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    Do infants provide evidence that the mirror system is involved in action understanding?

    Southgate, Victoria (2013) Do infants provide evidence that the mirror system is involved in action understanding? Consciousness and Cognition 22 (3), pp. 1114-1121. ISSN 1053-8100.

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    Abstract

    The mirror neuron theory of action understanding makes predictions concerning how the limited motor repertoire of young infants should impact on their ability to interpret others’ actions. In line with this theory, an increasing body of research has identified a correlation between infants’ abilities to perform an action, and their ability to interpret that action as goal-directed when performed by others. In this paper, I will argue that the infant data does by no means unequivocally support the mirror neuron theory of action understanding and that alternative interpretations of the data should be considered. Furthermore, some of this data can be better interpreted in terms of an alternative view, which holds that the role of the motor system in action perception is more likely to be one of enabling the observer to predict, after a goal has been identified, how that goal will be attained.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Action understanding, Mirror neurons, Infants, EEG
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences
    Research Centres and Institutes: Brain and Cognitive Development, Centre for (CBCD)
    Depositing User: Administrator
    Date Deposited: 17 Jun 2013 07:01
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:05
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/7464

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