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Catharsis in the motor cortex: Reward and punishment when observing others’ actions

Elliot C. Brown1*, Jan R. Wiersema2, Gilles Pourtois2 and Martin Brüne1
  • 1 Ruhr University, LWL University Hospital, Germany
  • 2 Ghent University, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Belgium

Activity in the motor cortex is induced when we watch others performing actions (Gallese et al., 1996), and can also be influenced by the intentions and context of the observed action (Iacoboni et al., 2005; Perry et al., 2010). The effect of reward and punishment on motor resonance has not yet been directly explored, though it is likely that different social contexts will be associated with different degrees of reward and punishment. EEG was recorded from 17 healthy right-handed females while they passively observed video clips of a person performing actions that led to a monetary reward, loss (i.e. punishment) or no change for the observer. The study compared the EEG mu rhythm suppression between conditions and showed that it was modulated by the motivational value of the observed action, with activity being the largest for rewarding actions and the least for neutral actions. We also show temporal dynamic changes in the mu rhythm power of these effects, with punishing actions producing delayed and prolonged mu suppression. This provides evidence for reward-related modulation of motor cortex activity during action observation. Our findings suggest that future studies investigating the neural activity related to the observation of others' actions may need to consider the effect of the reward (and punishment) associations made with the observed actions when comparing across conditions. The presence of reward-related modulation in motor resonance may also help to explain some previous inconsistent findings comparing mu rhythm activity in different clinical groups such as autism spectrum disorders (Oberman et al., 2012) and in schizophrenia (Singh et al., 2011). The reward and punishment associated with the actions we see in our social environment is likely to drive observational learning and may also influence how we interpret, understand, engage in and empathize with others’ actions in social interaction.

References

Gallese, V., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., and Rizzolatti, G. (1996). Action recognition in the premotor cortex. Brain 119 (Pt 2), 593–609.

Iacoboni, M., Molnar-Szakacs, I., Gallese, V., Buccino, G., Mazziotta, J.C., Rizzolatti, G. (2005). Grasping the intentions of others with one's own mirror neuron system. PLoS Biol. 3(3), e79.

Oberman, L.M., Mccleery, J.P., Hubbard, E.M., Bernier, R., Wiersema, J.R., Raymaekers, R., and Pineda, J.A. (2012). Developmental changes in mu suppression to observed and executed actions in autism spectrum disorders. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsr097.

Perry, A., Bentin, S., Bartal, I. B., Lamm, C., and Decety, J. (2010). “Feeling” the pain of those who are different from us: modulation of EEG in the mu/alpha range. Cogn. Affect. Behav. Neurosci. 10, 493–504.

Singh, F., Pineda, J., and Cadenhead, K. S. (2011). Association of impaired EEG mu wave suppression, negative symptoms and social functioning in biological motion processing in first episode of psychosis. Schizophr. Res. 130, 182–186.

Keywords: action observation, Reward, Punishment, observational learning, Mirror Neurons, social cognition

Conference: Belgian Brain Council, Liège, Belgium, 27 Oct - 27 Oct, 2012.

Presentation Type: Poster Presentation

Topic: Other basic/clinical neurosciences topic

Citation: Brown EC, Wiersema JR, Pourtois G and Brüne M (2012). Catharsis in the motor cortex: Reward and punishment when observing others’ actions. Conference Abstract: Belgian Brain Council. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2012.210.00052

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Received: 31 Aug 2012; Published Online: 12 Sep 2012.

* Correspondence: Mr. Elliot C Brown, Ruhr University, LWL University Hospital, Bochum, 44791, Germany, elliot.c.brown@gmail.com