Antonia F. de C. Hamilton

University of Nottingham, Dartmouth College, University College London

Papers

Total Citations

470

H-Index

About

Antonia F. de C. Hamilton is a leading cognitive neuroscientist whose research sits at the intersection of social cognition, action observation, and human-robot interaction. Her work has fundamentally shaped our understanding of how the human brain processes and responds to biological motion. Her highly cited 2011 paper (199 citations) demonstrated that robotic movement preferentially engages the action observation network (AON), revealing the neural basis for our sensitivity to human-like motion. Earlier, her 2007 study (161 citations) identified that the velocity profile of biological movement—not just the presence of a human form—triggers interference effects on our own actions, a key insight into motor resonance. Hamilton has also explored the social perception of animacy, reviewing how stimulus and knowledge cues shape our expectations for robots versus humans (103 citations). Her most recent work (2023) breaks new ground by showing that human-like interactions can prompt people to take a robot’s perspective, a finding with profound implications for designing more intuitive human-robot interfaces. Across her career, Hamilton has illuminated the cognitive and neural mechanisms that allow us to connect with both human and artificial agents, making her a pivotal figure in social neuroscience and robotics.