Changes in the Mu Rhythm in Different Types of Motor Activity and on Observation of Movements

Aa, Aleksandrov; Tugin, Sergei

doi:10.1007/s11055-012-9566-2

Cited by 19 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Previous researchers have used a variety of stimuli to test mu suppression to human movement, including: hands grasping a manipulandum ( Bernier et al., 2007 , Muthukumaraswamy et al., 2004 ), hands manipulating chess pieces ( Cheng et al., 2008 , Fan et al., 2010 ), a hand opening and closing with no object ( Oberman et al., 2005 , Raymaekers et al., 2009 ), mouths sucking or biting, with or without a straw object ( Muthukumaraswamy et al., 2006 ), a hand rotating a coin, or a coin being passed back and forth between two hands ( Aleksandrov & Tugin, 2012 ). Our own stimuli were of a hand manipulating a pencil, or performing the exact same manipulative movements but without the pencil.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such a relatively inexpensive and noninvasive technique for gauging the activity of the MNS in humans would greatly facilitate research on this system. However, not all researchers agree that mu suppression is a valid index of MNS activity ( Aleksandrov & Tugin, 2012 ). Nevertheless, despite mixed findings of abnormal mu suppression in autism, some have suggested that mu suppression may be a viable target for neurofeedback therapy for individuals on the autistic spectrum ( Pineda et al., 2008 , Pineda et al., 2014 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other researchers have also voiced concern that changes in mu power may be being driven largely by attentional processes rather than mirror neuron activity. Aleksandrov and Tugin (2012) measured mu suppression during a large number of conditions, including conditions that contained no observation, execution or imagination of human movement, such as mental counting, or watching the movement of a non-biological object. Mu suppression during these conditions was not significantly less than the mu suppression seen in conditions where participants viewed human movement.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Mu suppression – A good measure of the human mirror neuron system?

Hobson

Bishop

2016

Cortex

211

166

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Mu suppression has been proposed as a signature of the activity of the human mirror neuron system (MNS). However the mu frequency band (8–13 Hz) overlaps with the alpha frequency band, which is sensitive to attentional fluctuation, and thus mu suppression could potentially be confounded by changes in attentional engagement. The specific baseline against which mu suppression is assessed may be crucial, yet there is little consistency in how this is defined. We examined mu suppression in 61 typical adults, the largest mu suppression study so far conducted. We compared different methods of baselining, and examined activity at central and occipital electrodes, to both biological (hands) and non-biological (kaleidoscope) moving stimuli, to investigate the involvement of attention and alpha activity in mu suppression. We also examined changes in beta power, another candidate index of MNS engagement. We observed strong mu suppression restricted to central electrodes when participants performed hand movements, demonstrating that mu is indeed responsive to the activity of the motor cortex. However, when we looked for a similar signature of mu suppression to passively observed stimuli, the baselining method proved to be crucial. Selective suppression for biological versus non-biological stimuli was seen at central electrodes only when we used a within-trial baseline based on a static stimulus: this method greatly reduced trial-by-trial variation in the suppression measure compared with baselines based on blank trials presented in separate blocks. Even in this optimal condition, 16–21% of participants showed no mu suppression. Changes in beta power also did not match our predicted pattern for MNS engagement, and did not seem to offer a better measure than mu. Our conclusions are in contrast to those of a recent meta-analysis, which concluded that mu suppression is a valid means to examine mirror neuron activity. We argue that mu suppression can be used to index the human MNS, but the effect is weak and unreliable and easily confounded with alpha suppression.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mu suppression – A good measure of the human mirror neuron system?

Hobson

Bishop

2016

Cortex

211

166

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, Aleksandrov & Tugin [53] measured mu suppression during a range of control conditions, including periods of mental counting, or watching the movement of non-biological objects, conditions in which we would not predict mirror neurons to become active. Yet mu suppression during these conditions was not significantly less than in conditions in which participants observed human actions.…”

Section: Is Mu Suppression a Good Measure Of The Mirror Neuron System?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The interpretation of mu suppression as an index of mirror neuron activity: past, present and future

2017

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Mu suppression studies have been widely used to infer the activity of the human mirror neuron system (MNS) in a number of processes, ranging from action understanding, language, empathy and the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Although mu suppression is enjoying a resurgence of interest, it has a long history. This review aimed to revisit mu's past, and examine its recent use to investigate MNS involvement in language, social processes and ASDs. Mu suppression studies have largely failed to produce robust evidence for the role of the MNS in these domains. Several key potential shortcomings with the use and interpretation of mu suppression, documented in the older literature and highlighted by more recent reports, are explored here.

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“… 66 – 69) On the other hand, some researchers suggest that mu suppression is not a perfect index of MNS activity. Aleksandrov and Tugin 70) compared mu suppression from various types of motor activity and found that mu suppression was not significantly lower than it was in conditions where participants viewed human movement. They argued that mu suppression instead depends on the attention demands of the task, which decreases over time.…”

Section: Mirror Neuron System Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Neurons to Social Beings: Short Review of the Mirror Neuron System Research and Its Socio-Psychological and Psychiatric Implications

Jeon

Lee

2018

Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci

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The mirror neuron system (MNS) is a brain network activated when we move our body parts and when we observe the actions of other agent. Since the mirror neuron’s discovery in research on monkeys, several studies have examined its network and properties in both animals and humans. This review discusses MNS studies of animals and human MNS studies related to high-order social cognitions such as emotion and empathy, as well as relations between MNS dysfunction and mental disorders. Finally, these evidences are understood from an evolutionary perspective.

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Changes in the Mu Rhythm in Different Types of Motor Activity and on Observation of Movements

Cited by 19 publications

References 28 publications

Mu suppression – A good measure of the human mirror neuron system?

Mu suppression – A good measure of the human mirror neuron system?

The interpretation of mu suppression as an index of mirror neuron activity: past, present and future

From Neurons to Social Beings: Short Review of the Mirror Neuron System Research and Its Socio-Psychological and Psychiatric Implications

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