Cortical mechanisms of human imitation.

Full Abstract

How does imitation occur? How can the motor plans necessary for imitating an action derive from the observation of that action? Imitation may be based on a mechanism directly matching the observed action onto an internal motor representation of that action ("direct matching hypothesis"). To test this hypothesis, normal human participants were asked to observe and imitate a finger movement and to perform the same movement after spatial or symbolic cues. Brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging. If the direct matching hypothesis is correct, there should be areas that become active during finger movement, regardless of how it is evoked, and their activation should increase when the same movement is elicited by the observation of an identical movement made by another individual. Two areas with these properties were found in the left inferior frontal cortex (opercular region) and the rostral-most region of the right superior parietal lobule.

Author information

Author/s: Iacoboni, M (M); Woods, R P (RP); Brass, M (M); Bekkering, H (H); Mazziotta, J C (JC); Rizzolatti, G (G);

Affiliation: Brain Mapping Center, Neuropsychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7085, USA. iacoboni(-atsign-)loni.ucla.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Science (New York, N.Y.) (Science), published in UNITED STATES. (Language: eng)

Reference: 1999-Dec; vol 286 (issue 5449) : pp 2526-8

Dates: Created 2000/01/11; Completed 2000/01/11; Revised 2007/03/19;

PMID: 10617472, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

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