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Relating the “mirrorness” of mirror neurons to their origins

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2014

James M. Kilner
Affiliation:
Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom. j.kilner@ucl.ac.ukhttp://www.ucl.ac.uk/ion/departments/sobell
Karl J. Friston
Affiliation:
Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom. k.friston@ucl.ac.ukhttp://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/

Abstract

Ever since their discovery, mirror neurons have generated much interest and debate. A commonly held view of mirror neuron function is that they transform “visual information into knowledge,” thus enabling action understanding and non-verbal social communication between con-specifics (Rizzolatti & Craighero 2004). This functionality is thought to be so important that it has been argued that mirror neurons must be a result of selective pressure.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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