Burzi Valentina, Marchi Viviana, Boyd Roslyn N, Mazziotti Raffaele, Moscarelli Michele, Sgherri Giada, Tealdi Gessica, Cioni Giovanni, Guzzetta Andrea
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Dev Med Child Neurol. 2015 Apr;57 Suppl 2:26-30. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.12693.
Imitative learning has long been established as extremely important for early development. However, neural mechanisms involved in early imitative behaviours are still areas of active research. Neurophysiological and brain-imaging studies have been recently performed that provide initial evidence of brain activation associated with action observation in the first months of life. In this review we examine all studies exploring the effects of action observation on brain function assessed by means of non-invasive brain-mapping techniques. Seventeen papers were selected as a result of our literature search. The strongest evidence for a neural signature of action observation comes from studies exploring the desynchronization of the μ-rhythm, which was reported for both occluded and visible goal-directed grasp, and was correlated with the totality of the infant's own action experience. The effects of action observation were reported on event-related potentials (ERPs) or near infrared spectroscopy. Taken together, these studies suggest that, in early infancy, a direct visual-motor matching process is already detectable as early as 6 months, suggesting a matching between action perception and execution already in infancy. If confirmed by future studies, these findings will shed light on the mechanisms of early motor development and imitation, and will be key to informing novel rehabilitation strategies in infants with congenital brain damage.
长期以来，模仿学习一直被认为对早期发育极为重要。然而，早期模仿行为所涉及的神经机制仍是积极研究的领域。最近进行了神经生理学和脑成像研究，这些研究提供了与生命最初几个月动作观察相关的大脑激活的初步证据。在这篇综述中，我们审视了所有通过非侵入性脑图谱技术探索动作观察对脑功能影响的研究。通过文献检索，我们筛选出了17篇论文。动作观察神经特征的最有力证据来自探索μ节律去同步化的研究，这种去同步化在遮挡和可见的目标导向抓握中均有报道，并且与婴儿自身动作体验的整体情况相关。动作观察的影响在事件相关电位（ERP）或近红外光谱方面也有报道。综合来看，这些研究表明，在婴儿早期，早在6个月时就已经可以检测到直接的视觉 - 运动匹配过程，这表明在婴儿期动作感知和执行之间就已经存在匹配。如果未来的研究证实了这些发现，它们将阐明早期运动发育和模仿的机制，并将成为为先天性脑损伤婴儿制定新的康复策略的关键。
