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Marcel Brass

Bio: Marcel Brass is an academic researcher from Ghent University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Imitation & Action (philosophy). The author has an hindex of 61, co-authored 272 publications receiving 17409 citations. Previous affiliations of Marcel Brass include University College London & Humboldt University of Berlin.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
24 Dec 1999-Science
TL;DR: Two areas with activation properties that become active during finger movement, regardless of how it is evoked, and their activation should increase when the same movement is elicited by the observation of an identical movement made by another individual are found.
Abstract: How does imitation occur? How can the motor plans necessary for imitating an action derive from the observation of that action? Imitation may be based on a mechanism directly matching the observed action onto an internal motor representation of that action (“direct matching hypothesis”). To test this hypothesis, normal human participants were asked to observe and imitate a finger movement and to perform the same movement after spatial or symbolic cues. Brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging. If the direct matching hypothesis is correct, there should be areas that become active during finger movement, regardless of how it is evoked, and their activation should increase when the same movement is elicited by the observation of an identical movement made by another individual. Two areas with these properties were found in the left inferior frontal cortex (opercular region) and the rostral-most region of the right superior parietal lobule. Imitation has a central role in human development and learning of motor, communicative, and social skills (1, 2). However, the neural basis of imitation and its functional mechanisms are poorly understood. Data from patients with brain lesions suggest that frontal and parietal regions may be critical for human imitation (3) but do not provide insights on the mechanisms underlying it. Models of imitation based on instrumental

2,536 citations

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TL;DR: It is found that the outcome of a decision can be encoded in brain activity of prefrontal and parietal cortex up to 10 s before it enters awareness.
Abstract: There has been a long controversy as to whether subjectively 'free' decisions are determined by brain activity ahead of time. We found that the outcome of a decision can be encoded in brain activity of prefrontal and parietal cortex up to 10 s before it enters awareness. This delay presumably reflects the operation of a network of high-level control areas that begin to prepare an upcoming decision long before it enters awareness.

1,311 citations

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TL;DR: Neurocognitive support for the strong relationship between movement observation and movement execution is reported, and the crucial role of the imitative relation of observed and executed action for the described effects is demonstrated.

696 citations

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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the compatibility effect of stimulus-response arrangements with high ideomotor compatibility in simple response tasks, and found that participants executed pre-instructed finger movements in response to compatible and incompatible finger movements.

682 citations

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TL;DR: The results provide strong evidence for the consistent involvement of the IFJ in both switching and Stroop paradigms and support the concept of areal specialization in the frontolateral cortex, which posits that it is not only the middorsolateral part that plays an important role in cognitive control, but also theIFJ.
Abstract: There is growing evidence that a specific region in the posterior frontolateral cortex is involved intimately in cognitive control processes. This region, located in the vicinity of the junction of the inferior frontal sulcus and the inferior precentral sulcus, was termed the inferior frontal junction (IFJ). The IFJ was shown to be involved in the updating of task representations and to be activated commonly in a within-subject investigation of a task-switching paradigm, the Stroop task, and a verbal n-back task. Here, we investigate the involvement of the IFJ in cognitive control by employing a meta-analytic approach. Two quantitative meta-analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies were conducted. One meta-analysis included frontal activations from task-switching, set-shifting, and stimulus-response (S-R) reversal studies, the other included frontal activations from color-word Stroop studies. Results showed highly significant clustering of activations in the IFJ in both analyses. These results provide strong evidence for the consistent involvement of the IFJ in both switching and Stroop paradigms. Furthermore, they support our concept of areal specialization in the frontolateral cortex, which posits that it is not only the middorsolateral part that plays an important role in cognitive control, but also the IFJ. Finally, our results demonstrate how quantitative meta-analyses can be used to test hypotheses about the involvement of specific brain regions in cognitive control.

596 citations


Cited by
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TL;DR: The meaning of the terms "method" and "method bias" are explored and whether method biases influence all measures equally are examined, and the evidence of the effects that method biases have on individual measures and on the covariation between different constructs is reviewed.
Abstract: Despite the concern that has been expressed about potential method biases, and the pervasiveness of research settings with the potential to produce them, there is disagreement about whether they really are a problem for researchers in the behavioral sciences. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to explore the current state of knowledge about method biases. First, we explore the meaning of the terms “method” and “method bias” and then we examine whether method biases influence all measures equally. Next, we review the evidence of the effects that method biases have on individual measures and on the covariation between different constructs. Following this, we evaluate the procedural and statistical remedies that have been used to control method biases and provide recommendations for minimizing method bias.

8,719 citations

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TL;DR: A neurophysiological mechanism appears to play a fundamental role in both action understanding and imitation, and those properties specific to the human mirror-neuron system that might explain the human capacity to learn by imitation are stressed.
Abstract: A category of stimuli of great importance for primates, humans in particular, is that formed by actions done by other individuals. If we want to survive, we must understand the actions of others. Furthermore, without action understanding, social organization is impossible. In the case of humans, there is another faculty that depends on the observation of others' actions: imitation learning. Unlike most species, we are able to learn by imitation, and this faculty is at the basis of human culture. In this review we present data on a neurophysiological mechanism--the mirror-neuron mechanism--that appears to play a fundamental role in both action understanding and imitation. We describe first the functional properties of mirror neurons in monkeys. We review next the characteristics of the mirror-neuron system in humans. We stress, in particular, those properties specific to the human mirror-neuron system that might explain the human capacity to learn by imitation. We conclude by discussing the relationship between the mirror-neuron system and language.

6,747 citations

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TL;DR: New findings suggest a fundamental role for the AIC (and the von Economo neurons it contains) in awareness, and thus it needs to be considered as a potential neural correlate of consciousness.
Abstract: The anterior insular cortex (AIC) is implicated in a wide range of conditions and behaviours, from bowel distension and orgasm, to cigarette craving and maternal love, to decision making and sudden insight. Its function in the re-representation of interoception offers one possible basis for its involvement in all subjective feelings. New findings suggest a fundamental role for the AIC (and the von Economo neurons it contains) in awareness, and thus it needs to be considered as a potential neural correlate of consciousness.

5,279 citations

Journal ArticleDOI

3,628 citations