Do mirror neurons subserve action understanding?

What do mirror neurons mirror?

Hearing sounds, understanding actions: action representation in mirror neurons.

Many object-related actions can be recognized by their sound. We found neurons in monkey premotor cortex that discharge when the animal performs a specific action and when it hears the related sound. Most of the neurons also discharge when the monkey observes the same action. These audiovisual mirror neurons code actions independently of whether these actions are performed, heard, or seen. This...

(Mis)understanding mirror neurons

What and how do they eat? Most species are thought to be carnivorous grazers, feeding on sponges, cnidaria or even molluscs. Abyssal pycnogonids have been observed in association with anemones at whale-and wood-fall sites on the sea bed (Figure 2). They can both walk and swim, although walking is extremely slow. Some species 'swim' by tucking up their legs and allowing themselves to sink rapidl...

Understanding mirror neurons

This paper reports about our investigation on action understanding in the brain. We review recent results of the neurophysiology of the mirror system in the monkey. Based on these observations we propose a model of this brain system which is responsible for action recognition. The link between object affordances and action understanding is considered. To support our hypothesis we describe two e...

Understanding mirror neurons: a bio-robotic approach

This paper reports about our investigation on action understanding in the brain. We review recent results of the neurophysiology of the mirror system in the monkey. Based on these observations we propose a model of the brain systems responsible for action recognition, in which the link between object affordances and action understanding is explicitly considered. To support our hypothesis we des...