title: FMRI supports the sensorimotor theory of motor resonance.
abstract: The neural mechanisms mediating the activation of the motor system during action observation, also known as motor resonance, are of major interest to the field of motor control. It has been proposed that motor resonance develops in infants through Hebbian plasticity of pathways connecting sensory and motor regions that fire simultaneously during imitation or self movement observation. A fundamental problem when testing this theory in adults is that most experimental paradigms involve actions that have been overpracticed throughout life. Here, we directly tested the sensorimotor theory of motor resonance by creating new visuomotor representations using abstract stimuli (motor symbols) and identifying the neural networks recruited through fMRI. We predicted that the network recruited during action observation and execution would overlap with that recruited during observation of new motor symbols. Our results indicate that a network consisting of premotor and posterior parietal cortex, the supplementary motor area, the inferior frontal gyrus and cerebellum was activated both by new motor symbols and by direct observation of the corresponding action. This tight spatial overlap underscores the importance of sensorimotor learning for motor resonance and further indicates that the physical characteristics of the perceived stimulus are irrelevant to the evoked response in the observer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Landmann
authors.forename: Sofia M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Landi
authors.forename: Scott T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Grafton
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Della-Maggiore
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance
references.citation: Exp Brain Res. 2006 Feb;169(1):69-84
references.pmid: 16284756
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2007 Nov 28;27(48):13241-50
references.pmid: 18045918
references.citation: Neuron. 2003 Sep 11;39(6):1053-8
references.pmid: 12971903
references.citation: Eur J Neurosci. 2004 Feb;19(3):721-40
references.pmid: 14984423
references.citation: Soc Neurosci. 2008;3(3-4):368-87
references.pmid: 18979386
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 1985 Nov-Dec;18(2):175-85
references.pmid: 4096831
references.citation: Trends Cogn Sci. 2007 Aug;11(8):349-55
references.pmid: 17629544
references.citation: Neuropsychologia. 1985;23(4):453-62
references.pmid: 4033901
references.citation: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2010 Mar;34(4):575-83
references.pmid: 19914284
references.citation: Brain. 1996 Apr;119 ( Pt 2):593-609
references.pmid: 8800951
references.citation: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2010 Apr;11(4):264-74
references.pmid: 20216547
references.citation: Exp Brain Res. 1992;91(1):176-80
references.pmid: 1301372
references.citation: Trends Cogn Sci. 2007 May;11(5):211-8
references.pmid: 17383218
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2009 Dec;48(4):696-706
references.pmid: 19619662
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2002 Oct 15;22(20):9024-34
references.pmid: 12388609
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Jun 9;106(23):9489-94
references.pmid: 19470477
references.citation: Curr Biol. 2007 Sep 4;17(17):1527-31
references.pmid: 17716898
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2005 Feb 9;25(6):1335-42
references.pmid: 15703387
references.citation: Trends Cogn Sci. 2004 Nov;8(11):501-7
references.pmid: 15491904
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2006 Jul 26;26(30):7942-9
references.pmid: 16870739
references.citation: Curr Biol. 2011 Jan 25;21(2):144-8
references.pmid: 21236674
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2004 Jun 16;24(24):5467-74
references.pmid: 15201318
references.citation: Trends Neurosci. 2000 Jun;23(6):271-6
references.pmid: 10838597
references.citation: Exp Brain Res. 1988;71(3):491-507
references.pmid: 3416965
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Feb 12;105(6):2209-13
references.pmid: 18238904
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2008 Nov 19;28(47):12268-73
references.pmid: 19020020
references.citation: Nature. 2004 Oct 21;431(7011):993-6
references.pmid: 15496925
references.citation: Curr Biol. 2010 Apr 27;20(8):750-6
references.pmid: 20381353
references.citation: Exp Brain Res. 1991;84(2):393-402
references.pmid: 2065746
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2009 Jun;19(6):1239-55
references.pmid: 19020203
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 2010 Jan;22(1):83-96
references.pmid: 19199418
references.citation: Eur J Neurosci. 2008 Sep;28(6):1208-15
references.pmid: 18783371
references.citation: Brain Res. 2010 Feb 22;1315:63-74
references.pmid: 19968969
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2004 May;22(1):277-88
references.pmid: 15110018
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 2002 Jul 1;14(5):769-84
references.pmid: 12167261
references.citation: Exp Brain Res. 1988;70(3):590-6
references.pmid: 3384057
references.citation: Trends Cogn Sci. 2001 Jun 1;5(6):253-261
references.pmid: 11390296
references.citation: Neuroimage. 1999 Nov;10(5):607-19
references.pmid: 10547338
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 1995 Sep;74(3):1037-45
references.pmid: 7500130
references.citation: Brain Behav Evol. 1989;33(2-3):189-92
references.pmid: 2758301
references.citation: Neuroimage. 1997 Nov;6(4):231-6
references.pmid: 9417966
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2010 Oct;104(4):1867-71
references.pmid: 20685923
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 2011 Sep;23(9):2352-62
references.pmid: 20946056