Abstract
Research into the basic mechanisms of human social interaction suggests that simulation of other peoples' actions provides an important principle. In particular, it has been shown that observing another person carrying out an action activates the same network in the brain that is activated when this action is carried out by oneself. But how general is this simulation mechanism? Is there also simulation of inhibition? For instance, is there simulation of another person's stopping of an action? Using the stop-signal paradigm, we investigated whether imagining, perceiving, or actually evaluating another person's stopping has similar effects on performance as has one's own stopping.
This work has been supported by a Wellcome Programme Grant awarded to SPT