Gregory Kroliczak

Adam Mickiewicz University | UAM · Faculty of Psychology and Cognitive Science

The left supramarginal gyrus (SMG) is a critical structure in tool use actions, including such simple acts as selection of appropriate grasps and, if necessary, their on-line corrections. Yet, its temporal contribution to initial planning of functional grasps of tools is largely unknown. We used MRI-guided, event-related transcranial magnetic stimu...

While Liepmann was one of the first researchers to consider a relationship between skilled manual actions (praxis) and language for tasks performed “freely from memory”, his primary focus was on the relations between the organization of praxis and left-hemisphere dominance. Subsequent attempts to apply his apraxia model to all cases he studied – in...

The ability to use complex tools is thought to depend on multifaceted motor-to-mechanical transformations within the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), linked to cognitive control over compound actions. Here we show using neuroimaging that demanding transformations of finger movements into proper mechanical movements of functional parts of comple...

The praxis representation network (PRN) of the left cerebral hemisphere is typically linked to the control of functional interactions with familiar tools. Surprisingly, little is known about the PRN engagement in planning and execution of tool-directed actions motivated by non-functional but purposeful action goals. Here we used functional neuroima...

Atypical representations of praxis and language were studied in two forms and combinations: bilateral organization, and right lateralization, independently for each function; when the atypically represented praxis dissociates from typically lateralized language; and when both praxis and language have atypical forms. Direct differences between bilat...

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we studied links between manual praxis (planned and executed tool use pantomimes), language (in subvocal word generation task) and handedness in 125 participants, including righthanders (N=52), ambidextrous individuals (mixedhanders; N=31), and lefthanders (N=42). The tested sample included 64 fe...

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the globe coerced their citizens to adhere to preventive health behaviours, aiming to reduce the effective reproduction numbers of the virus. Driven by game theoretic considerations and inspired by the work of US National Research Council's Committee on Food Habits (1943) during WWII,...

One of the most critical skills behind consumer's behavior is the ability to assess whether a price after a discount is a real bargain. Yet, the neural underpinnings and cognitive mechanisms associated with such a skill are largely unknown. While there is general agreement that the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) on the left is critical for mental...

Zarówno badania neuropsychologiczne na pacjentach, jak i tradycyjne raporty neuroobrazowe od osób zdrowych, pokazują, że kluczowe dla umysłowych obliczeń arytmetycznych obszary mózgu znajdują się w płatach ciemieniowych oraz, co kontrowersyjne, w lewym płacie czołowym. W ostatnich latach kilka publikacji opartych na metodzie magnetoencefalografii o...

Współczesne prace neuroobrazowe ujawniają istnienie, niezależnych od ręczności, różnych fenotypów rozkładu funkcji mózgowych, za którymi stoją złożone i wielowymiarowe obwody neuronalne. Eksplorację i wyjaśnienie przejść pomiędzy odmiennymi fenotypami funkcji może ułatwić badanie osób leworęcznych, wśród których znacznie częściej występują przypadk...

The performance of learned manual gestures (praxis) and the production of speech are thought to depend on related neural processes. If this relationship is not invoked by an unknown, third variable then shifts in their laterality, including dissociations of these two functions, would be unlikely unless the sharing of some neural resources with othe...

Background The impact of bilingualism on lateralized brain functions such as praxis – the control of skilled actions – and language representations themselves, particularly in the auditory domain, is still largely unknown. Recent stud-ies suggest that bilingualism affects both basic (fundamental frequency) sound and action-related speech pro-cessin...

While the preparatory neural mechanisms of real and imagined body movements have been extensively studied, the underpinnings of self-initiated, voluntary mental acts are largely unknown. Therefore, using electroencephalography (EEG), we studied the time course and patterns of changes in brain activity associated with purely mental processes which s...

One of the greatest challenges in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research using real objects as stimuli is their timely delivery and (pseudo)randomized presentation. To this end, we designed an apparatus which solves the majority of problems that fMRI researchers may encounter during testing. The display apparatus – here: delivering o...

