The functional role of the parieto-frontal mirror circuit: interpretations and misinterpretations
Open accessAbstract
The parieto-frontal cortical circuit that is active during action observation is the circuit with mirror properties that has been most extensively studied. Yet, there remains controversy on its role in social cognition and its contribution to understanding the actions and intentions of other individuals. Recent studies in monkeys and humans have shed light on what the parieto-frontal cortical circuit encodes and its possible functional relevance for cognition. We conclude that, although there are several mechanisms through which one can understand the behaviour of other individuals, the parieto-frontal mechanism is the only one that allows an individual to understand the action of others 'from the inside' and gives the observer a first-person grasp of the motor goals and intentions of other individuals.
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Rizzolatti and Sinigaglia define 'action understanding' as understanding 'from the inside' as a motor possibility, rather than 'from the outside' as a mere visual description.
“definition of 'action understanding' as understanding ''from the inside' as a motor possibility, rather than 'from the outside' as a mere visual description'”
From Mirror neurons: from origin to function (2014) · cites this paper as Rizzolatti and Sinigaglia's (2010, p.265)
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- Authors
- Rizzolatti, G., & Sinigaglia, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Parma (IT)
- University of Milan (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Rizzolatti, Giacomo
- ORCID
- Sinigaglia, Corrado
- Venue
- Nature Reviews Neuroscience
- Published
- 2010-03-10
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 264-274
- ISSN
- 1471-003X (ISSN-L)
- 1471-0048
- OpenAlex
- W1994585255
- Cited by
- 1,680
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 50 · 2025: 60 · 2024: 95 · 2023: 67 · 2022: 71 · 2021: 90 · 2020: 80 · 2019: 105 · 2018: 114 · 2017: 109 · 2016: 115 · 2015: 125 · 2014: 136 · 2013: 178 · 2012: 135
- FWCI
- 18.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature reviews. Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca (Universita Degli Studi Di Milano) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Università degli Studi di Parma
- Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Keywords
- mirror neurons, action understanding, action observation, social cognition, theory of mind, intention understanding, first-person perspective, primate neuroscience
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Haplorhini, Frontal Lobe, Goals, Humans, Motion Perception, Motor Cortex, Movement, Neural Pathways, Neurons, Parietal Lobe, Psychomotor Performance, Comprehension, Intention
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