From monkey mirror neurons to primate behaviours: possible ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ pathways

The discovery of mirror neurons (MNs), deemed to be at the basis of action understanding, could constitute the potential solution to the 'correspondence problem' between one's own and others' action that is crucial for of imitative behaviours. However, it is still to be clarified...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences 2009-08, Vol.364 (1528), p.2311-2323
Main Authors: Ferrari, P. F., Bonini, L., Fogassi, L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Behavior, Animal - physiology
Brain
Brain - cytology
Brain - physiology
Development
Gestures
Haplorhini - physiology
Imitation
Imitative Behavior - physiology
Mirror neurons
Monkeys
Motor ability
Motor Cognition
Motors
Movement - physiology
Neural Pathways - physiology
Neurons
Observational learning
Primates
Reviews
Social Behavior
Social evolution
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Summary:The discovery of mirror neurons (MNs), deemed to be at the basis of action understanding, could constitute the potential solution to the 'correspondence problem' between one's own and others' action that is crucial for of imitative behaviours. However, it is still to be clarified whether, and how, several imitative phenomena, differing in terms of complexity and cognitive effort, could be explained within a unified framework based on MNs. Here we propose that MNs could differently contribute to distinct imitative behaviours by means of two anatomo-functional pathways, subjected to changes during development. A 'direct mirror pathway', directly influencing the descending motor output, would be responsible for neonatal and automatic imitation. This proposal is corroborated by some new behavioural evidences provided here. During development, the increased control of voluntary movements and the capacity to efficiently suppress automatic motor activation during action observation assign to the core MNs regions essentially perceptuo-cognitive functions. These functions would be exploited by an 'indirect mirror pathway' from the core regions of the MN system to prefrontal cortex. This latter would play a key role in parsing, storing and organizing motor representations, allowing the emergence of more efficient and complex imitative behaviours such as response facilitation and true imitation.
ISSN:0962-8436
1471-2970
DOI:10.1098/rstb.2009.0062