Editorial on the Research Topic Manual Skills, Handedness, and the Organization of Language in the Brain: Hand preference and cerebral dominance for some aspects of language processing are hallmarks of human brain functioning. Yet, their mutual relationships, similar to interrelations between hemispheric dominance for low-level sensorimotor control...

The neural bases of haptically guided interactions with tools are largely unknown. Whereas in the visual domain there is clear evidence for left lateralization of the networks underlying the guidance of actions involving tools, comparable evidence in haptic modality is missing. Therefore, we examined whether the temporo-parieto-frontal networks res...

Objectives: We used multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) to investigate neural selectivity for grasp planning within the left-lateralized temporo-parieto-frontal network of areas (praxis representation network, PRN) typically associated with tool-related actions, as studied with traditional neuroimaging contrasts. Methods: We used data from 20 par...

The impact of bilingualism on lateralized brain functions such as praxis – the control of skilled actions, and language representations themselves, particularly in the auditory domain, is still largely unknown. Recent studies suggest that bilingualism affects both basic (fundamental frequency) sound and action-related speech processing. Whether it...

Ludzie najczęściej wykazują dominację prawej ręki w spontanicznym wykonywaniu drobnych codziennych czynności oraz dominację lewej półkuli w kontroli złożonych działań manualnych i w posługiwaniu się językiem. Jeśli te zachowania łączy wspólna specjalizacja w korze mózgowej, to powinny one być podobnie zorganizowane w mózgu bez względu na ręczność....

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 63 healthy participants, including left-handed and ambidextrous individuals, we tested how atypical lateralization of language—i. e., bilateral or right hemispheric language representation—differs from the typical left-hemisphere dominance. Although regardless of their handedness, all 11 partici...

Potential links between language and numbers and the laterality of symbolic number representations in the brain are still debated. Furthermore, reports on bilingual individuals indicate that the language-number interrelationships might be quite complex. Therefore, we carried out a visual half-field (VHF) and dichotic listening (DL) study with actio...

Objectives: Neuropsychological and neuroimaging evidence indicates that tool use knowledge and abilities are represented in the praxis representation network (PRN) of the left cerebral hemisphere. We investigated whether PRN would also underlie the planning of function-appropriate grasps of tools, even though such an assumption is inconsistent wit...

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) adaptation (a.k.a. repetition suppression) paradigm was used to test if semantic information contained in object-related (transitive) pantomimes and communicative (intransitive) gestures is represented differently in the occipito-temporal cortex. Participants watched 2.75 s back-to-back videos where the...

The brain mechanisms underlying tool use are highly lateralized to the left cerebral hemisphere. The present study aimed to highlight the temporal contribution of one of the critical nodes of this left-lateralized network to planning functional grasps of tools. We focused on the left supramarginal gyrus (SMG), whose role - as evidenced by functiona...

The neural bases of haptically-guided grasp planning and execution are largely unknown, especially for stimuli having no visual representations. Therefore, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor brain activity during haptic exploration of novel 3D complex objects, subsequent grasp planning, and the execution of the pre-plan...

All the objects, their orders, and orientations used in the main experiment. Note, that there were five runs for each subject and one of the sets was repeated.

Neural activity associated with haptic exploration of simple vs. complex objects. This contrast revealed modulations in a widespread network of areas, resembling the default mode network.

Background. The Psychology Experiment Building Language (PEBL) software consists of over one-hundred computerized tests based on classic and novel cognitive neuropsychology and behavioral neurology measures. Although the PEBL tests are becoming more widely utilized, there is currently very limited information about the psychometric properties of th...

Raw data for the reliability data

Raw data for the validity study

Background. The Psychology Experiment Building Language (PEBL) software consists of over one-hundred computerized tests based on classic cognitive neuropsychology and behavioral neurology measures. Although the PEBL tests are becoming more widely utilized, there is currently very limited information about the psychometric properties of these measur...

The way we interact with manipulable objects varies substantially depending on the goal of the intended action. Surprisingly, very little is known about the neural underpinnings of planning disparate actions and interactions taken with tools, e.g., whether or not the praxis representation network (PRN) of the left cerebral hemisphere is involved in...

