Abstract
The effects of different phases of an observed movement on the modulation
of cortical motor output were studied by means of transcranial magnetic
stimulation (TMS). A video-clip of a reaching-grasping action was
shown and single TMS pulses were delivered during its passive observation.
Times of cortical stimulation were related to the phases of the shown
movement, locking them to the appearance of specific kinematic landmarks.
The amplitude of the motor evoked potentials (MEPs) induced by TMS
in the first dorsal interosseus (FDI) muscle was modulated by the
amount of the observed finger aperture. The presence of such an effect
is consistent with the notion of a mirror neuron system in premotor
areas that couples action execution and action observation also in
terms of temporal coding.
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