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What is "mirror" in the premotor cortex? A review
1Institut Jean-Nicod, UMR 8129, EHESS, CNRS, département d'études cognitives, Ecole normale supérieure, 29 rue d'Ulm, Paris, France.
Neurophysiologie Clinique = Clinical Neurophysiology
|June 10, 2008
Summary
Observing actions with targets activates the ventral premotor cortex (BA 6), but not Broca's area (BA 44). This suggests the ventral premotor cortex, not BA 44, shares mirror neuron properties.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- The premotor cortex, encompassing Brodmann's areas 6 and 44, is involved in action observation.
- Functional differentiation within the premotor cortex during action observation remains an area of investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on premotor cortex activation during passive action observation.
- To investigate functional differentiation within the premotor cortex based on the presence or absence of action targets.
Main Methods:
- Meta-analysis of 24 fMRI studies examining premotor cortex (Brodmann's areas 6 and 44) activations.
- Comparison of brain activity during observation of biological actions with and without physical targets versus a control condition.
Main Results:
- Premotor cortex activations were consistently observed during passive action observation.
- Observing actions with physical targets significantly activated the ventral premotor cortex (BA 6) more than target-less actions or a no-action control.
- Broca's area (BA 44) activity was not modulated by the presence or absence of targets.
Conclusions:
- The ventral premotor cortex (BA 6) exhibits sensitivity to action targets during observation.
- The findings suggest that the ventral precentral gyrus, rather than BA 44, shares visual properties with macaque mirror neurons (area F5).
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