Publications

2016
Peled-Avron, L., Perry, A., & Shamay-Tsoory, S. G. . (2016). The effect of oxytocin on the anthropomorphism of touch. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 66, 159-165. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
One of the leading hypotheses regarding the mechanism underlying the social effects of oxytocin (OT) is the “social salience hypothesis”, which proposes that OT alters the attentional salience of social cues in a context-dependent manner. Recently, OT was implicated in the process of anthropomorphism; specifically, OT was found to increase the tendency to ascribe social meaning to inanimate stimuli. However, the precise component of social interaction that contributes to this effect remains unclear. Because OT plays a role in the response to touch, whether or not objects are touching in a social context may represent the prominent trigger. Given that OT plays a major role in both anthropomorphism and touch, it is reasonable to assume that OT enhances anthropomorphism specifically for non-human touch, further clarifying its role in altering the perceptual salience of social cues. Here, we examined whether intranasal delivery of OT influences anthropomorphism for touch in inanimate objects. To that end, we implicitly measured the emotional reactions of participants (N = 51) to photos that depicted two humans or two inanimate objects either touching or not touching. We asked them to rate whether they will include each photo in an emotional album and found that OT treatment increased the likelihood of inclusion in an emotional album to photos that contain touch, particularly between inanimate objects. In a follow-up experiment we found that the more human the inanimate objects were perceived, the more included they were in the emotional album. Our findings demonstrate that OT can enhance the social meaning of touch between two inanimate objects and advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the ability of OT to anthropomorphize environmental cues.
Perry, A., Lwi, S., Verstaen, A., Dewar, C., W., L. R., & Knight, R. T. . (2016). The Role of the Orbitofrontal Cortex in Regulation of Interpersonal Space: Evidence from Frontal Lesion and Frontotemporal Dementia Patients. Social Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience, 11, 1894-1901. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
Interpersonal distance is central to communication and complex social behaviors but the neural correlates of interpersonal distance preferences are not defined. Previous studies suggest that damage to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is associated with impaired interpersonal behavior. To examine whether the OFC is critical for maintaining appropriate interpersonal distance, we tested two groups of patients with OFC damage: Patients with OFC lesions and patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. These two groups were compared to healthy controls and to patients with lesions restricted to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Only patients with OFC damage showed abnormal interpersonal distance preferences, which were significantly different from both controls and patients with dorsolateral prefrontal damage. The comfortable distances these patients chose with strangers were significantly closer than the other groups and resembled distances normally used with close others. These results shed light on the role of the OFC in regulating social behavior and may serve as a simple diagnostic tool for dementia or lesion patients.
Peled-Avron, L., Perry, A., & Shamay-Tsoory, S. G. . (2016). Where does one stand: a biological account of preferred interpersonal distance. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 11, 317–326. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
What determines how close you choose to stand to someone? Why do some people prefer farther distances than others? We hypothesized that an important factor is one’s sensory sensitivity level, i.e. how sensitive one is to nearby visual stimulation, noise, touch or smell. This study characterizes the behavioral, hormonal and electrophysiological metrics of interpersonal distance (IPD) preferences in relation to levels of sensory sensitivity. Using both an ecologically realistic task and electroencephalogram (EEG), we found that sensory sensitivity levels predicted IPD preferences, such that the more sensitive one is the farther distance they prefer. Furthermore, electrophysiological evidence revealed that individuals with higher sensory sensitivity show more alpha suppression for approaching stimuli, strengthening the notion that early sensory cortical excitability is involved in one’s social decision of how close to stand to another. The results provide evidence that a core human metric of social interaction is influenced by individual levels of sensory sensitivity.
