Effects of sensorimotor learning on the human mirror neuron system
Year: 2009
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The discovery, in the monkey, of “mirror” neurons, which fire in response both to the \nperformance and to the observation of specific actions, has prompted extensive research \ninto their properties, and into the possible functions of a putative mirror neuron system in \nhumans. Little is known, however, about how such neurons acquire their matching \nproperties. This thesis addresses this question using a variety of techniques. \nImitation is one of the key processes thought to be subserved by the mirror neuron system; \nChapter 3 shows that automatic imitation effects are separable from spatial compatibility \neffects. This establishes automatic imitation effects as suitable targets for experimental \nmanipulations of mirror neuron system function. Strengthening this conclusion, Chapter 4 \nindicates that automatic imitation effects can be delayed by repetitive theta burst \ntranscranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the inferior frontal gyrus, an area homologous \nwith the premotor F5 mirror neuron area in the macaque. In Chapter 5, single-pulse TMS is \nused to produce motor evoked potentials (MEPs). In an action observation experiment, an \nautomatic muscle-specific “mirror” effect is shown: the size of the MEP in a given muscle \nis sensitive to the identity of the muscle that would be used to perform the observed \nmovement. It is then demonstrated that this effect can be reversed following a period of \nincompatible sensorimotor training. This result is built upon in Chapter 6: it is shown \nbehaviourally that incompatible sensorimotor training can reduce automatic imitation \neffects, and, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, that it can reverse neural \nresponses to observed actions in the human mirror neuron system. It is concluded that sensorimotor learning can reconfigure the human mirror neuron system, \nand that it is, therefore, a mechanism through which the mirror neuron system can acquire \nits ability to match observed with performed actions.
Author: Caroline Catmur
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W160162998