Abstract
This study investigated neural processes underlying automatic imitation and its modulation by ethnically diverse hand stimuli (Black, White) using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Automatic imitation relies on motor stimulus-response compatibility (SRC), i.e., response conflict caused by motoric (in)congruency between task-irrelevant hand stimuli and the required response. Our novel task aimed to separate two distinct neuro-cognitive processing stages of automatic imitation and its modulation by ethnicity: the stage of stimulus processing (i.e. perception), comprising presentation of stimulus ethnicity and SRC, and the stage of response execution (i.e. action). Effects of ethnicity were observed in ERPs of different stages of stimulus processing - during presentation of ethnicity (LPP) and SRC (N190, P3). ERPs at response execution, Pre-Motion Positivity (PMP) and Reafferent Potential (RAP), were only sensitive to congruency. The N190 results may index visual self-other distinction, while the neural timecourse of P3 and PMP variation could reflect a dynamical decision process linking perception to action, with motor initiation reflected in the PMP component. The PMP might further index motor-related self-other distinction regardless of ethnicity. Importantly, overt motor execution was not influenced by ethnically diverse stimuli, which suggests generalizability of the automatic imitation effect across ethnicities.
Highlights
Imitation plays an important role in various domains of everyday life, such as when we imitate others consciously to acquire new behaviors, or mimic them in an unconscious and automatic manner during social interaction
We focused on the following Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) components potentially engaged in the various stages of task processing, i.e. perceptual stimulus ethnicity and stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) processing and response execution: The stage of perceptual stimulus processing was divided into two parts: the presentation of stimulus ethnicity and SRC presentation
Stimulus processing was influenced by both ethnicity and SRC presentation, while at the response execution stage only congruency influenced ERPs
Summary
Imitation plays an important role in various domains of everyday life, such as when we imitate others consciously to acquire new behaviors, or mimic them in an unconscious and automatic manner during social interaction. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) allow to highlight the influence of neural processes during the stage of perceptual stimulus processing, including the presentation of stimulus ethnicity and of SRC (i.e. perception) and directly at the stage of overt behavioral response execution (i.e. action) To this date the neural dynamics of automatic imitation have only recently started to be investigated (see for example[12]). The movement was either congruent or incongruent to the target cue and facilitated or slowed down actual response execution (see methods for details) This allowed us to investigate the neural dynamics during the stage of stimulus processing (i.e. first, perceptual processing of salient ethnicity/color cues and second, concurring task-irrelevant actions, creating the SRC effect) and directly at the stage of response execution giving rise to the automatic imitation effect. It has been suggested that the P3 component reflects information processing functions of the locus coeruleus – noradrenergic system, sensitive to motivational significance of events and facilitating behavioural responses[22]
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