Search

Your search keyword '"Filimon, Flavia"' showing total 2 results
Start Over Author "Filimon, Flavia" Topic mirror neurons
2 results on '"Filimon, Flavia"'

1. Observed, Executed, and Imagined Action Representations can be Decoded From Ventral and Dorsal Areas

Author

Filimon, Flavia, Rieth, Cory A, Sereno, Martin I, and Cottrell, Garrison W

Subjects
Biological Psychology, Psychology, Neurosciences, Brain Mapping, Executive Function, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Imagination, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Movement, Nerve Net, Observation, Oxygen, Parietal Lobe, Prefrontal Cortex, Psychomotor Performance, action observation network, human fMRI, mirror neurons, MVPA, reaching, Cognitive Sciences, Experimental Psychology, Biological psychology, Cognitive and computational psychology
Abstract

Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research on action observation has emphasized the role of putative mirror neuron areas such as Broca's area, ventral premotor cortex, and the inferior parietal lobule. However, recent evidence suggests action observation involves many distributed cortical regions, including dorsal premotor and superior parietal cortex. How these different regions relate to traditional mirror neuron areas, and whether traditional mirror neuron areas play a special role in action representation, is unclear. Here we use multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) to show that action representations, including observation, imagery, and execution of reaching movements: (1) are distributed across both dorsal (superior) and ventral (inferior) premotor and parietal areas; (2) can be decoded from areas that are jointly activated by observation, execution, and imagery of reaching movements, even in cases of equal-amplitude blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses; and (3) can be equally accurately classified from either posterior parietal or frontal (premotor and inferior frontal) regions. These results challenge the presumed dominance of traditional mirror neuron areas such as Broca's area in action observation and action representation more generally. Unlike traditional univariate fMRI analyses, MVPA was able to discriminate between imagined and observed movements from previously indistinguishable BOLD activations in commonly activated regions, suggesting finer-grained distributed patterns of activation.

Published
2015

2. Multisensory and sensorimotor representations for action in human posterior parietal cortex investigated with functional MRI

Author

Filimon, Flavia

Subjects
UCSD. Cognitive Science. (Discipline) Dissertations, Academic, Research Sensorimotor cortex, Research Sensorimotor integration, Research Visual perception, Movements Research Hand, Mirror neurons, Magnetic resonance imaging
Abstract

The posterior parietal cortex of human and non-human primates has been implicated in sensorimotor transformations, whereby sensory input (vision, touch, sound) is converted into motor commands. For instance, visual information regarding a target can be used to appropriately guide reaching movements towards the relevant part of space. These sensorimotor and multisensory representations suggest that the role of the posterior parietal lobe is to implement perception for action, rather than create a passive, purely perceptual representation of space. This dissertation consists of three different studies that map such multimodal and sensorimotor representations in the human brain, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The first study shows that observation, imagery, and execution of reaching rely on similar neural substrates in the posterior parietal lobe, specifically involving more superior (dorsal) areas. These 'mirror neuron' activations are in agreement with macaque parieto-frontal circuits underlying reaching movements, and differ from the more ventral (inferior) activations for grasping or for hand- object interactions. This suggests that (visuomotor) mirror neurons are specific to the hand action that is executed (reaching versus grasping). The second study attempts to dissociate visual and proprioceptive feedback from the reaching hand, to identify visuomotor and proprioceptive-motor areas involved in the control of reaching. Reaching without visual feedback from the moving hand involves more anterior and medial parietal areas than reaching with visual feedback. This indicates a posterior- to-anterior organization for sensorimotor representations that use visual versus somatosensory input, respectively, within posterior parietal cortex. Finally, the third study investigates tactile and visual representations of target location. Identifying target location using exploratory hand movements in the absence of visual input activates similar intraparietal and superior parietal areas as does visual identification of spatial location. The common activation by visual and tactile input suggests multisensory processing in these areas

Published
2008

Catalog

Books, media, physical & digital resources
See catalog results