AUTHOR=Isoda Kazuo , Sueyoshi Kana , Ikeda Yuki , Nishimura Yuki , Hisanaga Ichiro , Orlic Stéphanie , Kim Yeon-Kyu , Higuchi Shigekazu TITLE=Effect of the Hand-Omitted Tool Motion on mu Rhythm Suppression JOURNAL=Frontiers in Human Neuroscience VOLUME=10 YEAR=2016 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00266 DOI=10.3389/fnhum.2016.00266 ISSN=1662-5161 ABSTRACT=

In the present study, we investigated the effect of the image of hands on mu rhythm suppression invoked by the observation of a series of tool-based actions in a goal-directed activity. The participants were 11 university students. As a source of visual stimuli to be used in the test, a video animation of the porcelain making process for museums was used. In order to elucidate the effect of hand imagery, the image of hands was omitted from the original (“hand image included”) version of the animation to prepare another (“hand image omitted”) version. The present study has demonstrated that, an individual watching an instructive animation on the porcelain making process, the image of the porcelain maker’s hands can activate the mirror neuron system (MNS). In observations of “tool included” clips, even the “hand image omitted” clip induced significant mu rhythm suppression in the right central area. These results suggest that the visual observation of a tool-based action may be able to activate the MNS even in the absence of hand imagery.