Relationship between Activity in Human Primary Motor Cortex during Action Observation and the Mirror Neuron System

Objective. To evaluate the concurrent and training effects of action observation (AO) and action execution with mirror visual feedback (MVF) on the activation of the mirror neuron system (MNS) and its relationship with the activation of the motor cortex in stroke individuals. Methods. A literature search using CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, Medline, Web of Science, and SCOPUS to find relevant studies was performed. Results. A total of 19 articles were included. Two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies reported that MVF could activate the ipsilesional primary motor cortex as well as the MNS in stroke individuals, whereas two other fMRI studies found that the MNS was not activated by MVF in stroke individuals. Two clinical trials reported that long-term action execution with MVF induced a shift of activation toward the ipsilesional hemisphere. Five fMRI studies showed that AO activated the MNS, of which, three found the activation of movement-related areas. Five electroencephalography (EEG) studies demonstrated that AO or MVF enhanced mu suppression over the sensorimotor cortex. Conclusions. MVF may contribute to stroke recovery by revising the interhemispheric imbalance caused by stroke due to the activation of the MNS. AO may also promote motor relearning in stroke individuals by activating the MNS and motor cortex.

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Manifest disease and motor cortex reactivity in twins discordant for schizophrenia

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.bp.106.024604 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 191 (2) ◽

pp. 178-179 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Martin Schürmann ◽

Juha Järveläinen ◽

Sari Avikainen ◽

Tyrone D. Cannon ◽

Jouko Lönnqvist ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Motor Cortex ◽

Mirror Neuron System ◽

Action Observation ◽

Mirror Neuron ◽

Motor Cognition ◽

Neuron System ◽

Induced Changes

SummarySchizophrenia is often associated with difficulties in distinguishing between actions of self and of others. This could reflect dysfunction of the mirror neuron system which directly matches observed and executed actions. We studied 11 people with schizophrenia and their co-twins without manifest disease, using stimulus-induced changes in the magnetoencephalographic $20 Hz rhythm as an index of activation in the motor cortex part of the mirror neuron system. During action observation and execution, motor cortex reaction was weaker in those with schizophrenia than in their co-twins, suggesting a disease-related dysfunction of motor cognition.

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Mirror-neuron system recruitment by action observation: Effects of focal brain damage on mu suppression

NeuroImage ◽

10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.10.019 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 87 ◽

pp. 127-137 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Silvi Frenkel-Toledo ◽

Shlomo Bentin ◽

Anat Perry ◽

Dario G. Liebermann ◽

Nachum Soroker

Keyword(s):

Brain Damage ◽

Mirror Neuron System ◽

Action Observation ◽

Mirror Neuron ◽

Neuron System ◽

Mu Suppression

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Mirror Neuron System Activation in Children With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy During Observation of Actions Performed by a Pathological Model

Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair ◽

10.1177/1545968319847964 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (6) ◽

pp. 419-431 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Antonino Errante ◽

Giuseppe Di Cesare ◽

Chiara Pinardi ◽

Fabrizio Fasano ◽

Silvia Sghedoni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Mirror Neuron System ◽

Action Observation ◽

Mirror Neuron ◽

Region Of Interest ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Neuron System ◽

Important Region ◽

Pathological Model ◽

Unilateral Cerebral Palsy

Background. Recent evidence suggested that Action Observation Therapy (AOT), based on observation of actions followed by immediate reproduction, could be a useful rehabilitative strategy for promoting functional recovery of children affected by unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP). AOT most likely exploits properties of the parieto-premotor mirror neuron system (MNS). This is more intensely activated when participants observe actions belonging to their own motor repertoire. Objective. The aim of the present study was to investigate the issue of whether MNS of UCP children is better activated by actions performed by a paretic hand rather than a healthy one. Methods. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we assessed brain activation in a homogeneous group of 10 right UCP children compared with that of 10 right-handed typically developing (TD) children, during observation of grasping actions performed by a healthy or a paretic hand. Results. The results revealed a significant activation within the MNS in both UCP and TD children, more lateralized to the left hemisphere in the TD group. Most important, region of interest (ROI) analysis on parietal and premotor regions showed that, in UCP, the MNS was more strongly activated by observation of actions performed by the paretic hand, a motor model more similar to the observer’s motor repertoire. Conclusions. This study shows that children affected by spastic UCP exhibit enhanced activation of the MNS during observation of goal-directed actions performed by a pathological model with respect to a healthy one.

