Sensorimotor EEG Rhythms During Action Observation and Passive Mirror-Box Illusion

Abstract

The mirror therapy and the action observation therapy are widely used post-stroke rehabilitation techniques. Both action observation (AO) and the mirror feedback (MF) lead to the activation of the motor and sensorimotor areas, but differences in the mechanisms of their impact on the motor cortex remain unknown. To investigate that the EEG was used to study the sensorimotor rhythms dynamic of 25 healthy participants during AO and mirror illusion with the passive right-hand movement. Functional electrical stimulation was used to perform involuntary movements. We found a significant increase in beta-desynchronization during the third-person AO in both hemispheres, whereas mirror illusion observation led to the beta-synchronization decrease. Our results suggest that AO and MF lead to the motor-cortex activation through different neural networks. Beta-desynchronization is likely to reflect the sensorimotor cortex activity, while the MF, in contrast to AO, affects the motor and premotor cortices.