Research Spotlight: Zhang, Fong, Welage, Liu 2018

Описание: The Activation of the Mirror Neuron System during Action Observation and Action Execution with Mirror Visual Feedback in Stroke: A Systematic Review

1. Zhang JJQ, Fong KNK, Welage N, Liu KPY. The activation of the mirror neuron system during action observation and action execution with mirror visual feedback in stroke: A systematic review. Neural Plast. 2018;2018. doi:10.1155/2018/2321045

My Takeaways:
1) Our mirror neuron system is active during action observation and execution and is associated with multiple human functions involving movement, language, and emotion involving the inferior frontal gyrus, ventral premotor cortex, inferior parietal lobule, and intraparietal sulcus.Other brain areas can be involved as well including the primary motor and somatosensory cortices and middle frontal cortex.
2) In patients post-stroke, the Ipsilesional primary motor cortex can be facilitated by mirror visual feedback - possibly in part by activation of the mirror neuron system; and long-term action execution using mirror visual feedback can result in further ipsilesional activation and therefore a more symmetrical hemispheric activation.
3) Action observation can involve multiple brain areas, including those involved with the mirror neuron system and motor cortices - this may further support the idea of generalize brain activation with environmental context in order to generate motor patterns and refine motor control.
4) “A classical pathological change following stroke involves the activities of the affected hemispheres being suppressed, while those of less affected hemispheres are heightened, due to interhemispheric competition rivalry [60]; hence, successful motor recovery in patients who have had strokes could be achieved by normalizing the interhemispheric asymmetricity and promoting the neuroplasticity of the ipsi- lesional motor cortex [61, 62]. As the present review has shown, long-term MVF can contribute to a shift in activa- tion toward the affected hemisphere [46, 52].” - Page 10, This shift also supports current work being done with TMS to improve ipsilesional activation and suppress contralesional takeover.
5) Mirror visual feedback activates the ipsilesional primary motor and somatosensory cortices, and the inferior parietal lobe; action observation activated the inferior frontal gyrus, the premotor and primary motor cortices, and structures within he temporal and occipital structures. Thus we can conclude that action observation covers further brain areas than mirror visual feedback alone and activates more areas associated with the mirror neuron system. “Small et al. proposed a model of brain repair after a stroke, which hypothesized that the MNS activation induced by AO may promote the reorganization of the cortical motor loop (i.e., the primary motor cortex, PMC, and SMA), thereby improving the motor functions of stroke survivors [63]. Our findings provide ana- tomical evidence to support this model.” - Page 10
6) MVF may contribute to stroke recovery by revising the inter- hemispheric imbalance, and MNS recruitment may be one of the potential neural mechanisms in this process. AO is associ- ated with the activation of the MNS and motor cortex, which may promote motor relearning in stroke individuals. More rigorous studies with functional neuroimaging or electrophys- iological techniques should be performed to further explain the different functional neural networks underlying AO or MVF and to explore the relationship between MN activities and clinical recovery in patients who have had strokes.


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