Abstract
Mirror neurons are a class of motor neuron that are active during both the performance and observation of behavior, and have been implicated in interpersonal understanding. There is evidence to suggest that the mirror response is modulated by the perspective from which an action is presented (e.g., egocentric or allocentric). Most human research, however, has only examined this when presenting intransitive actions. Twenty-three healthy adult participants completed a transcranial magnetic stimulation experiment that assessed corticospinal excitability whilst viewing transitive hand gestures from both egocentric (i.e., self) and allocentric (i.e., other) viewpoints. Although action observation was associated with increases in corticospinal excitability (reflecting putative human mirror neuron activity), there was no effect of visual perspective. These findings are discussed in the context of contemporary theories of mirror neuron ontogeny, including models concerning associative learning and evolutionary adaptation.
Highlights
Mirror neurons are a class of motor neuron that are active during both the performance and observation of behavior
Action observation was associated with increases in corticospinal excitability, there was no effect of visual perspective
A one-sample t-test for action observation conditions combined revealed a significant increase above 100% (M = 105.98, SD = 13.60), t(22) = 2.11, p = 0.047, suggesting that, consistent with previous research, action observation produced the expected increase in corticospinal excitability (CSE) above static hand observation
Summary
Mirror neurons are a class of motor neuron that are active during both the performance and observation of behavior. It has been widely suggested that the MNS facilitates action understanding and other aspects of social cognition. This has been labeled the “adaptation model” of the MNS, as it suggests that mirror neurons have been selected for throughout evolution because they confer a survival and reproductive advantage (e.g., recognition of negative emotions including fear and disgust, development of interpersonal relations, child rearing, formation of complex social systems) (Gallese and Goldman, 1998; Rizzolatti et al, 2001; Meltzoff and Decety, 2003; Rizzolatti and Craighero, 2004; Bertenthal and Longo, 2007; Lepage and Theoret, 2007; Heyes, 2010).
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