Gao, Z., Ye, T., Shen, M., & Perry, A. . (2016). Working memory capacity of biological movements predicts empathy traits. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 23, 468-475. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
Working memory (WM) and empathy are core issues in cognitive and social science, respectively. However, no study so far has explored the relationship between these two constructs. Considering that empathy takes place based on the others’ observed experiences, which requires extracting the observed dynamic scene into WM and forming a coherent representation, we hypothesized that a sub-type of WM capacity, i.e., WM for biological movements (BM), should predict one’s empathy level. Therefore, WM capacity was measured for three distinct types of stimuli in a change detection task: BM of human beings (BM; Experiment 1), movements of rectangles (Experiment 2), and static colors (Experiment 3). The first two stimuli were dynamic and shared one WM buffer which differed from the WM buffer for colors; yet only the BM conveyed social information. We found that BM-WM capacity was positively correlated with both cognitive and emotional empathy, with no such correlations for WM capacity of movements of rectangles or of colors. Thus, the current study is the first to provide evidence linking a specific buffer of WM and empathy, and highlights the necessity for considering different WM capacities in future social and clinical research.
2015
Perry, A., Levy-Gigi, E., Richter-Levin, G., & Shamay-Tsoory, S. . (2015). Interpersonal distance and social anxiety in Autistic Spectrum Disorder: A behavioral and ERP study. Social Neuroscience, 10, 354-365. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
Long-term deprivation of normal visual inputs can cause perceptual impairments at various levels of visual function, from basic visual acuity deficits, through mid-level deficits such as contour integration and motion coherence, to high-level face and object agnosia. Yet it is unclear whether training during adulthood, at a post-developmental stage of the adult visual system, can overcome such developmental impairments. Here, we visually trained LG, a developmental object and face agnosic individual. Prior to training, at the age of 20, LG’s basic and mid-level visual functions such as visual acuity, crowding effects, and contour integration were underdeveloped relative to normal adult vision, corresponding to or poorer than those of 5–6 year olds (Gilaie-Dotan, Perry, Bonneh, Malach & Bentin, 2009). Intensive visual training, based on lateral interactions, was applied for a period of 9 months. LG’s directly trained but also untrained visual functions such as visual acuity, crowding, binocular stereopsis and also mid-level contour integration improved significantly and reached near-age-level performance, with long-term (over 4 years) persistence. Moreover, mid-level functions that were tested post-training were found to be normal in LG. Some possible subtle improvement was observed in LG’s higher-order visual functions such as object recognition and part integration, while LG’s face perception skills have not improved thus far. These results suggest that corrective training at a post-developmental stage, even in the adult visual system, can prove effective, and its enduring effects are the basis for a revival of a developmental cascade that can lead to reduced perceptual impairments.
Perry, A., Levy-Gigi, E., Richter-Levin, G., & Shamay-Tsoory, S. G. . (2015). Interpersonal distance and social anxiety in autistic spectrum disorders: A behavioral and ERP study. Social Neuroscience, 10, 354-365. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
An inherent feature of social interactions is the use of social space or interpersonal distance—the space between one individual and another. Because social deficits are core symptoms of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), we hypothesized that individuals on this spectrum will exhibit abnormal interpersonal distance preferences. The literature on interpersonal distance in ASD is not conclusive. While some studies show preferences for closer distances among this group, others show preferences for farther distances than controls. A common symptom of ASD that may explain the variance in responses to interpersonal distance in this population is social anxiety (SA), which has been shown to correlate with interpersonal distance preferences. In the current study, we investigated interpersonal distance preferences in a group of individuals with ASD using both behavioral and ERP measures. We found greater variance in interpersonal distance preferences in the ASD group than in the control group. Furthermore, we showed that this variance can be explained by differences in SA level and can be predicted by the N1 amplitude, an early ERP component related to attention and discrimination processes. These results hint at the early sensory and attentional processes that may be affecting higher social behaviors, both in subclinical and in clinical populations.
Perry, A., Mankuta, D., & Shamay-Tsoory, S. G. . (2015). Oxytocin promotes closer interpersonal distance among highly empathic individuals. Social, Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience, 10, 3-9. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
The space between people, or ‘interpersonal distance’, creates and defines the dynamics of social interactions and is a salient cue signaling responsiveness and feeling comfortable. This distance is implicit yet clearly felt, especially if someone stands closer or farther away than expected. Increasing evidence suggests that Oxytocin (OT) serves as a social hormone in humans, and that one of its roles may be to alter the perceptual salience of social cues. Considering that empathic ability may shape the way individuals process social stimuli, we predicted that OT will differentially affect preferred interpersonal distance depending on individual differences in empathy. Participants took part in two interpersonal distance experiments: In the first, they had to stop a (computer visualized) protagonist when feeling most comfortable; in the second, they were asked to choose the room in which they would later discuss intimate topics with another. Both experiments revealed an interaction between the effect of OT and empathy level. Among highly empathic individuals, OT promoted the choice of closer interpersonal distances. Yet, OT had an opposite effect on individuals with low empathic traits. We conclude that the enhancement of social cues following OT administration may have opposite effects on individuals with different empathic abilities.
