A category of stimuli of great importance for primates, humans in particular, is that formed by actions done by other individuals. If we want to survive, we must understand the actions of others. Furthermore, without action understanding, social organization is impossible. In the case of humans, there is another faculty that depends on the observation of others' actions: imitation learning. Unlike most species, we are able to learn by imitation, and this faculty is at the basis of human culture. In this review we present data on a neurophysiological mechanism--the mirror-neuron mechanism--that appears to play a fundamental role in both action understanding and imitation. We describe first the functional properties of mirror neurons in monkeys. We review next the characteristics of the mirror-neuron system in humans. We stress, in particular, those properties specific to the human mirror-neuron system that might explain the human capacity to learn by imitation. We conclude by discussing the relationship between the mirror-neuron system and language.

The mirror-neuron system.

Theta Burst Stimulation of the Human Motor Cortex

� Abstract A category of stimuli of great importance for primates, humans in particular, is that formed by actions done by other individuals. If we want to survive, we must understand the actions of others. Furthermore, without action understanding, social organization is impossible. In the case of humans, there is another faculty that depends on the observation of others’ actions: imitation learning. Unlike most species, we are able to learn by imitation, and this faculty is at the basis of human culture. In this review we present data on a neurophysiological mechanism—the mirror-neuron mechanism—that appears to play a fundamental role in both action understanding and imitation. We describe first the functional properties of mirror neurons in monkeys. We review next the characteristics of the mirror-neuron system in humans. We stress, in particular, those properties specific to the human mirror-neuron system that might explain the human capacity to learn by imitation. We conclude by discussing the relationship between the mirror-neuron system and language.

/pdf/the-mirror-neuron-system-4coc36y6dq.pdf

The mirror neuron system.

http://www.cognitiveneuroscience.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Rossini_CliNeuro_2015.pdf

Non-invasive electrical and magnetic stimulation of the brain, spinal cord, roots and peripheral nerves: Basic principles and procedures for routine clinical and research application: An updated report from an I.F.C.N. Committee

Music performance is both a natural human activity, present in all societies, and one of the most complex and demanding cognitive challenges that the human mind can undertake. Unlike most other sensory-motor activities, music performance requires precise timing of several hierarchically organized actions, as well as precise control over pitch interval production, implemented through diverse effectors according to the instrument involved. We review the cognitive neuroscience literature of both motor and auditory domains, highlighting the value of studying interactions between these systems in a musical context, and propose some ideas concerning the role of the premotor cortex in integration of higher order features of music with appropriately timed and organized actions.

When the brain plays music: auditory–motor interactions in music perception and production

Motor cortex hand area and speech: implications for the development of language.

Localization of the motor hand area using transcranial magnetic stimulation and functional magnetic resonance imaging

Motor practice induces plastic changes within the cortical motor system. Whereas rapidly evolving changes of cortical motor representations were the subject of a number of recent studies, effects of long-term practice on the motor system are so far poorly understood. In the present study pianists and nonmusicians were investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Both groups performed simple and complex movement sequences on a keyboard with the right hand, the tasks requiring different levels of ordinal complexity. The aim of this study was to characterize motor representations related to sequence complexity and to long-term motor practice. In nonmusicians, complex motor sequences showed higher fMRI activations of the presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA) and the rostral part of the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) compared to simple motor sequences, whereas musicians showed no differential activations. These results may reflect the higher level of visuomotor integration required in the complex task in nonmusicians, whereas in musicians this rostral premotor network was employed during both tasks. Comparison of subject groups revealed increased activation of a more caudal premotor network in nonmusicians comprising the caudal part of the PMd and the supplementary motor area. This supports recent results suggesting a specialization within PMd. Furthermore, we conclude that plasticity due to long-term practice mainly occurs in caudal motor areas directly related to motor execution. The slowly evolving changes in M1 during motor skill learning may extend to adjacent areas, leading to more effective motor representations in pianists.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hbm.20112

Effects of long-term practice and task complexity in musicians and nonmusicians performing simple and complex motor tasks: implications for cortical motor organization.

The human posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is well known to be involved in various functions of multisensory spatial perception. However, the specific role of the PPC in hearing has, up to now, remained unclear. To allow more reliable conclusions to be drawn on this issue, we have used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in healthy subjects. Focal stimulation of the PPC induced a systematic shift in the lateralization of interaural time differences (ITDs, a main cue for auditory azimuth), whereas the acuity of ITD discrimination was unaffected. We propose that the PPC is specifically involved in relating azimuthal angles of sound to the body coordinates and is part of a "where" stream in cortical processing of auditory information.

https://www.jneurosci.org/content/jneuro/22/3/RC207.full.pdf

Role of the posterior parietal cortex in spatial hearing.

In previous studies it has been shown that picture-naming latencies can be facilitated with both suprathreshold single and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS/rTMS) over Wernicke's area. The aim of this study was to investigate whether low-frequency rTMS (1 Hz) or high-frequency rTMS (20 Hz) at subthreshold intensities is also capable of influencing picture naming. In 16 healthy right-hand male subjects, trains of 1 Hz or 20 Hz were applied over either Wernicke's area, Broca's area, or the primary visual cortex. The subjects had to name 20 black-and-white line drawings, which were shown immediately after rTMS and again 2 minutes later. Naming latency could be facilitated only immediately after Wernicke's area stimulation at a frequency of 20 Hz and at an intensity of 55% of the maximal stimulator output, which was more than the motor threshold. All other stimulation procedures failed to influence naming latencies. These results indicate that language functions can be facilitated in healthy subjects only by high-frequency rTMS with intensities at or above the motor threshold.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation effects on language function depend on the stimulation parameters.

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