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Differential mirror neuron system (MNS) activation during action observation with and without social-emotional components in autism: a meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies

Molecular Autism ◽

10.1186/s13229-020-00374-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Melody M. Y. Chan ◽

Yvonne M. Y. Han

Keyword(s):

Mirror Neuron System ◽

Action Observation ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Mirror Neuron ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Activation Patterns ◽

Neuron System ◽

The Right

Abstract Background Impaired imitation has been found to be an important factor contributing to social communication deficits in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It has been hypothesized that the neural correlate of imitation, the mirror neuron system (MNS), is dysfunctional in ASD, resulting in imitation impairment as one of the key behavioral manifestations in ASD. Previous MNS studies produced inconsistent results, leaving the debate of whether “broken” mirror neurons in ASD are unresolved. Methods This meta-analysis aimed to explore the differences in MNS activation patterns between typically developing (TD) and ASD individuals when they observe biological motions with or without social-emotional components. Effect size signed differential mapping (ES-SDM) was adopted to synthesize the available fMRI data. Results ES-SDM analysis revealed hyperactivation in the right inferior frontal gyrus and left supplementary motor area in ASD during observation of biological motions. Subgroup analysis of experiments involving the observation of stimuli with or without emotional component revealed hyperactivation in the left inferior parietal lobule and left supplementary motor during action observation without emotional components, whereas hyperactivation of the right inferior frontal gyrus was found during action observation with emotional components in ASD. Subgroup analyses of age showed hyperactivation of the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus in ASD adolescents, while hyperactivation in the right inferior frontal gyrus was noted in ASD adults. Meta-regression within ASD individuals indicated that the right cerebellum crus I activation increased with age, while the left inferior temporal gyrus activation decreased with age. Limitations This meta-analysis is limited in its generalization of the findings to individuals with ASD by the restricted age range, heterogeneous study sample, and the large within-group variation in MNS activation patterns during object observation. Furthermore, we only included action observation studies which might limit the generalization of our results to the imitation deficits in ASD. In addition, the relatively small sample size for individual studies might also potentially overestimate the effect sizes. Conclusion The MNS is impaired in ASD. The abnormal activation patterns were found to be modulated by the nature of stimuli and age, which might explain the contradictory results from earlier studies on the “broken mirror neuron” debate.

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Corticospinal mirror neurons

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2013.0174 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 369 (1644) ◽

pp. 20130174 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

A. Kraskov ◽

R. Philipp ◽

S. Waldert ◽

G. Vigneswaran ◽

M. M. Quallo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mirror Neurons ◽

Primary Motor Cortex ◽

Mirror Neuron System ◽

Action Observation ◽

Premotor Cortex ◽

Mirror Neuron ◽

Considerable Proportion ◽

Emg Activity ◽

Cortex Area ◽

Similar Range

Here, we report the properties of neurons with mirror-like characteristics that were identified as pyramidal tract neurons (PTNs) and recorded in the ventral premotor cortex (area F5) and primary motor cortex (M1) of three macaque monkeys. We analysed the neurons’ discharge while the monkeys performed active grasp of either food or an object, and also while they observed an experimenter carrying out a similar range of grasps. A considerable proportion of tested PTNs showed clear mirror-like properties (52% F5 and 58% M1). Some PTNs exhibited ‘classical’ mirror neuron properties, increasing activity for both execution and observation, while others decreased their discharge during observation (‘suppression mirror-neurons’). These experiments not only demonstrate the existence of PTNs as mirror neurons in M1, but also reveal some interesting differences between M1 and F5 mirror PTNs. Although observation-related changes in the discharge of PTNs must reach the spinal cord and will include some direct projections to motoneurons supplying grasping muscles, there was no EMG activity in these muscles during action observation. We suggest that the mirror neuron system is involved in the withholding of unwanted movement during action observation. Mirror neurons are differentially recruited in the behaviour that switches rapidly between making your own movements and observing those of others.

