Abstract
Mirror neurons were discovered over twenty years ago in the ventral premotor region F5 of the macaque monkey. Since their discovery much has been written about these neurons, both in the scientific literature and in the popular press. They have been proposed to be the neuronal substrate underlying a vast array of different functions. Indeed so much has been written about mirror neurons that last year they were referred to, rightly or wrongly, as “The most hyped concept in neuroscience”. Here we try to cut through some of this hyperbole and review what is currently known (and not known) about mirror neurons.
Highlights
Mirror neurons are a class of neuron that modulate their activity both when an individual executes a specific motor act and when they observe the same or similar act performed by another individual
This study reported that 34.7% (105/303) of the neurons recorded in M1 were directionally tuned during both action execution and action observation
Mirror Neurons in Other Regions Above, we have described the results of studies reporting mirror neurons in ventral premotor cortex, dorsal premotor cortex, primary motor cortex and inferior parietal lobule
Summary
Mirror neurons were discovered over twenty years ago in the ventral premotor region F5 of the macaque monkey. Since their discovery much has been written about these neurons, both in the scientific literature and in the popular press. They have been proposed to be the neuronal substrate underlying a vast array of different functions. Much has been written about mirror neurons that last year they were referred to, rightly or wrongly, as ‘‘The most hyped concept in neuroscience’’. We try to cut through some of this hyperbole and review what is currently known (and not known) about mirror neurons
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