Using instructions, humans can accomplish novel tasks on the first try, avoiding long periods of practice. For instance, just after reading the manual of a new electronic device, we succeed at turning it on or unlocking it. Past research shows that, during this process, our brain anticipates the new demands to improve our later performance. However… how can we prepare for a task we haven’t completed before?
Researchers from CIMCYC have explored if this anticipation entails “internally simulating” the tasks before executing them, preparing the perceptual and motor brain systems. To do so, they addressed whether the neural codes specific to the instructions’ action plans and stimuli were pre-activated.
In the study, functional magnetic resonance imaging data was collected while participants encoded and executed new stimulus-response associations. They also completed a series of localizer tasks, employed to isolate brain activity patterns associated with executing different motor responses, experiencing their sensory consequences (the tactile sensation that we feel when responding), as well as different stimulus categories.
Using Canonical Template Tracking, a pattern analysis technique, the authors compared the activity patterns (or canonical templates) obtained during the localizers with the main experiment data. Specifically, they addressed whether the templates linked to specific action plans and stimuli were pre-activated before the participants executed the novel associations.
The results showed that regions associated with action control pre-activated the canonical templates from the relevant motor responses and their sensory consequences. This effect was particularly robust in the primary motor and somatosensory cortex. However, this effect was not detected in the visual system regarding the stimuli canonical templates.
These findings suggest that, when preparing for novel tasks, we recruit motor simulation or imagery processes that help us adjust to future action plans. More broadly, this research stresses the active role of the somatomotor system in adapting to new task scenarios, potentially collaborating with higher-level brain regions involved in cognitive control and attention.
Reference:
Palenciano, A.F., González-García, C., De Houwer, J., Liefooghe, B., & Brass, M. (2024). Concurrent response and action effect representations across the somatomotor cortices during novel task preparation. Cortex, 177, 150-169
Contact:
Ana Paqui Palenciano: @email
Carlos González García: @email