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Neural and Behavioral Mechanisms Underlying Tool Use Motor Resonance
Title:
Neural and Behavioral Mechanisms Underlying Tool Use Motor Resonance
Author:
Bosch, Taylor James, author.
ISBN:
9780438006195
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
1 electronic resource (175 pages)
General Note:
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 79-10(E), Section: B.
Advisors: Lee Baugh Committee members: Brian Burrell; William Jones; Douglas Martin; Robert Morecraft.
Abstract:
Habitual tool use is considered a hallmark of human evolution. Though non-humans also use tools, only humans possess an advanced technological culture where tool use is second nature. At the neurobiological level, humans possess a unique brain region, the left anterior supramarginal gyrus (aSMG), whose activation during tool use action observation appears experience-independent. However, due to humanity's widespread experience with a multitude of tools, it is still unclear whether tool use motor resonance -- the phenomenon where tool actions are represented internally during both action execution and action observation -- changes after learning to use an unfamiliar tool. To fill this knowledge gap, the presented experiments examined the neural and behavioral mechanisms underlying tool use motor resonance by training individuals to perform a tool use motor learning task and assessing changes in tool use motor resonance before, during, and after training. First, a tool use motor learning paradigm was developed and assessed regarding its ability to facilitate changes in behavioral performance and visual strategies in a manner congruent with established motor learning principles (Study 1). Results validated this paradigm by demonstrating that performance increased in a logarithmic pattern and confirmatory visual strategies decreased after training. Second, electroencephalography (EEG) was used to measure changes in neuronal synchronization throughout training (Study 2). Results showed that neuronal synchronization decreased as a function of tool familiarity throughout training. Finally, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure changes in blood flow to distinct brain regions before and after training (Study 3). Results revealed a reversal in the direction of effective connectivity between the left aSMG and left anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS), a region involved in grasp planning, after training. This multimodal approach allowed for a thorough investigation of tool use motor resonance by featuring two indirect measures of neuronal activity. Overall, results from these experiments provide further evidence for a unique neurobiological system in humans that represents tool actions in an experience-independent manner. In turn, these findings have a direct impact on our understanding of the evolutionary changes that have facilitated humanity's advanced technological culture and have implications for motor rehabilitation, prosthetic engineering, and robotics.
Local Note:
School code: 0203
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Shelf Number | Item Barcode | Shelf Location | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| XX(682514.1) | 682514-1001 | Proquest E-Thesis Collection | Searching... |
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