What happened to mirror neurons?

Abstract

<p>Ten years ago, Perspectives in Psychological Science published the Mirror Neuron Forum, debating the role of mirror neurons in action understanding, speech, imitation and autism, and asking whether mirror neurons are acquired through visual-motor learning. Subsequent research on these themes has made significant advances, which should encourage further system-level research: Action understanding - Multivoxel pattern analysis, patient studies, and brain stimulation suggest that mirror neuron brain areas contribute to low-level processing of observed actions (e.g. distinguishing types of grip), but not to high-level action interpretation (e.g. inferring actors’ intentions). Speech perception – Although it remains unclear whether mirror neurons play a specific, causal role in speech perception, there is compelling evidence for the involvement of the motor system in the discrimination of speech in perceptually noisy conditions. Imitation – There is strong evidence from patient, brain stimulation and brain imaging studies that mirror neuron brain areas play a causal role in copying of body movement topography. Autism – Studies using behavioural and neurological measures have tried and failed to find evidence supporting the “broken mirror” theory of autism. Furthermore, research on the origin of mirror neurons has confirmed the importance of domain-general visual-motor learning, rather than canalised visual-motor learning, or motor learning alone.</p>

Neurophenomenology and Intersubjectivity: An Interdisciplinary Approach

“…These are the conclusions present in the review recently conducted by Heyes and Catmur (2021) of all scientific studies published on mirror neurons over the past decade. The scholars list the state of the evidence with respect to the various processes attributed to mirror neurons.…”

“…According to Heyes and Catmur (2021), only if they are studied in the context of a functional system can mirror neurons help explain complex processes such as the categorization of body movements, some aspects of language perception, and the neurological basis of imitation. Although on the relationship between mirror neurons and intentionality the Parma school has a different position than the arguments put forward by Heyes and Catmur, we cannot help but notice that regardless of the different perspectives outlined experimental research on mirror neurons have allowed us to revisit philosophical and phenomenological insights of the twentieth century able to hold together at the theoretical level the methodological reductionism and the holistic approach in order to understand in a rigorous way the totality or semantic unity of the processes at stake.…”

Two "what" pathways for action and object recognition

“…The neuroimaging evidence presented here argues against the view that these areas represent actions at conceptual levels that captures the core "what" meaning of actions. In addition, there is accumulating evidence against the view that sensorimotor representations of actions in frontoparietal cortex are strictly necessary for action recognition [13,15,[89][90][91][92]. What then could be the role of frontal and parietal areas in action recognition and representation?…”

Watch and Learn: The Cognitive Neuroscience of Learning from Others’ Actions

“…Our starting point is that the mirror neuron system is unlikely to be the 'center' of any complex cognitive process. Instead, we argue that the mirror neuron system is likely to perform a range of different subprocesses that contribute to many broader cognitive functions [37]. Consequently, we offer a deflationary account of the mirror neuron system in observational learning, which assigns a more limited role to this system than is typically proposed.…”

“…Since the initial discoveries of mirror neurons in monkeys, and follow-up work with humans, several other human brain regions have been reported to show similar mirror-like properties, including the insula and anterior mesial frontal cortex (together referred to as the limbic mirror system, thought to be involved in the recognition of affective behavior [125]), primary motor cortex [126], dorsal premotor cortex, superior parietal lobule, cerebellum [18], supplementary motor area, and the medial temporal lobe [127]. Concurrent with a growing number of brain areas reported to respond during the perception and production of certain behaviors came a proliferation of proposals for the behaviors and psychological tasks that such an extended mirror neuron system might drive [37]. These span diverse topics including language, general learning, autism, mind reading, and imitation, among others.…”