2014
Frenkel-Toledo, S., Bentin, S., Perry, A., Liebermann, D. G., & Soroker, N. . (2014). Mirror-neuron system recruitment by action observation: Effects of focal brain damage on mu suppression. NeuroImage, 87, 127 - 137. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
Mu suppression is the attenuation of EEG power in the alpha frequency range (8-12 Hz), recorded over the sensorimotor cortex during execution and observation of motor actions. Based on this dual characteristic mu suppression is thought to signalize activation of a human analogue of the mirror neuron system (MNS) found in macaque monkeys. However, much uncertainty remains concerning its specificity and full significance. To further explore the hypothesized relationship between mu suppression and MNS activation, we investigated how it is affected by damage to cortical regions, including areas where the MNS is thought to reside. EEG was recorded in 33 first-event stroke patients during observation of video clips showing reaching and grasping hand movements. We examined the modulation of EEG oscillations at central and occipital sites, and analyzed separately the lower (8-10 Hz) and higher (10-12 Hz) segments of the alpha/mu range. Suppression was determined relative to observation of a non-biological movement. Normalized lesion data were used to investigate how damage to regions of the fronto-parietal cortex affects the pattern of suppression. The magnitude of mu suppression during action observation was significantly reduced in the affected hemisphere compared to the unaffected hemisphere. Differences between the hemispheres were significant at central (sensorimotor) sites but not at occipital (visual) sites. Total hemispheric volume loss did not correlate with mu suppression. Suppression in the lower mu range in the unaffected hemisphere (C3) correlated with lesion extent within the right inferior parietal cortex. Our lesion study supports the role of mu suppression as a marker of MNS activation, confirming previous studies in normal subjects.
2013
Perry, A., Rubinsten, O., Peled, L., & Shamay-Tsoory, S. G. . (2013). Don't stand so close to me: A behavioral and ERP study of preferred interpersonal distance. NeuroImage, 83, 761 - 769. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
The space between people, or interpersonal distance, creates and defines the dynamics of social interactions. Given that invasion of one’s interpersonal space may trigger threat and anxiety, a critical question is if high vulnerability to social anxiety (SA) is associated with avoidance and attentional biases when anticipating invasion to one’s interpersonal space. Therefore, the current study sought to examine the behavioral mechanisms, time course and neural correlates underlying the threat of interpersonal distance invasion with a focus on different SA levels, using both a behavioral and an ERP experiment. Preferred interpersonal distance was assessed using a paradigm that involves responding to different virtual protagonists (friend or stranger) approaching the participant by indicating where one would like the protagonist to stop. In addition, participants’ level of social anxiety was measured. The behavioral experiment indicated that levels of SA predicted one’s preferred interpersonal distance such that higher SA individuals preferred further distance from a stranger. At the neural level, across groups, early (N1) but not late (LPP) differences were found between stranger and friend conditions. Importantly, SA individuals were characterized by attenuated early ERP responses, suggesting less attentional resources allocated to social stimuli. The results suggest that high SA individuals feel discomfort earlier than others in social engagement, which may lead them to stand further away, thus creating less communicative social interactions.
