Departments of Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, Italian Institute of Technology, University of Parma, Italy.
Departments of Neuroscience and Department of Evolutionary and Functional Biology, Italian Institute of Technology, University of Parma, Italy.
Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci. 2011 Jan;2(1):22-38. doi: 10.1002/wcs.89. Epub 2010 Jun 14.
Mirror neurons are a class of visuomotor neurons, discovered in the monkey premotor cortex and in an anatomically connected area of the inferior parietal lobule, that activate both during action execution and action observation. They constitute a circuit dedicated to match actions made by others with the internal motor representations of the observer. It has been proposed that this matching system enables individuals to understand others' behavior and motor intentions. Here we will describe the main features of mirror neurons in monkeys. Then we will present evidence of the presence of a mirror system in humans and of its involvement in several social-cognitive functions, such as imitation, intention, and emotion understanding. This system may have several implications at a cognitive level and could be linked to specific social deficits in humans such as autism. Recent investigations addressed the issue of the plasticity of the mirror neuron system in both monkeys and humans, suggesting also their possible use in rehabilitation. WIREs Cogn Sci 2011 2 22-38 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.89 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
镜像神经元是一类视觉运动神经元，在猴子的前运动皮层和下顶叶的一个解剖连接区域被发现，它们在执行动作和观察动作时都会激活。它们构成了一个专门用于匹配他人动作与观察者内部运动表象的回路。有人提出，这个匹配系统使个体能够理解他人的行为和运动意图。在这里，我们将描述猴子中镜像神经元的主要特征。然后，我们将介绍人类存在镜像系统的证据，以及它在模仿、意图和情绪理解等几种社会认知功能中的参与。该系统在认知层面可能具有多种意义，并可能与人类的特定社交缺陷（如自闭症）有关。最近的研究探讨了猴子和人类镜像神经元系统的可塑性问题，也提出了它们在康复中的可能应用。
《WIREs 认知科学》2011 年 2 月 22-38 期 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.89
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