Connecting motor control and language

Is it true, as some scientists believe, that to understand words like "spike" (in the volleyball sense) the brain has to "mentally" retrace the sequence of motor commands that accomplish the action?

According to a study just published as a cover story in the December issue of Brain Research and conducted with the participation of scientists from SISSA, the International School for Advanced Studies of Trieste, the high-level motor expertise of subjects (in the case at hand of the volleyball players who responded to instructions to perform volleyball-specific actions) modulates the involvement of the brain motor areas in understanding the actions.

The effect of experience is a novelty that challenges some recent hypotheses, making the theoretical picture more complex.

According to theories of embodied cognition, conceptual representations are construed based on the brain's sensory and motor experience and, when we need to understand or recognise a concept, apparently our brain will subconsciously mime that experience.

In practice, to understand the word "drink" our brain implicitly activates the motor processes involved in drinking, but is that really how it works?

"According to our studies, the involvement of the motor system is not so direct or obvious but depends on several variables: the context, the experience and the feasibility/unfeasibility of the actions", explains Barbara Tomasino.

Tomasino, a former SISSA student now at the IRCCS "E. Medea-La Nostra Famiglia" in San Vito al Tagliamento, is the first author of this study which was conducted together with, amongst others, Raffaella Rumiati, the coordinator of the PhD course in Neuroscience at SISSA.

Tomasino, Rumiati and colleagues used "expert" subjects from the motor point of view, namely professional volleyball players.

"The idea of using expert subjects is interesting because it allows us to see if the degree of mastery of the act has an effect on performance in understanding."

"In fact, supporters of embodied theories state that motor activation is always present and there should be no difference", explains Rumiati, differences which were nonetheless identified.

The subjects (two groups: one of volleyball players and one of non-experts) had to read silently sentences describing acts in the form of commands.

The cue could be an action that was either possible -"go block" – or impossible – "do a forearm dig during a leap" in volleyball.

The sentences could also be positive – "do..." – or negative – "don't do…"–. Even on the basis of a previous behavioural study the research team supposed that the motor system is activated by positive but not by negative orders.

"In the present study we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to observe the activity of the brain during performance of the task."

"In particular, we monitored the activity of the motor areas and the changes in the way these "speak", or rather connect functionally, to the cognitive areas", explains Rumiati.

"One of the interesting things we found is an inhibition of motor activity in expert subjects in response to a positive but impossible command".

By contrast, in non-expert subjects the motor activity had a non-specific character, without the differences observed in experts.

"Overall this indicates that there is a modulating effect of the interaction between the possible/impossible cue and the positive or negative command", comments Tomasino.

"It's as if the volleyball players' experience gave rise to a sort of motor alphabet that affects they way they perform the task", says Rumiati, "an alphabet that is instead absent in non-experts."

"This suggests that the assumption of embodied theories, that is, the constant intervention of the motor system, is not always true but is modulated by contextual factors, such as the subject's experience".

More information: Barbara Tomasino, Marta Maieron, Elisa Guatto, Franco Fabbro, Raffaella Ida Rumiati "How are the motor system activity and functional connectivity between the cognitive and sensorimotor systems modulated by athletic expertise?" Brain Research Volume 1540, 2 December 2013, Pages 21–41 dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2013.09.048

Cesar Milan - The Dog Whisperer speaks about Kids connection with Dogs

I have great respect for Cesar Milan and the work he does. He is an example to all dog owners and parents.

He has taught me so much through his programs and writings that I feel I should share this article with you and invite you to read more of his sage advice on his Blog site. -

"Friday was National Kids and Pets Day in the US. If you’ve had both at the same time, then you know that children, especially toddlers, are naturally drawn to animals, particularly dogs, and that calm, balanced dogs have a natural affinity for children."

Most of you reading this probably know that my life-long love for animals also goes back to my childhood, and I was even nicknamed “Dog Boy” because of it. My sons are the same way, especially Calvin, who is growing into a fine Pack Leader.

Here’s my question to you: Why do you think that most kids and dogs get along so well?

The reason is simple: Young children, like dogs, tend to be instinctual. They are very direct in their communication, and they do it through energy, intention, and body language. Dogs can understand and relate to this, because that’s how they communicate, too.

Facial Expressions
Some studies indicate that dogs can read human facial expressions as well, and if there’s one thing young children are not good at, it’s hiding their thoughts or emotions — if a kid thinks it or feels it, it shows up on their face.

Perhaps this is why dogs don’t necessarily react nervously or aggressively when that giggly toddler comes running up to them screaming in delight — they can instinctively understand that the gesture is the same as another dog initiating play, rather than a threat.

Dogs Can Bite
However... there are plenty of stories in the news about children being bitten, maimed, or worse by dogs, whether it was the beloved family pet or a strange dog on the loose, and it is very important from early on to teach our children basic dog safety.

Even an adult can be bitten by taking the wrong approach with a dog (it’s happened to me a time or two!), and it’s much easier for kids to accidentally take the wrong approach.

While I do teach that we should relate to our dogs instinctively,  that’s something for much older kids and grown-ups.

With young kids, we have to teach them to approach dogs intellectually first, then let them re-discover their instincts later.

Respect Their Space
We have to begin by teaching our children to respect a dog’s space, and never approach in a way that might startle or frighten the dog. They should never run at a dog with excited energy, and never chase a dog that is trying to avoid them.

When petting a dog, they should do it gently, and always under the chin or on the chest, never by reaching over the dog’s back and, most importantly, they should never, ever approach a strange dog, especially if it’s alone; otherwise, they should ask the dog’s caretaker first if it’s all right.

Supervision
These rules apply to the pets in your own home as well, and you should never leave your dogs and young children together unsupervised.

Infants especially like to grab things — remember, to humans, touch is a very important way of learning about the world — and even the friendliest dog can react badly to suddenly having its tail or ears yanked.

Respect and Care
If you teach your very young children to approach animals with respect and care, it will not only help keep them safe, but educate them on how to treat animals for life, so they can have many rewarding experiences with them as they get older. Pets are also the perfect way to teach older children empathy and responsibility — two of the most important skills they can have as adults.

And, as adults, we can learn from our young children all over again how to approach the world with that sense of instinctual joy and curiosity that draws them to animals in the first place, but to do it in a way that is safe and rewarding for everyone involved, human and dog alike.

Read more of Cesar's articles here