Frenkel-Toledo, S., Bentin, S., Perry, A., Liebermann, D. G., & Soroker, N. . (2013). Dynamics of the EEG power in the frequency and spatial domains during observation and execution of manual movements. Brain Research, 1509, 43-57. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
Mu suppression is the attenuation of EEG power in the alpha frequency range (8–12 Hz) while executing or observing a motor action. Whereas typically observed at central scalp sites, there are diverging reports about the extent of the attenuation over the cortical mantle, its exact frequency range and the specificity of this phenomenon. We investigated the modulation of EEG oscillations in frequency-bands between 4 to 12 Hz at frontal, central, parietal and occipital sites during the execution of manual movements and during observation of similar actions from allocentric (i.e., facing the actor) and egocentric (i.e., seeing the actor from behind) viewpoints. Suppression was determined relative to observation of a non-biological movement. Action observation elicited greater suppression in the lower (8–10 Hz) compared to the higher mu range (10–12 Hz), and greater suppression in the entire range (4–12 Hz) at frontal and central sites compared to parietal and occipital sites. In addition, suppression tended to be greater during observation of a motor action from allocentric compared to egocentric viewpoints. During execution of movement, suppression of the EEG occurred primarily in the higher alpha range and was absent at occipital sites. In the theta range (4–8 Hz), the EEG amplitude was suppressed during action observation and execution. The results suggest a functional distinction between modulation of mu and alpha rhythms, and between the higher and lower ranges of the mu rhythms. The activity of the presumed human mirror-neuron system seems primarily evident in the lower mu range and in the theta range.
Perry, A., Aviezer, H., Goldstein, P., Palgi, S., Klein, E., & Shamay-Tsoory, S. G. . (2013). Face or body? Oxytocin improves perception of emotions from facial expressions in incongruent emotional body context. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2820. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has been repeatedly reported to play an essential role in the regulation of social cognition in humans in general, and specifically in enhancing the recognition of emotions from facial expressions. The later was assessed in different paradigms that rely primarily on isolated and decontextualized emotional faces. However, recent evidence has indicated that the perception of basic facial expressions is not context invariant and can be categorically altered by context, especially body context, at early perceptual levels. Body context has a strong effect on our perception of emotional expressions, especially when the actual target face and the contextually expected face are perceptually similar. To examine whether and how OT affects emotion recognition, we investigated the role of OT in categorizing facial expressions in incongruent body contexts. Our results show that in the combined process of deciphering emotions from facial expressions and from context, OT gives an advantage to the face. This advantage is most evident when the target face and the contextually expected face are perceptually similar.
Perry, A., & Shamay-Tsoory, S. . (2013). Understanding emotional and cognitive empathy: A neuropsychological perspective. In Understanding Other Minds: Perspectives from developmental social neuroscience. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
Empathy is a broad concept that refers to the cognitive as well as the emotional reactions of one individual to the observed experiences of another. Questions regarding how we understand others have intrigued psychologists and philosophers for centuries. In order to answer these questions, two major theories have been proposed, known as Theory Theory and Simulation Theory. In the past two decades, these questions have been re-examined by neuropsychologists and neuroscientists. This chapter reviews the different aspects of emotional and cognitive empathy in light of converging evidence from lesion patients, electrophysiology and neuroimaging studies. Neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Autism or Schizophrenia, although heterogeneous and difficult to study, have also been examined in relation to their deficits in cognitive and emotional empathy, and some of these new findings are discussed in this chapter. Lastly, we propose a model which relates brain mechanisms such as simulation or cognitive and affective ToM, to psychological processes, the empathic responses they lead to, and deficits which may occur when these mechanisms are disrupted.
2012
Aviezer, H., Hassin, R. R., Perry, A., Dudarev, V., & Bentin, S. . (2012). The right place at the right time: Priming facial expressions with emotional face components in developmental visual agnosia. Neuropsychologia, 50, 949-957. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
The current study examined the nature of deficits in emotion recognition from facial expressions in case LG, an individual with a rare form of developmental visual agnosia (DVA). LG presents with profoundly impaired recognition of facial expressions, yet the underlying nature of his deficit remains unknown. During typical face processing, normal sighted individuals extract information about expressed emotions from face regions with activity diagnostic for specific emotion categories. Given LG’s impairment, we sought to shed light on his emotion perception by examining if priming facial expressions with diagnostic emotional face components would facilitate his recognition of the emotion expressed by the face. LG and control participants matched isolated face components with components appearing in a subsequently presented full-face and then categorized the face’s emotion. Critically, the matched components were from regions which were diagnostic or non-diagnostic of the emotion portrayed by the full face. In experiment 1, when the full faces were briefly presented (150 ms), LG’s performance was strongly influenced by the diagnosticity of the components: his emotion recognition was boosted within normal limits when diagnostic components were used and was obliterated when non-diagnostic components were used. By contrast, in experiment 2, when the face-exposure duration was extended (2000 ms), the beneficial effect of the diagnostic matching was diminished as was the detrimental effect of the non-diagnostic matching. These data highlight the impact of diagnostic facial features in normal expression recognition and suggest that impaired emotion recognition in DVA results from deficient visual integration across diagnostic face components.
