Effects of action observation on corticospinal excitability: muscle specificity, direction, and timing of the mirror response

Many human behaviours and pathologies have been attributed to the putative mirror neuron system, a neural system that is active during both the observation and execution of actions. While there are now a very large number of papers on the mirror neuron system, variations in the methods and analyses employed by researchers mean that the basic characteristics of the mirror response are not clear. This review focuses on three important aspects of the mirror response, as measured by modulations in corticospinal excitability: (1) muscle specificity, (2) direction, and (3) timing of modulation. We focus mainly on electromyographic (EMG) data gathered following single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), because this method provides precise information regarding these three aspects of the response. Data from paired-pulse TMS paradigms and peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) are also considered when we discuss the possible mechanisms underlying the mirror response. In this systematic review of the literature, we examine the findings of 85 TMS and PNS studies of the human mirror response, and consider the limitations and advantages of the different methodological approaches these have adopted in relation to discrepancies between their findings. We conclude by proposing a testable model of how action observation modulates corticospinal excitability in humans. Specifically, we propose that action observation elicits an early, non-specific facilitation of corticospinal excitability (at around 90 ms from action onset), followed by a later modulation of activity specific to the muscles involved in the observed action (from around 200 ms). Testing this model will greatly advance our understanding of the mirror mechanism and provide a more stable grounding on which to base inferences about its role in human behaviour.

Infrared optical coatings for the EarthCARE Multispectral Imager

The Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer mission (EarthCARE) Multispectral Imager (MSI) is a radiometric instrument designed to provide the imaging of the atmospheric cloud cover and the cloud top surface temperature from a sun-synchronous low Earth orbit. The MSI forms part of a suite of four instruments destined to support the European Space Agency Living Planet mission on-board the EarthCARE satellite payload to be launched in 2016, whose synergy will be used to construct three-dimensional scenes, textures and temperatures of atmospheric clouds and aerosols. The MSI instrument contains seven channels: four solar channels to measure visible and short-wave infrared wavelengths, and three channels to measure infrared thermal emission. In this paper, we describe the optical layout of the infrared instrument channels, thin-film multilayer designs, the coating deposition method and the spectral system throughput for the bandpass interference filters, dichroic beam splitters, lenses and mirror coatings to discriminate wavelengths at 8.8, 10.8, & 12.0 µm. The rationale for the selection of thin-film materials, spectral measurement technique, and environmental testing performance are also presented.

The plasticity of the mirror system: how reward learning modulates cortical motor simulation of others

Cortical motor simulation supports the understanding of others' actions and intentions. This mechanism is thought to rely on the mirror neuron system (MNS), a brain network that is active both during action execution and observation. Indirect evidence suggests that alpha/beta suppression, an electroencephalographic (EEG) index of MNS activity, is modulated by reward. In this study we aimed to test the plasticity of the MNS by directly investigating the link between alpha/beta suppression and reward. 40 individuals from a general population sample took part in an evaluative conditioning experiment, where different neutral faces were associated with high or low reward values. In the test phase, EEG was recorded while participants viewed videoclips of happy expressions made by the conditioned faces. Alpha/beta suppression (identified using event-related desynchronisation of specific independent components) in response to rewarding faces was found to be greater than for non-rewarding faces. This result provides a mechanistic insight into the plasticity of the MNS and, more generally, into the role of reward in modulating physiological responses linked to empathy.

CONTRA: Improving the performance of dynamic investigations in natural abundance organic solids by mirror-symmetric constant-time CODEX

We present a minor but essential modification to the CODEX 1D-MAS exchange experiment. The new CONTRA method, which requires minor changes of the original sequence only, has advantages over the previously introduced S-CODEX, since it is less sensitive to artefacts caused by finite pulse lengths. The performance of this variant, including the finite pulse effect, was confirmed by SIMPSON calculations and demonstrated on a number of dynamic systems. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mirror neuron dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are developmental conditions characterized by deficits in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and obsessive/stereotyped patterns of behaviour. Although there is no reliable neurophysiological marker associated with ASDs, dysfunction of the parieto-frontal mirror neuron system has been suggested as a disturbance linked to the disorder. Mirror neurons (MNs) are visuomotor neurons which discharge both when performing and observing a goal directed action. Research suggests MNs may have a role in imitation, empathy, theory of mind and language. Although the research base is small, evidence from functional MRI, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and an electroencephalographic component called the mu rhythm suggests MNs are dysfunctional in subjects with ASD. These deficits are more pronounced when ASD subjects complete tasks with social relevance, or that are emotional in nature. Promising research has identified that interventions targeting MN related functions such as imitation can improve social functioning in ASDs. Boosting the function of MNs may improve the prognosis of ASDs, and contribute to diagnostic clarity.

Sleepwalking into the mirror : panic and the thin skin of a writer

This text interwoven with artworks by Elizabeth McQueen explores the act of writing and this writer’s search for a narrative form which, after Kafka, fuses dream and reality. Escaping from the back door of my PhD research, which has entered such liminal realities as sleepwalking and autism as a way of challenging familiar boundaries of western normative thought, this text explores a slightly different boundary transgression: a terrifying fusion of reality and writing when late one dark (but not stormy) night a character from my novel appeared at my back window.

Modulation of putative mirror neuron activity by both positively and negatively valenced affective stimuli: a TMS study

Research indicates that mirror neurons are important for social cognition, including emotion processing. Emerging evidence, however, also reveals that emotional stimuli might be capable of modulating human mirror neuron system (MNS) activity.

The current study used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to assess putative mirror neuron function following emotionally evocative images in twenty healthy adults.

Participants observed videos of either a transitive hand action or a static hand while undergoing TMS of the primary motor cortex. In order to examine the effect of emotion on the MNS, each video was preceded by an image of either a positive, negative or neutral valence.

MNS activity was found to be augmented by both the positive and negative (relative to neutral) stimuli, thus providing empirical support for a bi-directional link between emotion and the MNS, whereby both positively and negatively valenced stimuli are capable of facilitating mirror neuron activity. The potential adaptive significance of this finding is discussed.