The imprint of action: Motor cortex involvement in visual perception of handwritten letters

Humans are able to recognize handwritten texts accurately despite the extreme variability of scripts from one writer to another. This skill has been suggested to rely on the observer's own knowledge about implicit motor rules involved in writing. To investigate the possible neural correlates of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Fla.), 2006-11, Vol.33 (2), p.681-688
Main Authors: Longcamp, M., Tanskanen, T., Hari, R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Behavior
Brain
Brain - anatomy & histology
Brain - physiology
Brain Mapping
Brain research
Female
Handwriting
Humans
Letters
Magnetoencephalography
Male
Motor Cortex - physiology
Oscillometry
Reaction Time
Reading
Reference Values
Studies
Visual Acuity
Visual Perception - physiology
Writing
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Summary:Humans are able to recognize handwritten texts accurately despite the extreme variability of scripts from one writer to another. This skill has been suggested to rely on the observer's own knowledge about implicit motor rules involved in writing. To investigate the possible neural correlates of such an ability, we monitored with magnetoencephalography (MEG) the ∼ 20-Hz oscillations originating from the motor cortex. The oscillations were more suppressed after visual presentation of handwritten than printed letters, indicating stronger excitation of the motor cortex to handwritten scripts. These results support the idea of embodied visual perception of handwritten scripts and the involvement of the motor cortex in the underlying action–perception link.
ISSN:1053-8119
1095-9572
DOI:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.06.042