Mirror neurons

@article{Keysers2009MirrorN,
  title={Mirror neurons},
  author={Christian Keysers},
  journal={Current Biology},
  year={2009},
  volume={19},
  pages={R971-R973}
}
  • C. Keysers
  • Published 17 November 2009
  • Medicine
  • Current Biology
The term mirror neurons originally referred to neurons in the ventral premotor cortex of macaque monkeys (area F5, Figure 1a) that have the particularity of responding both when the monkey performs a particular action (e.g., grasping a peanut) and when the monkey perceives another individual performing a similar action. More recently the term mirror has been extended to areas of the human brain that have similar properties. Mirror neurons may explain a large number of social cognitive functions… 
View on Elsevier
cell.com
168 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
10
Background Citations
92
Methods Citations
12
Results Citations
8

168 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Mirror Neurons in a New World Monkey, Common Marmoset
TLDR
The finding that neurons in the ventrolateral frontal cortex with characteristic “mirror” properties quite similar to those in macaques are found suggests that mirror neurons occur in a common ancestor of New and Old World monkeys and its common properties are preserved during the course of primate evolution.
Space-Dependent Representation of Objects and Other's Action in Monkey Ventral Premotor Grasping Neurons
TLDR
Interestingly, canonical-mirror neurons appear to code object as target for both one's own and other's action, suggesting that they could play a role in predictive representation of others' impending actions.
Mirror neurons: from origin to function.
TLDR
It is argued that mirror neurons are forged by domain-general processes of associative learning in the course of individual development, and, although they may have psychological functions, they do not necessarily have a specific evolutionary purpose or adaptive function.
Does dysfunction of the mirror neuron system contribute to symptoms in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?
TLDR
The origin, cortical distribution and possible functions of mirror neurons are discussed as a background to exploring their potential relevance in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Cortical Motor Organization, Mirror Neurons, and Embodied Language: An Evolutionary Perspective
The recent conceptual achievement that the cortical motor system plays a crucial role not only in motor control but also in higher cognitive functions has given a new perspective also on the…
Grasping actions and social interaction: neural bases and anatomical circuitry in the monkey
TLDR
This review describes the anatomical structure of the motor cortex in the monkey and the cortical and sub-cortical connections of the different motor areas, and describes the mirror mechanism, which relies on a more extended network than previously thought, and possibly subserves basic social functions.
What Neuromodulation and Lesion studies tell us about the function of the mirror neuron system and embodied cognition
TLDR
Neuromodulation and lesion studies that address how activations in the mirror neuron system contribute to the authors' perception of observed actions are reviewed, suggesting embodied representations are somatosensory-motor.
Multisynaptic Projections from the Amygdala to the Ventral Premotor Cortex in Macaque Monkeys: Anatomical Substrate for Feeding Behavior
TLDR
The amygdalar origin and possible route of multisynaptic projections to PMv in macaque monkeys are identified and it is revealed that PMv receives disynaptic input primarily from the basal nucleus, especially from its intermediate subdivision.
The plasticity of the mirror system: How reward learning modulates cortical motor simulation of others
TLDR
Alpha/beta mu suppression in response to rewarding faces was found to be greater than for non-rewarding faces, providing a mechanistic insight into the plasticity of the MNS and, more generally, into the role of reward in modulating physiological responses linked to empathy.
Neural mirroring systems: Exploring the EEG mu rhythm in human infancy
TLDR
Electroencephalographic techniques for assessing mu rhythm desynchronization in infancy are focused on, and how this work illuminates the links between action perception and production prior to the onset of language is analyzed.
...
1
2
3
4
5
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 20 REFERENCES
Language within our grasp
TLDR
It is proposed here that an observation/execution matching system provides a necessary bridge from'doing' to'communicating', as the link between actor and observer becomes a link between the sender and the receiver of each message.
I Know What You Are Doing A Neurophysiological Study
TLDR
The present findings support the hypothesis that mirror neuron activation could be at the basis of action recognition and imply that the motor representation of an action performed by others can be internally generated in the observer's premotor cortex, even when a visual description of the action is lacking.
Action recognition in the premotor cortex.
TLDR
It is proposed that mirror neurons form a system for matching observation and execution of motor actions, similar to that of mirror neurons exists in humans and could be involved in recognition of actions as well as phonetic gestures.
Understanding motor events: a neurophysiological study
TLDR
It is reported here that many neurons of the rostral part of inferior premotor cortex of the monkey discharge during goal-directed hand movements such as grasping, holding, and tearing, which indicates that premotor neurons can retrieve movements not only on the basis of stimulus characteristics, but also on the based of the meaning of the observed actions.
Mirror neurons and the simulation theory of mind-reading
TLDR
The activity of mirror neurons, and the fact that observers undergo motor facilitation in the same muscular groups as those utilized by target agents, are findings that accord well with simulation theory but would not be predicted by theory theory.
Audiovisual mirror neurons and action recognition
TLDR
A population of neurons in the ventral premotor cortex of the monkey that discharge both when the animal performs a specific action and when it hears or sees the same action performed by another individual are described.
Hearing Sounds, Understanding Actions: Action Representation in Mirror Neurons
TLDR
This work found neurons in monkey premotor cortex that discharge when the animal performs a specific action and when it hears the related sound, and this discovery in the monkey homolog of Broca's area might shed light on the origin of language.
Cortical mechanisms of human imitation.
TLDR
Two areas with activation properties that become active during finger movement, regardless of how it is evoked, and their activation should increase when the same movement is elicited by the observation of an identical movement made by another individual are found.
The Cortical Motor System
TLDR
It is submitted that generating internal representations of actions is central to cortical motor function and external contingencies and motivational factors determine then whether these action representations are transformed into actual actions.
Action observation activates premotor and parietal areas in a somatotopic manner: an fMRI study
TLDR
Results bring the previous concept of an action observation/execution matching system (mirror system) into a broader perspective: this system is not restricted to the ventral premotor cortex, but involves several somatotopically organized motor circuits.
...
1
2
...