Quarona, D. 1, 2 , Ansuini, C. 2 , Scaliti, E. 3 , Cavallo, A. 3 & Becchio, C. 2, 3
1 DIBRIS, Department of Informatics, Bioengineering and Robotics and System Engineering, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
2 C?MON, Cognition, Motion and Neuroscience Unit, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
3 Department of Psychology, University of Torino, Torino, Italy
Previous studies suggest that action observation impacts object recognition. For instance, participants are more accurate in naming an object when it is preceded by a video clip showing a hand using the same object than when it is preceded by a video clip showing a hand using a different object (Helbig et al., 2010). However it remains an open question whether the observation of a hand while reaching to grasp an object can prime object detection. Here we tackled this issue by using a priming paradigm. As prime stimuli we administered video clips showing a real (i.e., a hand grasping an object placed on a target location) or a pantomimed reach-to-grasp movement (i.e., a hand pretending to grasp the same object imagined at the same location as in real grasps). To prevent participants from viewing the object, we superimposed a black mask on the target location. Each prime stimulus was followed by a static image (i.e., target stimulus) showing either the to-be-grasped object (i.e., object-present target stimulus) or no-object on the target location (object-absent target stimulus). We asked participants to detect whether the object was present or absent in the target stimulus and to press one of two buttons on a keyboard to make their response. Participants were faster to respond to object-present target stimulus when it was preceded by a real action prime than when it was preceded by a pantomimed action prime. In contrast, reaction times to object-absent target stimulus were similar regardless of the type of action prime. Suggesting that real - but not pantomimed - reach-to-grasp movements prime object detection, these results further substantiate the functional coupling between action and perception system.
Keywords: action observation, priming paradigm, object detection, pantomimed action