Sensorimotor learning configures the human mirror system
Sensorimotor learning configures the human mirror system
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cub.2007.08.006
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发表时间：
2007-09-04
期刊：
影响因子：
9.2
通讯作者：
Heyes, Cecilia
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Catmur, Caroline;Walsh, Vincent;Heyes, Cecilia
“镜像系统”中的细胞不仅在一个人执行某个动作时被激发，而且当一个人观察到另一个代理人执行的相同动作时也会被激发[11-4]。在人类和猴子大脑的运动前皮质和顶叶皮质中发现的镜像系统，被认为为社会理解提供了基础，并使心理和语言理论的发展成为可能。然而，目前还不清楚镜像神经元是如何获得其镜像属性的--它们如何获得与观察到的执行动作相匹配所需的信息[10]。我们通过展示有可能操纵人体镜子系统的选择性来解决这个问题，从而使其成为一个反镜系统，通过训练参与者在观察另一个动作的同时执行一个动作。在这项训练之前，受试者在观察小指和食指运动时，表现出对运动皮质上的经颅磁刺激的事件相关肌肉特异性反应[11-13]。训练后，这种正常的镜面效应被逆转。这些结果表明，镜像系统的镜像属性既不是完全与生俱来的，也不是一旦获得就固定的；相反，它们是通过感觉运动学习发展起来的[15，16]。我们的发现表明，在某种程度上，人类的镜子系统既是一种产品，也是一种社会互动的过程。
Cells in the "mirror system" fire not only when an individual performs an action but also when one observes the same action performed by another agent [11 -4]. The mirror system, found in premotor and parietal cortices of human and monkey brains, is thought to provide the foundation for social understanding and to enable the development of theory of mind and language [5-9]. However, it is unclear how mirror neurons acquire their mirror properties-how they derive the information necessary to match observed with executed actions [10]. We address this by showing that it is possible to manipulate the selectivity of the human mirror system, and thereby make it operate as a countermirror system, by giving participants training to perform one action while observing another. Before this training, participants showed event-related muscle-specific responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation over motor cortex during observation of little- and indexfinger movements [11-13]. After training, this normal mirror effect was reversed. These results indicate that the mirror properties of the mirror system are neither wholly innate [14] nor fixed once acquired; instead they develop through sensorimotor learning [15, 16]. Our findings indicate that the human mirror system is, to some extent, both a product and a process of social interaction.