Current knowledge regarding the processing of observed manipulative actions (OMAs) (e.g., grasping, dragging, or dropping)
is limited to grasping and underlying neural circuitry remains controversial. Here, we addressed these issues by combining
chronic neuronal recordings along the anteroposterior extent of monkeys\u2019 anterior intraparietal (AIP) area with tracer
injections into the recorded sites. We found robust neural selectivity for 7 distinct OMAs, particularly in the posterior part of
AIP (pAIP), where it was associated with motor coding of grip type and own-hand visual feedback. This cluster of functional
properties appears to be specifically grounded in stronger direct connections of pAIP with the temporal regions of the
ventral visual stream and the prefrontal cortex, as connections with skeletomotor related areas and regions of the dorsal
visual stream exhibited opposite or no rostrocaudal gradients. Temporal and prefrontal areas may provide visual and
contextual information relevant for manipulative action processing. These results revise existing models of the action
observation network, suggesting that pAIP constitutes a parietal hub for routing information about OMA identity to the
other nodes of the network