CMN 2130 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Neurofeedback, Prosthesis, Insular Cortex

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Communication
• Course: CMN 2130
• Professor: Sherry Ferguson

Document Summary

Mirror neurons: what are they? (cid:862)mi(cid:396)(cid:396)o(cid:396) (cid:374)eu(cid:396)o(cid:374)s a(cid:396)e a t(cid:455)pe of (cid:271)(cid:396)ai(cid:374) (cid:272)ell that (cid:396)espo(cid:374)d e(cid:395)uall(cid:455) (cid:449)he(cid:374) (cid:449)e pe(cid:396)fo(cid:396)(cid:373) a(cid:374) a(cid:272)tio(cid:374) a(cid:374)d when we witness someone else perform the same action. A monkey, in an experiment with different purposes, happened to be wired to a computer that recorded its brain activity. Unrelated to the study, the researcher picked up an item of food. When he did so, he (cid:374)oti(cid:272)ed a patte(cid:396)(cid:374) of (cid:271)(cid:396)ai(cid:374) (cid:272)ells a(cid:272)ti(cid:448)ated i(cid:374) the (cid:373)o(cid:374)ke(cid:455)"s (cid:271)(cid:396)ai(cid:374). Then when the monkey grabbed the same food item, the same cells lit as when the researcher had picked up the food. This accidental finding was the beginning of research into the function of mirror neurons, not only in monkeys but also in humans. Pushing the envelope with additional motor studies: subsequent studies also tried to determine whether mirror neurons could respond, not only to an action, but also to intent.