While neuroscientific and behavioral studies indicate that the intention to properly use, transmit, or displace a tool may engage different mechanisms in the brain, no study has directly compared activation patterns associated with the control of actions motivated by such distinct goals. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to establ...

Background. The Psychology Experiment Building Language (PEBL) software consists of over one-hundred computerized tests based on classic cognitive neuropsychology and behavioral neurology measures. Although the PEBL tests are becoming more widely utilized, there is currently very limited information about the psychometric properties of these measur...

When reading, proficient bilinguals seem to engage the same cognitive circuits regardless of the language in use. Yet, whether or not such "bilingual" mechanisms would be lateralized in the same way in distinct - single or dual - language contexts is a question for debate. To fill this gap, we tested 18 highly proficient Polish (L1) - English (L2)...

The control of gesture is one of the most left-lateralized functions, and the insular cortex is one of the most left-biased structures in the human brain. Therefore, we investigated whether structural asymmetries of the insula are linked to the organization of functional activity during gesture planning. We reconstructed and parcellated the insular...

Although current neuroscience and behavioral studies provide substantial understanding of tool representations (e.g., the processing of tool-­related affordances) in the human brain, most of this knowledge is limited to right-handed individuals with typical organization of cognitive and manual skills. Therefore, any insights from these lines of res...

Neuropsychological evidence suggests the existence of independent representations for functional grasp and tool use. This idea was tested using fMRI in 16 right-handed participants who planned and executed a functionally-appropriate pantomimed grasp of a tool (vs. a non-tool control object), and simulated the use of a tool (vs. a control manual tas...

Right-handers demonstrate a partial dissociation of areas involved in the control of functional grasp and tool use. We tested whether or not a similar effect could be also observed in left-handed individuals. Sixteen participants were tested using fMRI during planning and execution of a functionally-appropriate pantomimed grasp of a tool (vs. non-t...

When planning function-appropriate grasping actions with their right hands, right-handers show left-lateralized cerebral activity in caudal temporal, inferior parietal, and middle frontal cortices, especially when demanding visuomotor transformations are required. We investigated whether or not similar asymmetries are evident when such actions are...

The ability to decide which of the two stimuli is presented first can be probed using a temporal order judgment (TOJ) task. When the stimuli are delivered to the fingers, TOJ decisions can be confounded by the fact that the hands can be moved to different locations in space. How and where this confounded information is processed in the brain is poo...

Although the control of meaningful gestures is one of the most left-lateralized functions, the relative contribution of the two hemispheres to their processing is still debated. We tested the effects of primes appearing in the left or right visual field in the form of pictures (Experiment 1), and words (Experiment 2) on categorization of movies sho...

The present study consisted of two experiments. The goal of the first experiment was to establish the just noticeable differences for the fundamental frequency of the vowel /u/ by using the 2AFC method. We obtained the threshold value for 27 cents. This value is larger than the motor reaction values which had been observed in previous experiments (...

Neuroimaging evidence from right-handers indicates that planning transitive and intransitive gestures engages a common left-lateralized parieto-frontal network. Current work also suggests that a common system mediates these skills in left-handers. Although recent clinical data reveal cases of selective, task-dependent dissociations between the cont...

4.1 Introduction Imagine yourself picking up little stones during a relaxing walk on the seaside. Although pretty much effortless, grasping of a pebble on a sandy beach is quite a feat from the point of view of the neural processing involved. After all, even during such a simple visuomotor task the brain has to localize and identify the desired tar...

In the majority of humans, the left hemisphere of the brain plays a decisive role both in the control of language and skilled manual gestures. Moreover, in right-handed people, the left-hemispheric regions of the cerebral cortex control the actions of the hand and fingers of the dominant limb, including reaching movements towards targets, grasping,...

The supplementary motor area (SMA) is involved in planning limb movements. An important component of such planning is the prediction of the sensory consequences of action. The authors used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to probe the contribution of SMA to motor planning during a predictive load-bearing task. Single TMS pulses were delivere...

Humans typically show left-hemisphere dominance both for language and manual gestures. If this reflects a dependence of these behaviors on a common cerebral specialization, then healthy left-handers with atypical organization of language should show a similar pattern for gesture. Consistent with this hypothesis, we report fMRI data indicating that...

