Mirror neurons

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Mirror neurons

• Neuroscience hot topic by
• Francesco Tani

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Mirror neurons

• Task dependent, goal dependent firing
• Right picture
• Cleaning (less activity)
• Left picture
• Drinking (more activity)

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Discovery

• Giaccomo Rizzollati et al. At the university of
  Parma, Italy

Premotor cortical area, F5c-PF cluster
Action only neurons Canonical neurons Mirror
neurons Strictly congruent (30) Hierarchical
(70)
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Crushing peanuts

• Mirror neurons fired during

1.execution of noisy action 2.Just seeing
action 3.Just hearing action 4.Hearing and
seeing action
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In Humans

• Asked people to
• observe only
• observe and imitate

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Firing patterns

• Mirror groups in
• Left frontal operculum
• Right anterior parietal region
• Right parietal operculum

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Feeling and seeing disgust
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Development of Mirror neurons

• Results indicate that a relatively short period
  of incompatible sensorimotor training is
  sufficient for altering mirror-system responses

Supports idea that mirror systems are not innate
but arise through correlated sensory and motor
experience
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Significance

• EEG evidence for mirror neuron dysfunction in
  autism spectrum disorders
• Major implications in human behavior
• Embodiment of language and expressions
• more?