Action observation activates premotor and parietal areas in a somatotopic manner: an fMRI study
Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to localize brain areas that were active during the observation of actions made by another individual. Object‐ and non‐object‐related actions made with different effectors (mouth, hand and foot) were presented. Observation of both object‐ and non‐object‐related actions determined a somatotopically organized activation of premotor cortex. The somatotopic pattern was similar to that of the classical motor cortex homunculus. During the observation of object‐related actions, an activation, also somatotopically organized, was additionally found in the posterior parietal lobe. Thus, when individuals observe an action, an internal replica of that action is automatically generated in their premotor cortex. In the case of object‐related actions, a further object‐related analysis is performed in the parietal lobe, as if the subjects were indeed using those objects. These results bring the previous concept of an action observation/execution matching system (mirror system) into a broader perspective: this system is not restricted to the ventral premotor cortex, but involves several somatotopically organized motor circuits.
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- Authors
- Buccino, G., Binkofski, F., Fink, G. R., Fadiga, L., Fogassi, L., Gallese, V., Seitz, R. J., Zilles, K., Rizzolatti, G., & Freund, H. ‐.
- Affiliations
- University of Parma (IT)
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (DE)
- Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE)
- Venue
- European Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2001-01
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 400-404
- ISSN
- 0953-816X (ISSN-L)
- 1460-9568
- OpenAlex
- W1970287153
- Cited by
- 2,488
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 34 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 53 · 2022: 55 · 2021: 86 · 2020: 72 · 2019: 74 · 2018: 65 · 2017: 76 · 2016: 100 · 2015: 123 · 2014: 122 · 2013: 133 · 2012: 159
- FWCI
- 108.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- European Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca - Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele (submittedVersion)
- JuSER (Forschungszentrum Jülich) (submittedVersion)
- RWTH Publications (RWTH Aachen) (submittedVersion)
- Institutional Research Information System University of Ferrara (University of Ferrara) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Keywords
- action observation, mirror system, premotor cortex, posterior parietal cortex, somatotopic organization, homunculus, effectors, motor simulation
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Brain Mapping, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Motor Cortex, Parietal Lobe, Photic Stimulation, Visual Perception
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