Action observation activates premotor and parietal areas in a somatotopic manner: an fMRI study
European Journal of NeurosciencePublished 1 January 2001
Giovanni Buccino, Ferdinand Binkofski, Gereon R. Fink, Luciano Fadiga, Leonardo Fogassi, Vittorio Gallese
Citations2,256
SJR quartileQ2
SJR score1.15
SNIP0.94
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to localize brain areas \nthat were active during the observation of actions made by another individual. \nObject- and non-object-related actions made with different effectors (mouth, hand \nand foot) were presented. Observation of both object- and non-object-related \nactions determined a somatotopically organized activation of premotor cortex. The \nsomatotopic pattern was similar to that of the classical motor cortex homunculus. \nDuring the observation of object-related actions, an activation, also \nsomatotopically organized, was additionally found in the posterior parietal lobe. \nThus, when individuals observe an action, an internal replica of that action is \nautomatically generated in their premotor cortex. In the case of object-related \nactions, a further object-related analysis is performed in the parietal lobe, as \nif the subjects were indeed using those objects. These results bring the previous \nconcept of an action observation/execution matching system (mirror system) into a \nbroader perspective: this system is not restricted to the ventral premotor \ncortex, but involves several somatotopically organized motor circuits.
Keywords
PsychologyMedicineNeuroscience
BrainAction recognition in the premotor cortex
4,874 Citations1996Vittorio Gallese, Luciano Fadiga +2 more
It is proposed that mirror neurons form a system for matching observation and execution of motor actions, similar to that of mirror neurons exists in humans and could be involved in recognition of actions as well as phonetic gestures.
Cognitive Brain ResearchPremotor cortex and the recognition of motor actions
4,748 Citations1996Giacomo Rizzolatti, Luciano Fadiga +2 more
It is suggested that the development of the lateral verbal communication system in man derives from a more ancient communication system based on recognition of hand and face gestures.
ScienceCortical Mechanisms of Human Imitation
2,691 Citations1999Marco Iacoboni, Roger P. Woods +4 more
Two areas with activation properties that become active during finger movement, regardless of how it is evoked, and their activation should increase when the same movement is elicited by the observation of an identical movement made by another individual are found.
Behavioral and Brain SciencesThe representing brain: Neural correlates of motor intention and imagery
2,552 Citations1994Marc Jeannerod
A mechanism is proposed that is able to encode the desired goal of the action and is applicable to different levels of representational organization, as well as investigating the role of posterior parietal and premotor cortical areas in schema instantiation.
NeuroImageAnalysis of fMRI Time-Series Revisited
2,528 Citations1995Karl Friston, Andrew P. Holmes +5 more
The approach is predicated on an extension of the general linear model that allows for correlations between error terms due to physiological noise or correlations that ensue after temporal smoothing, and uses the effective degrees of freedom associated with the error term.
Journal of NeurophysiologyMotor facilitation during action observation: a magnetic stimulation study
2,305 Citations1995Luciano Fadiga, Leonardo Fogassi +2 more
It is concluded that in humans there is a system matching action observation and execution that resembles the one recently described in the monkey.
Trends in NeurosciencesGrasping objects: the cortical mechanisms of visuomotor transformation
1,390 Citations1995Marc Jeannerod, Michael A. Arbib +2 more
In humans, neuropsychological studies of patients with lesions to the parietal lobule confirm that primitive shape characteristics of an object for grasping are analyzed in theParietal lobe, and also demonstrate that this 'pragmatic' analysis of objects is separated from the 'semantic' analysis performed in the temporal lobe.
The Journal of Comparative NeurologyBroca's region revisited: Cytoarchitecture and intersubject variability
1,345 Citations1999Katrin Amunts, Axel Schleicher +4 more
These morphologic asymmetries of area 44 provide a putative correlate of the functional lateralization of speech production and show that macroscopic features are not reliable landmarks of cytoarchitectonic borders.
NatureCoding of intention in the posterior parietal cortex
1,120 Citations1997Lawrence H. Snyder, Aaron P. Batista +1 more
It is concluded that the posterior parietal cortex contains signals related to what the animal intends to do, and activity before the movement depended on the type of movement being planned.
Experimental Brain ResearchLocalization of grasp representations in humans by positron emission tomography
1,043 Citations1996ScottT. Grafton, MichaelA. Arbib +2 more
It is proposed that the areasactive during grasping observation may form a circuit for recognition of hand-object interactions, whereas the areas active during imagined grasping may be a putative human homologue of a circuitFor hand grasping movements recently defined in nonhuman primates.
