Abstract
According to the traditional view, the motor system of the cerebral cortex has the fundamental role of driving and controlling movement execution. However, the neurophysiological and anatomical data of the last thirty years demonstrated that the main task of the motor cortex is rather that of coding the motor goals. In fact, motor cortex contains a neural storage of motor representations that are used for the sensorimotor transformations necessary for performing goal-directed actions and, at the same time, code important cognitive functions such as space and object representation and recognition of others’ behaviour. In this chapter, it will be described first how space coding and object coding are represented in dedicated frontoparietal networks. Then, most of the chapter will be focused on the description of the functional properties of another frontoparietal network, the mirror neuron system. Firstly, the basic and the most recent characteristics of mirror neurons in the monkey will be presented. Secondly, the main features of the mirror neuron system in humans will be described. The last part of this chapter will be concentrated on two social cognitive functions based on the mirror neuron mechanism: imitation and understanding of others’ motor intentions.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander, G. E., & Crutcher, M. D. (1990). Neural representations of the target (goal) of visually guided arm movements in three motor areas of the monkey. Journal of Neurophysiology, 64, 164–178.
Andersen, R. A., & Buneo, C. A. (2002). Intentional maps in posterior parietal cortex. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 25, 189–220.
Bernstein, N. A. (1996). Dexterity and its development. New York, NY: Psychology Press, Taylor and Francis Group.
Bonini, L., Rozzi, S., Ugolotti Serventi, F., Simone, L., Ferrari, P. F., & Fogassi, L. (2010). Ventral premotor and inferior parietal cortices make distinct contribution to action organization and intention understanding. Cerebral Cortex, 20, 1372–1385.
Bonini, L., Maranesi, M., Livi, A., Fogassi, L., & Rizzolatti, G. (2014a). Space-dependent representation of objects and other’s action in monkey ventral premotor grasping neurons. Journal of Neuroscience, 34, 4108–4119.
Bonini, L., Maranesi, M., Livi, A., Fogassi, L., & Rizzolatti, G. (2014b). Ventral premotor neurons encoding representations of action during self and others’ inaction. Current Biology, 24, 1611–1614.
Buccino, G., Binkofski, F., Fink, G. R., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., Gallese, V., et al. (2001). Action observation activates premotor and parietal areas in a somatotopic manner: an fMRI study. European Journal of Neuroscience, 13, 400–404.
Buccino, G., Vogt, S., Ritzl, A., Fink, G. R., Zilles, K., Freund, H. J., et al. (2004). Neural circuits underlying imitation of hand actions: an event related fMRI study. Neuron, 42, 323–334.
Caggiano, V., Fogassi, L., Rizzolatti, G., Their, P., & Casile, A. (2009). Mirror neurons differentially encode the peripersonal and extrapersonal space of monkeys. Science, 324, 403–406.
Caggiano, V., Fogassi, L., Rizzolatti, G., Pomper, J. K., Their, P., Giese, M. A., et al. (2011). View-based encoding of actions in mirror neurons of area F5 in macaque premotor cortex. Current Biology, 21, 144–148.
Caspers, S., Zilles, K., Laird, A. R., & Eickhoff, S. B. (2010). ALE meta-analysis of action observation and imitation in the human brain. Neuroimage, 50, 1148–1167.
Chong, T. T., Cunnington, R., Williams, M. A., Kanwisher, N., & Mattingley, J. B. (2008). fMRI adaptation reveals mirror neurons in human inferior parietal cortex. Current Biology, 18, 1576–1580.
Dinstein, I., Hasson, U., Rubin, N., & Heeger, D. J. (2007). Brain areas selective for both observed and executed movements. Journal of Neurophysiology, 98, 1415–1427.
Duhamel, J. R., Colby, C. L., & Goldberg, M. E. (1998). Ventral intraparietal area of the macaque: Congruent visual and somatic response properties. Journal of Neurophysiology, 79, 126–136.
Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., Pavesi, G., & Rizzolatti, G. (1995). Motor facilitation during action observation: a magnetic stimulation study. Journal of Neurophysiology, 73, 2608–2611.
Ferrari, P. F., Gallese, V., Rizzolatti, G., & Fogassi, L. (2003). Mirror neurons responding to the observation of ingestive and communicative mouth actions in the monkey ventral premotor cortex. European Journal of Neuroscience, 17, 1703–1714.
Ferrari, P. F., Visalberghi, E., Paukner, A., Fogassi, L., Ruggiero, A., & Suomi, S. J. (2006). Neonatal imitation in rhesus macaques. PLoS Biology, 4, e302.
Ferrari, P. F., Vanderwert, R. E., Paukner, A., Bower, S., Suomi, S. J., & Fox, N. A. (2012). Distinct EEG amplitude suppression to facial gestures as evidence for a mirror mechanism in newborn monkeys. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 24, 1165–1172.
Fluet, M. C., Baumann, M. A., & Scherberger, H. (2010). Context-specific grasp movement representation in macaque ventral premotor cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 30, 15175–15184.
Fogassi, L., Gallese, V., Fadiga, L., Luppino, G., Matelli, M., & Rizzolatti, G. (1996). Coding of peripersonal space in inferior premotor cortex (area F4). Journal of Neurophysiology, 76, 141–157.
Fogassi, L., Ferrari, P. F., Gesierich, B., Rozzi, S., Chersi, F., & Rizzolatti, G. (2005). Parietal Lobe: From action organization to intention understanding. Science, 308, 662–667.
Gallese, V., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., & Rizzolatti, G. (1996). Action recognition in the premotor cortex. Brain, 119, 593–603.
Gallese, V., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., & Rizzolatti, G. (2002). Action representation and the inferior parietal lobule. In W. Prinz & B. Hommel (Eds.), Common mechanisms in perception and action: Attention and performance (pp. 334–355). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gazzola, V., & Keysers, C. (2009). The observation and execution of actions share motor and somatosensory voxels in all tested subjects: Single-subject analyses of unsmoothed fMRI data. Cerebral Cortex, 19, 1239–1255.
Gentilucci, M., Fogassi, L., Luppino, G., Matelli, M., Camarda, R., & Rizzolatti, G. (1988). Functional organization of inferior area 6 in the macaque monkey: I. Somatotopy and the control of proximal movements. Experimental Brain Research, 71, 475–490.
Gibson, J. (1979). The ecological approach to visual perception. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Grafton, S. T., Arbib, M. A., Fadiga, L., & Rizzolatti, G. (1996). Localization of grasp representations in humans by positron emission tomography. 2. Observation compared with imagination. Experimental Brain Research, 112, 103–111.
Grill-Spector, K., Henson, R., & Martin, A. (2006). Repetition and the brain: Neural models of stimulus-specific effects. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 10, 14–23.
Iacoboni, M., Woods, R. P., Brass, M., Bekkering, H., Mazziotta, J. C., & Rizzolatti, G. (1999). Cortical mechanisms of human imitation. Science, 286, 2526–2528.
Iacoboni, M., Molnar-Szakacs, I., Gallese, V., Buccino, G., Mazziotta, J. C., & Rizzolatti, G. (2005). Grasping the intentions of others with one’s own mirror neuron system. PLoS Biology, 3, e79.
Jeannerod, M. (1988). The neural and behavioural organization of goal-directed movements. Oxford: University Oxford Press.
Jeannerod, M., Decety, J., & Michel, F. (1994). Impairment of grasping movements following a bilateral posterior parietal lesion. Neuropsychologia, 32, 369–380.
Jeannerod, M., Arbib, M. A., Rizzolatti, G., & Sakata, H. (1995). Grasping objects: The cortical mechanisms of visuomotor transformation. Trends Neuroscience, 18, 314–320.
Kakei, S., Hoffman, D. S., & Strick, P. L. (2001). Direction of action is represented in the ventral premotor cortex. Nature Neuroscience, 4, 1020–1025.
Kilner, J. M., Neal, A., Weiskopf, N., Friston, K. J., & Frith, C. D. (2009). Evidence of mirror neurons in human inferior frontal gyrus. Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 10153–10159.
Kohler, E., Keysers, C., Umiltà, M. A., Fogassi, L., Gallese, V., & Rizzolatti, G. (2002). Hearing sounds, understanding actions: Action representation in mirror neurons. Science, 297, 846–848.
Koski, L., Wohlschläger, A., Bekkering, H., Woods, R. P., Dubeau, M. C., Mazziotta, J. C., et al. (2002). Modulation of motor and premotor activity during imitation of target-directed actions. Cerebral Cortex, 12, 847–855.
Kraskov, A., Dancause, N., Quallo, M. M., Shepherd, S., & Lemon, R. N. (2009). Corticospinal neurons in macaque ventral premotor cortex with mirror properties: A Potential mechanism for action suppression? Neuron, 64, 922–930.
Lingnau, A., Gesierich, B., & Caramazza, A. (2009). Asymmetric fMRI adaptation reveals no evidence for mirror neurons in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 106, 9925–9930.
Luria, A. R. (1973). The working brain. An introduction to neuropsychology. London: Penguin.
Meltzoff, A. N., & Moore, M. K. (1977). Imitation of facial and manual gestures by human neonates. Science, 198, 75–78.
Milner, A. D., & Goodale, M. A. (1995). The visual brain in action. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Molenberghs, P., Cunnington, R., & Mattingley, J. B. (2012). Brain regions with mirror properties: a meta-analysis of 125 human fMRI studies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 36, 341–349.