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Involvement of the mirror neuron system and the mentalizing system during communicative gesture production: a meta-analysis

10.7287/peerj.preprints.1975v1 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Jie Yang

Keyword(s):

Primary Motor Cortex ◽

Mirror Neuron System ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Premotor Cortex ◽

Mirror Neuron ◽

Mental States ◽

Neuron System ◽

Motor Representations ◽

Gesture Production ◽

Mentalizing System

Background. Hand gestures play an important role in face-to-face communication. Although studies have shown that the mirror neuron system and the mentalizing system are involved in gesture comprehension, evidence of how the two systems are activated during gesture production is scattered and the conclusion is unclear. Methods. To address this issue, the current meta-analysis used activation likelihood estimation (ALE) method to quantitatively summarize the results of previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on communicative gesture production. Eight studies were selected based on several criteria (e.g., using fMRI technique, involving healthy adults, using gesture production tasks, conducting whole-brain analysis, and reporting activation foci in the MNI or Talairach space). ALE was conducted to calculate the overall brain effects for gesture production, and subsequently the brain effects for gesture execution, planning, and imitation. Results. The meta-analysis results showed that overall both systems (inferior parietal lobule and medial cortical structures) were involved in gesture production. Further analyses indicated that the mirror neuron system and the primary motor cortex were selectively involved in gesture execution, whereas the menalizing system and the premotor cortex were selectively involved in gesture planning. In gesture imitation, significant effects were found in both systems. Discussion. These results suggest that the mirror neuron system and the mentalizing system play different roles during gesture production. The former may be involved in the processes that require the mapping between observed actions and motor representations or the retrieval of motor representations; whereas the later may be involved when the production tasks require understanding others’ mental states.

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Differential Mirror Neuron System (MNS) Activation During Action Observation with and without Social-Emotional Components in Autism: A Meta-Analysis of Neuroimaging Studies

10.21203/rs.2.23748/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Melody M.Y. Chan ◽

Yvonne M.Y. Han

Keyword(s):

Mirror Neuron System ◽

Action Observation ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Mirror Neuron ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Activation Patterns ◽

Neuron System ◽

The Right

Abstract Background Impaired imitation has been found to be an important factor contributing to social communication deficits in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It has been hypothesized that the neural correlate of imitation, the mirror neuron system (MNS), is dysfunctional in ASD, resulting in imitation impairment as one of the key behavioral manifestations in ASD. Previous MNS studies produced inconsistent results, leaving the debate of whether mirror neurons are “broken” in ASD unresolved. Methods This meta-analysis aimed to explore the differences in MNS activation patterns between typically developing (TD) and ASD individuals when they observe biological motions with or without social-emotional components. Effect-size signed differential mapping (ES-SDM) was adopted to synthesize the available fMRI data. Results ES-SDM analysis revealed hyperactivation in the right inferior frontal gyrus and left supplementary motor area in ASD during observation of biological motions. Subgroup analysis of experiments involving the observation of stimuli with or without emotional component revealed hyperactivation in the left inferior parietal lobule and left supplementary motor during action observation without emotional components, whereas hyperactivation of right inferior frontal gyrus was found during action observation with emotional components in ASD. Subgroup analyses of age showed hyperactivation of bilateral inferior frontal gyrus in ASD adolescents, while hyperactivation in the right inferior frontal gyrus was noted in ASD adults. Meta-regression within ASD individuals indicated that right cerebellum crus I activation increased with age, while left inferior temporal gyrus activation decreased with age. Limitations This meta-analysis is limited in its generalization of the findings to individuals with ASD by the restricted age range, heterogeneous study sample, and the large within-group variation in MNS activation patterns during object observation. Furthermore, we only included action observation studies which might limit the generalization of our results to the imitation deficits in ASD. In addition, the relatively small sample size for individual studies might also potentially overestimate the effect sizes. Conclusion The MNS is impaired in ASD. The abnormal activation patterns were found to be modulated by the nature of stimuli and age, which might explain the contradictory results from earlier studies on the “broken mirror neuron” debate.

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