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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 19, 2026

Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another

Using Virtual Reality to Transfer Motor Skill Knowledge from One Hand to Another

Published on: September 18, 2017

Sensorimotor training alters action understanding.

Caroline Catmur¹, Emma L Thompson², Orianna Bairaktari³

¹Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE1 1UL, UK; Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK.

|November 6, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Sensorimotor learning, not mirror neurons, may underpin action understanding. Counter-mirror training impaired participants

Keywords:

Action understanding Mirror neuron Motor system Sensorimotor learning Social cognition

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Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

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Published on: December 31, 2013

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Social Cognition
Motor Control

Background:

Mirror neurons and motor processes are hypothesized to be crucial for understanding others' actions.
An alternative view suggests motor activation during action observation arises from sensorimotor learning.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether sensorimotor learning influences the ability to understand observed actions.
To test the functional role of sensorimotor training on action understanding.

Main Methods:

Participants underwent 'counter-mirror' sensorimotor training (lifting heavy while observing light, and vice-versa).
Action understanding was assessed by judging box-lifting weights before and after training.
A control group and a duration judgment task were used for comparison.

Main Results:

Counter-mirror sensorimotor training significantly impaired participants' ability to understand actions.
The effect was specific to action understanding, as duration judgment remained unaffected.
Control group performance did not show significant changes.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest that the capacity for action understanding is a product of sensorimotor learning.
This challenges the view that mirror neuron-like properties are the primary basis for action understanding.
Sensorimotor adaptation plays a critical role in interpreting the actions of others.