Mukamel, R., Ekstrom, A. D., Kaplan, J., Iacoboni, M., & Fried, I. (2010). Single-neuron responses in humans during observation and execution of actions. Current Biology, 20, 1–7.
Murata, A., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., Gallese, V., Raos, V., & Rizzolatti, G. (1997). Object representation in the ventral premotor cortex (area F5) of the monkey. Journal of Neurophysiology, 78, 2226–2230.
Murata, A., Gallese, V., Luppino, G., Kaseda, M., & Sakata, H. (2000). Selectivity for the shape, size, and orientation of objects for grasping in neurons of monkey parietal area AIP. Journal of Neurophysiology, 83, 2580–2601.
Nelissen, K., Borra, E., Gerbella, M., Rozzi, S., Luppino, G., Vanduffel, W., et al. (2011). Action observation circuits in the macaque monkey cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 31, 3743–3756.
Nishitani, N., & Hari, R. (2000). Temporal dynamics of cortical representation for action. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 97, 913–918.
Perrett, D. I., Harries, M. H., Bevan, R., Thomas, S., Benson, P. J., Mistlin, A. J., et al. (1989). Frameworks of analysis for the neural representation of animate objects and actions. Journal of Experimental Biology, 146, 87–113.
Raos, V., Umiltà, M. A., Murata, A., Fogassi, L., & Gallese, V. (2006). Functional properties of grasping-related neurons in the ventral premotor area F5 of the macaque monkey. Journal of Neurophysiology, 95, 709–729.
Rizzolatti, G., & Luppino, G. (2001). The cortical motor system. Neuron, 31, 889–901.
Rizzolatti, G., Camarda, R., Fogassi, L., Gentilucci, M., Luppino, G., & Matelli, M. (1988). Functional organization of inferior area 6 in the macaque monkey. II. Area F5 and the control of distal movements. Experimental Brain Research, 71, 491–507.
Rizzolatti, G., Fadiga, L., Gallese, V., & Fogassi, L. (1996a). Premotor cortex and the recognition of motor actions. Brain Research. Cognitive Brain Research, 3, 131–141.
Rizzolatti, G., Fadiga, L., Matelli, M., Bettinardi, V., Paulesu, E., Perani, D., et al. (1996b). Localization of grasp representations in humans by PET: 1. Observation versus execution. Experimental Brain Research, 111, 246–252.
Rizzolatti, G., Cattaneo, L., Fabbri-Destro, M., & Rozzi, S. (2014). Cortical mechanisms underlying the organization of goal-directed actions and mirror neuron-based action understanding. Physiological Reviews, 94, 655–706.
Rochat, M. J., Caruana, F., Jezzini, A., Escola, L., Intskirveli, I., Grammont, F., et al. (2010). Responses of mirror neurons in area F5 to hand and tool grasping observation. Experimental Brain Research, 204, 605–616.
Rosenbaum, D. A., Cohen, R. G., Jax., S. A., Weiss, D. J., & van der Wel R. (2007). The problem of serial order in behavior: Lashley’s legacy. Human Movement Science, 26, 525–554.
Rozzi, S., Calzavara, R., Belmalih, A., Borra, E., Gregoriou, G. G., Matelli, M., et al. (2006). Cortical connections of the inferior parietal cortical convexity of the macaque monkey. Cerebral Cortex, 16, 1389–1417.
Rozzi, S., Ferrari, P. F., Bonini, L., Rizzolatti, G., & Fogassi, L. (2008). Functional organization of inferior parietal lobule convexity in the macaque monkey: electrophysiological characterization of motor, sensory and mirror responses and their correlation with cytoarchitectonic areas. European Journal of Neuroscience, 28, 1569–1588.
Sakata, H., Taira, M., Murata, A., & Mine, S. (1995). Neural mechanisms of visual guidance of hand action in the parietal cortex of the monkey. Cerebral Cortex, 5, 429–438.
Snyder, L. H., Batista, A. P., & Andersen, R. A. (1997). Coding of intention in the posterior parietal cortex. Nature, 386, 167–170.
Umiltà, M. A., Kohler, E., Gallese, V., Fogassi, L., Fadiga, L., Keysers, C., et al. (2001). “I know what you are doing”: a neurophysiological study. Neuron, 32, 91–101.
Umiltà, M. A., Escola, L., Intskirveli, I., Grammont, F., Rochat, M., Caruana, F., et al. (2008). When pliers become fingers in the monkey motor system. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 105, 2209–2213.
Visalberghi, E., & Fragaszy, D. M. (1990). Do monkeys ape? In S. T. Parker & K. R. Gibson (Eds.), “Language” and intelligence in monkeys and apes (pp. 247–273). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fogassi, L. (2017). The Cognitive Properties of the Motor System and Mirror Neurons. In: Bertolaso, M., Di Stefano, N. (eds) The Hand. Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics, vol 38. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66881-9_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66881-9_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-66880-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-66881-9
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)