Experimental Brain ResearchLocalization of grasp representations in humans by PET: 1. Observation versus execution
1,005 Citations1996Giacomo Rizzolatti, Luciano Fadiga +5 more
It was hypothesized that during grasping observation, activations should be present in the region of the superior temporal sulcus (STS) and in inferior area 6 and the findings in humans demonstrated that grasp observation significantly activates the cortex of the middle temporal gyrus.
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesActivation of human primary motor cortex during action observation: A neuromagnetic study
968 Citations1998Riitta Hari, Nina Forss +4 more
The recorded neuromagnetic oscillatory activity of the human primary motor cortex is activated during observation as well as execution of motor tasks, which has implications for a better understanding of the machinery underlying action recognition in humans.
BrainBrain activity during observation of actions. Influence of action content and subject's strategy
940 Citations1997Jean Decety
The pattern of brain activation during observation of actions is dependent both on the nature of the required executive processing and the type of the extrinsic properties of the action presented.
European Journal of NeuroscienceA fronto‐parietal circuit for object manipulation in man: evidence from an fMRI‐study
724 Citations1999Ferdinand Binkofski, Giovanni Buccino +4 more
It is suggested that a fronto‐parietal circuit for manipulation of objects exists in humans and involves basically the same areas as in the monkey and it is proposed that area SII analyses the intrinsic object characteristics whilst the superior parietal lobule is related to kinaesthesia.
Cerebral CortexNeural Mechanisms of Visual Guidance of Hand Action in the Parietal Cortex of the Monkey
692 Citations1995Hideo Sakata, Masato Taira +2 more
A conceptual model of the system for visual guidance of hand action including parietal hand manipulation neurons is proposed, suggesting that these neurons play an important role in matching the pattern of hand movement to the visuo-spatial characteristics of the object to be manipulated.
NeuroreportModulation of cortical excitability during action observation
510 Citations2000Antonio P. Strafella, Tomáš Paus
This study presents further evidence that motor excitability is significantly modified when the subject observes an action performed by another individual.
European Journal of NeuroscienceObservation and execution of movement: similarities demonstrated by quantified electroencephalography
486 Citations1999Stéphanie Cochin, Catherine Barthélémy +2 more
Electroencephalography results provide evidence that observation and execution of movement share the same cortical network and indicate that the motor cortex and the frontal cortex are specifically activated by both observation and executed of finger movements.
Behavioural Brain ResearchThe formation of finger grip during prehension. A cortically mediated visuomotor pattern
396 Citations1986Marc Jeannerod
In two patients with unilateral lesions involving the motor cortex, grip formation with the hand contralateral to the lesion, was found to be severely affected, in that fingers and particularly the index finger, remained stretched until contact with the object was made.
Cognitive NeuropsychologyTOP DOWN EFFECT OF STRATEGY ON THE PERCEPTION OF HUMAN BIOLOGICAL MOTION: A PET INVESTIGATION
369 Citations1998Julie Grèzes
Investigation of the neural network engaged by the perception of human movements using positron emission tomography found that meaningful and meaningless actions shared almost the same network when the aim of the perception was to imitate them later.
NeuropsychologiaHeterogeneity of extrastriate visual areas and multiple parietal areas in the Macaque monkey
354 Citations1991Carol L. Colby, Jean‐René Duhamel
Three recently discovered areas in monkey parietal association cortex illustrate a new approach to the definition of visual areas that depends on assessment of neuronal response properties in the alert, behaving animal combined with precise reconstruction of recording sites.
Journal of the American Medical AssociationThe Cytoarchitectonics of the Human Cerebral Cortex.
283 Citations1929Constantin Von
Experimental Brain ResearchII. Functional properties of cells in anterolateral part of area 7 associative face area of awake monkeys
214 Citations1979Lea Leinonen, Göte Nyman
There is a separate and rather extensive mouth (or face) area in the parietal association cortex of the monkey, which is prominently related to the stimulation or motor activity of the face.
BrainSENSORIMOTOR DISTURBANCES IN PATIENTS WITH LESIONS OF THE PARIETAL CORTEX
187 Citations1989M. Pause, E. Kunesch +2 more
It is concluded that the motor disturbance in posterior parietal lobe disease lies essentially in the conception and execution of the spatiotemporal movement patterns necessary to bring those receptors into action which would normally provide the information about tactile objects.
European Journal of NeuroscienceSomatosensory Discrimination of Shape: Tactile Exploration and Cerebral Activation
153 Citations1991Rüdiger J. Seitz, Per E. Roland +3 more
The cerebral structures activated during somatosensory discrimination were mapped by measurements of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in six healthy male volunteers with positron emission tomography (PET) and the use of the computerized brain atlas of Greitz et al.