Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation
Published on: December 31, 2013
Cortical activity during the recognition of cooperative actions
Hiroshi Shibata1, Miho Suzuki, Jiro Gyoba
1Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. hshibata@sal.tohoku.ac.jp
Abstract:
We investigated brain activity during the recognition of cooperative actions between two persons. Participants were requested to observe movie clips in which one person received an object passed by another person and to rate the appropriateness of the hand-motion patterns of the receiver. The relative oxyhaemoglobin concentrations in the regions that are considered to be involved in the mirror neuron system (the inferior frontal and precentral areas) were measured by 24-channel near-infrared spectroscopy. The results revealed that the relative oxyhaemoglobin concentration increased to a greater extent during the observation of appropriate receiving actions than during the observation of inappropriate ones. These results suggest that the mirror neuron system is involved in the comprehension of cooperative actions.
Related Concept Videos
Association Areas of the Cortex
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...
Nonconscious Mimicry
Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior
Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex
Cooperative Allosteric Transitions
Cooperative Allosteric Transitions

