title: Differential activation of the lateral premotor cortex during action observation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Action observation leads to neural activation of the human premotor cortex. This study examined how the level of motor expertise (expert vs. novice) in ballroom dancing and the visual viewpoint (internal vs. external viewpoint) influence this activation within different parts of this area of the brain.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixteen dance experts and 16 novices observed ballroom dance videos from internal or external viewpoints while lying in a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner. A conjunction analysis of all observation conditions showed that action observation activated distinct networks of premotor, parietal, and cerebellar structures. Experts revealed increased activation in the ventral premotor cortex compared to novices. An internal viewpoint led to higher activation of the dorsal premotor cortex.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present results suggest that the ventral and dorsal premotor cortex adopt differential roles during action observation depending on the level of motor expertise and the viewpoint.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sport Science, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Kugelberg 62, 35394 Giessen, Germany. Sebastian.Pilgramm@psychol.uni-giessen.de
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pilgramm
authors.forename: Britta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lorey
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.forename: Jörn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Munzert
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vaitl
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zentgraf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003615:Dancing / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires