, a higher order visual region, there is a sector that becomes active both during hand action observation and during imitation even in the absence of direct vision of the imitator's hand. The motor-related activity is greater during imitation than during control motor tasks. This newly identified region has all the requisites for being the region at which the observed actions, and the reafferent motor-related copies of actions made by the imitator, interact.