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Updated: Jun 13, 2026
09:49
Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
Published on: April 16, 2014
Action knowledge, visuomotor activation, and embodiment in the two action systems
Laurel J Buxbaum1, Solène Kalénine
1Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19141, USA. lbuxbaum@einstein.edu
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|April 16, 2010
Summary
Mirror neurons are not essential for action understanding in humans. Only function-based actions, not structure-based ones, contribute to embodied object concepts, according to the Two Action Systems account.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Embodied Cognition
- Action Representation
Background:
- Growing scientific interest in cognition-action links, driven by mirror neuron discovery and embodied cognition.
- The Two Action Systems account differentiates structure- and function-based actions.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the relationship between action production and recognition representations.
- Examine the role of action in object representations within embodied cognition.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Two Action Systems account as a guiding neuroanatomic model.
- Focused on key issues: action production/recognition and action's role in object concepts.
Main Results:
- Mirror neurons in humans are not critical for complete action understanding.
- Only function-based actions, not structure-based actions, are part of embodied object concepts.
Conclusions:
- Revises the role of mirror neurons in human action understanding.
- Clarifies the contribution of different action types to embodied object representations.
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