Synchronous imitation of continuous action sequences: The role of spatial and topological mapping

What are the mapping mechanisms that enable people to synchronously imitate continuous action sequences observed in others? We investigated this question in 4 experiments that used a tapping task where participants synchronously performed alternating bimanual hand movements with a model presented in an egocentric or allocentric orientation. Their task was to tap in synchrony, with each hand matching the movements of the ipsilateral model hand as closely as possible. The results show that automatic establishment of topological mappings, where the performer's hand is mapped onto the model's anatomically matching hand even if the 2 are spatially misaligned, can interfere with maintaining spatial mappings (Experiments 1 and 2). The interference was particularly strong in musicians who have expertise in establishing topological mappings in continuous performance (Experiment 4). Adopting an unusual body posture greatly interfered with establishing spatial as well as topological mappings (Experiment 3). Together, the results suggest that synchronous imitation of continuous action sequences depends on flexible predictive models that simultaneously apply spatial and topological mapping constraints to enable an actor to act in synchrony with observed action sequences.