Unconvincing support for role of mirror neurons in "action understanding": commentary on Michael et al. (2014).

Caroline Catmur

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00553

Abstract

Unconvincing support for role of mirror neurons in "action understanding": commentary on Michael et al. (2014).

Highlights

Mirror neurons, firing when an action is performed and when the same action is perceived, have been the source of both excitement and controversy since their discovery (Di Pellegrino et al, 1992)
There is some evidence for a mirror neuron contribution to action perception, but little to support their involvement in a higherlevel process of “action understanding”
Michael et al (2014) addressed the twin questions of whether mirror neuron areas are involved in a process that might be termed “action understanding,” and whether this process corresponds to action perception or to something more akin to goal identification or computation of intentions

Summary

Introduction

Mirror neurons, firing when an action is performed and when the same action is perceived, have been the source of both excitement and controversy since their discovery (Di Pellegrino et al, 1992). As we have recently discussed (Cook et al, 2014), the term “action understanding” has not been clearly defined, and has been used to refer to various different psychological processes, including action perception (Saygin et al, 2004); identification of the goal of an action (Rizzolatti and Fabbri-Destro, 2008); and the computation of an actor’s intentions in a particular context (Fogassi et al, 2005).

Results

Conclusion