Recently we reported the case of MB, a young man showing improved residual visual processing in his blind (upper left) field when he placed his ipsilateral hand near the target object. We argued that placing the hand near the target allowed the target to fall within the receptive field of visual-tactile bimodal cells linked to the hand, and that th...

We tested the effects of different face displays — the illusory face, and its normal and hollow counterparts — on the perception of target position and the control of target-directed flicking. Methods. 8 right-handed participants (1) estimated with a paper-based method, and with slow pointing movements, the perceived location of a small target pres...

Ren et al. (J Neurophysiol 96:1464-1477, 2006) found that saccades to visual targets became less accurate when somatosensory information about hand location was added, suggesting that saccades rely mainly on vision. We conducted two kinematic experiments to examine whether or not reaching movements would also show such strong reliance on vision. In...

Evidence from neuropsychology and neuroimaging implicates parietal and frontal areas of the left cerebral hemisphere in the representation of skills involving the use of tools and other artifacts. On the basis of neuropsychological data, it has been claimed that 1) independent mechanisms within the left hemisphere may support the representation of...

We tested whether the control of real actions in an ever-changing environment would show any dependence on prior actions elicited by instructional cues a few seconds before. To this end, adaptation of the functional magnetic resonance imaging signal was measured while human participants sequentially grasped three-dimensional objects in an event-rel...

Bimodal visual-tactile neurons respond to visual and/or tactile stimuli presented near the hands, arms, and face. The strength of bimodal-cell response to a visual stimulus depends on its proximity to the hand. We tested the hypothesis that hand proximity to a visual stimulus would influence unconscious residual vision in the blind field. MB is a 2...

Objective: The purpose of our study was to learn how two different components of lexical-semantic (naming and associative categorization) are altered in probable Alzheimer´s disease (AD) and aging. Fifteen patients and eighteen healthy elderly (66-88 yeards old, who perform normally on the MMSE ), participate in the study. Both, patients and contro...

It is generally accepted that vision first evolved for the distal control of movement and that perception or 'representational' vision emerged much later. Vision-for-action operates in real time and uses egocentric frames of reference and the real metrics of the world. Vision-for-perception can operate over longer time scales and is much more scene...

Given that studying neural bases of actions is very challenging with fMRI, numerous experiments have used pantomimed actions as a proxy to studying neural circuits of real actions. However, the underlying assumption that the same neural mechanisms mediate real and pantomimed actions has never been directly tested. Moreover, the assumption is called...

In the three experiments reported here, we systematically investigated when and/or how prior semantic information about a target-object would affect the programming and execution of grasping movements. A name-length association was first created during a practice phase while participants performed one of the three tasks: grasping, naming, or manual...

We examined how the precision of ballistic reaching movements was affected by the availability of visual and proprioceptive information. Twelve right-handed subjects made reaching movements with the index finger of their right hand either to an external target or to the fingertip of their left hand (body target), which had been passively moved to t...

It has been suggested that there are two separate visual streams in the human cerebral cortex: a ventral pathway that provides perceptual representations of the world and serves as a platform for cognitive operations, and a dorsal pathway that transforms visual information for the control of motor acts. Evidence for this distinction comes from neur...

Recent advances in the study of visual cognition and consciousness have dealt primarily with steady-state properties of visual processing, with little attention to its dynamic aspects. The First Half Second brings together for the first time the latest research on the dynamics of conscious and unconscious processing of visual information, examining...

Bimodal visual-tactile neurons, located in the putamen, ventral premotor cortex, and posterior parietal cortex, respond both to visual and tactile stimuli presented near the hands, arms, and face. Single-cell recordings have shown that hand proximity to the visual stimulus determines the degree to which bimodal cells respond. We tested the hypothes...

More than a decade ago, Goodale and Milner proposed that our perceptual experience of the world depends on visual processing that is fundamentally distinct from that mediating the moment-to-moment visual control of our actions. They mapped this distinction between vision-for-perception and vision-for-action onto the two prominent visual pathways th...