Coding of visible and hidden actions

Jellema, Tjeerd; Perrett, David

Abstract

We review the properties of cells in the temporal cortex of the macaque monkey, which are sensitive to visual cues arising from the face and body and their movements. We speculate that the responses of populations of cells in the cortex of the anterior superior temporal sulcus (STSa) support an understanding of the behaviour of others. Actions of an agent including whole body movements (e.g. walking) and articulations (of the limbs and torso) made during the redirecting of attention and reaching are coded by STSa cells in a way which: (1) allows generalization over different views and orientations of the agent with respect to the observer, (2) utilises information about the agent's current and (3) imagined position while occluded from sight and (4) is sensitive to sequences of the agent's movements. The selectivity of cells is described from the perspective of hierarchical processing, which presumes that early processing establishes sensitivity to simple body cues and later coding combines these cues to specify progressively more subtle and abstract aspects of behaviour. The action coding of STSa cells is discussed in terms of dorsal and ventral cortical systems, the binding problem and the functional architecture, which allows hierarchical information processing.

Citation

Jellema, T., & Perrett, D. (2002). Coding of visible and hidden actions. In W. Prinz, & B. Hommel (Eds.), Common Mechanisms in Perception and Action (356-380). Oxford: Oxford University Press

• Publication Date: Feb 7, 2002
• Deposit Date: May 15, 2022
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Pages: 356-380
• Series Title: Attention and Performance
• Series Number: 19
• Book Title: Common Mechanisms in Perception and Action
• Chapter Number: 18
• ISBN: 9780198510697
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3998400