How task interactivity shapes action observation
Action observation triggers imitation, a powerful mechanism permitting interpersonal coordination. Coordination, however, also occurs when the partners’ actions are nonimitative and physically incongruent. One inf luential theory postulates that this is achieved via top-down modulation of imitation exerted by prefrontal regions. Here, we rather argue that coordination depends on sharing a goal with the interacting partner: this shapes action observation, overriding involuntary imitation, through the predictive activity of the left ventral premotor cortex (lvPMc).