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Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation
Published on: December 31, 2013
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Monkey gaze behaviour during action observation and its relationship to mirror neuron activity
Monica Maranesi1, Francesca Ugolotti Serventi, Stefania Bruni
1Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Brain Center for Social and Motor Cognition (BCSMC), via Volturno 39, 43125, Parma, Italy.
The European Journal of Neuroscience
|October 15, 2013
Summary
Mirror neurons (MNs) in the premotor cortex link action observation to motor representations. This study shows MN activity correlates with gaze, suggesting they guide proactive eye movements during action observation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Primate Cognition
- Action Observation
Background:
- Mirror neurons (MNs) in monkey ventral premotor cortex (area F5) map observed actions to motor representations.
- Human studies suggest motor representations guide proactive eye movements during action observation.
- The relationship between gaze behavior and MN activity remains unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between gaze behavior and F5 MN activity in macaques.
- To determine if MNs influence proactive eye movements during action observation.
Main Methods:
- Simultaneous recording of eye position and F5 MN activity in two macaques.
- Free observation of a grasping action by an experimenter.
- Analysis of MN firing rates in relation to gaze parameters (timing, duration, proactivity).
Main Results:
- Over half of recorded MNs showed increased firing when the monkey observed the action.
- MN firing was better predicted by the timing ('when') of gaze at the hand-target interaction site.
- MN responses were linked to the experimenter's movement onset, suggesting a role in guiding eye movements.
- MNs fired more strongly and earlier with proactive compared to reactive gaze.
Conclusions:
- Gaze behavior significantly influences MN activity.
- MNs may use feedforward representations of observed actions to initiate proactive eye movements.
- Eye movements, guided by MNs, could provide feedback to enhance motor system representations of ongoing actions.
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