Does f MRI repetition suppression reveal mirror neuron activity in the human brain? Insights from univariate and multivariate analysis
Author(s) -
Fuelscher Ian,
Caeyenberghs Karen,
Enticott Peter Gregory,
Kirkovski Melissa,
Farquharson Shawna,
Lum Jarrad,
Hyde Christian
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/ejn.14370
Subject(s) - univariate , mirror neuron , psychology , intraparietal sulcus , multivariate statistics , functional magnetic resonance imaging , univariate analysis , multivariate analysis , repetition (rhetorical device) , neural substrate , brain activity and meditation , human brain , cognition , neuroscience , cognitive psychology , computer science , machine learning , electroencephalography , linguistics , philosophy
Abstract Mirror neurons ( MN ) have been proposed as the neural substrate for a wide range of clinical, social and cognitive phenomena. Over the last decade, a commonly used tool for investigating MN activity in the human brain has been functional magnetic resonance ( f MRI ) repetition suppression ( RS ) paradigms. However, the available evidence is mixed, largely owing to inconsistent application of the methodological criteria necessary to infer MN properties. This raises concerns about the degree to which one can infer the presence (or absence) of MN activity from earlier accounts that adopted RS paradigms. We aimed to clarify this issue using a well‐validated f MRI RS paradigm and tested for mirror properties by rigorously applying the widely accepted criteria necessary to demonstrate MN activity using traditional univariate techniques and Multivariate Pattern Analysis ( MVPA ). While univariate whole brain analysis in healthy adults showed uni‐modal RS effects within the supplementary motor area, no evidence for cross‐modal RS effects consistent with mirror neuron activity was found. MVPA on the other hand revealed a region along the anterior intraparietal sulcus that met the criteria for MN activity. Taken together, these results clarify disparate evidence from earlier RS studies, highlighting that traditional univariate analysis of RS data may not be sensitive for detecting MN activity when rigorously applying the requisite criteria. In light of these findings, we recommend that short of increasing sample sizes substantially, future studies using RS paradigms to investigate MN s across the human brain consider the use of MVPA.