Understanding how perception and action are coupled in the brain has important implications for training, rehabilitation, and brain–machine interfaces.

In this research theme, we study representations of actions and action sequences, both real and imagined, in the brain using fMRI.

Through repeated and consistent sensory feedback from motor actions, we establish bidirectional sensorimotor associations. This action-perception coupling enables bidirectional priming and is fundamental to the planning of movements. Previous studies have shown, for instance, auditory cortex activation in musicians during silent observation of musical performances, and sequence-specific representations in the premotor cortex during listening to trained melodies. The prevalent theory is that such phenomena are underpinned by a “common code”, where actions and their sensory outcomes share representations at some abstract level. The aim of this project is to test this hypothesis, using cross-modal multi-variate pattern analysis.

Action-Perception Coupling and Near Transfer: Listening to Melodies after Piano Practice Triggers Sequence-Specific Representations in the Auditory-Motor Network
https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaa018

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