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Testing key predictions of the associative account of mirror neurons in humans using multivariate pattern analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2014

Nikolaas N. Oosterhof ,
Alison J. Wiggett  and
Emily S. Cross
Nikolaas N. Oosterhof
Affiliation:
Centro Interdipartimentale Mente/Cervello (CIMeC), University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Trento, Italy. nikolaas.oosterhof@unitn.ithttp://www.unitn.it/en/cimec/22589/nikolaas-oosterhof Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755 Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
Alison J. Wiggett
Affiliation:
Wales Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynne, LL57 2AS, United Kingdom. a.wiggett@bangor.ac.uke.cross@bangor.ac.ukhttp://www.bangor.ac.uk/psychology/people/profiles/alison_wiggett.php.en
Emily S. Cross
Affiliation:
Wales Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynne, LL57 2AS, United Kingdom. a.wiggett@bangor.ac.uke.cross@bangor.ac.ukhttp://www.bangor.ac.uk/psychology/people/profiles/alison_wiggett.php.en Behavioural Science Institute and Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands. www.soba-lab.com
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Abstract

Cook et al. overstate the evidence supporting their associative account of mirror neurons in humans: most studies do not address a key property, action-specificity that generalizes across the visual and motor domains. Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) of neuroimaging data can address this concern, and we illustrate how MVPA can be used to test key predictions of their account.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , April 2014 , pp. 213 - 215
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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