2011
Perry, A., Stein, L., & Bentin, S. . (2011). Motor and attentional mechanisms involved in social interaction—Evidence from mu and alpha EEG suppression. NeuroImage, 58, 895-904. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract

Mu rhythms are EEG oscillations in the 8–13 Hz recorded at sites located roughly over the sensory-motor cortex. There is reliable evidence that the amplitude of mu rhythms is reduced when the participant performs a motor act (mu suppression). Recent studies found mu suppression not only in response to actual movements but also while the participant observes actions executed by someone else. This finding putatively associates the mu suppression to the activity of a mirror neurons system which, in humans, has been suggested to contribute to social skills. In the present study we explored the effects of different levels of social interaction on mu suppression. Participants observed dynamic displays of hand gestures performing actions used in the Rock–Scissors–Paper game. In different blocks, participants passively viewed identical video clips with no game context and in the context of a game, or while being actually engaged in the game either by imagining actions or by actual playing. As a baseline for calculating mu suppression we used a dynamic display of a rolling ball. In addition, to isolate the social aspect of the actual movements, participants performed the same acts outside the game context. Mu suppression was larger while participants were engaged in the social game than when they passively looked at the “opponent” actions or when they performed movements without the game context. This effect was found while viewing the opponent play as well as while actually playing, which supports the view that mu suppression is affected not only by motion, but also by the social context of the motion. However, we did not find differences in mu suppression between perception segments in which the participant did not actually play. Furthermore, in all perception segments occipital alpha suppression was more robust than mu suppression suggesting the involvement of a strong attentional component. While actually playing, however, mu suppression was stronger than alpha suppression.

2010
Anat, P., & Shlomo, B. . (2010). Does focusing on hand grasping intentions modulate Electroencephalogram mu and alpha suppression?. Neuroreport, 21, 1050-1054. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
Understanding the intentions of others presumably involves a human analog of the mirror neuron system. A putative marker of such mirror activity is the suppression of electroencephalographic oscillations in the 8–12 Hz range, which, when recorded over somatosensory areas, is associated with motor activity and labeled μ rhythms. We investigated whether μ-suppression can be modulated by attention to another person’s intention as expressed by her hand movement toward an object and whether this suppression is distinguished from the suppression of α waves that oscillate in the same frequency range and are modulated by attention and cognitive load. Both μ and α suppressions were modulated by task difficulty, and not distinctively by intention, reflecting the recruitment of resources needed for task performance.
Perry, A., Troje, N. F., & Bentin, S. . (2010). Exploring motor system contributions to the perception of social information: Evidence from EEG activity in the mu/alpha frequency range. Social Neuroscience, 5, 272-284. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
Putative contributions of a human mirror neuron system (hMNS) to the perception of social information have been assessed by measuring the suppression of EEG oscillations in the mu/alpha (8–12 Hz), beta (15–25 Hz) and low-gamma (25–25 Hz) ranges while participants processed social information revealed by point-light displays of human motion. Identical dynamic displays were presented and participants were instructed to distinguish the intention, the emotion, or the gender of a moving image of a person, while they performed an adapted odd-ball task. Relative to a baseline presenting a nonbiological but meaningful motion display, all three biological motion conditions reduced the EEG amplitude in the mu/alpha and beta ranges, but not in the low-gamma range. Suppression was larger in the intention than in the emotion and gender conditions, with no difference between the latter two. Moreover, the suppression in the intention condition was negatively correlated with an accepted measure of empathy (EQ), revealing that participants high in empathy scores manifested less suppression. For intention and emotion the suppression was larger at occipital than at central sites, suggesting that factors other than motor system were in play while processing social information embedded in the motion of point-light displays.
Perry, A., Bentin, S., Shalev, I., Israel, S., Uzefovsky, F., Bar-On, D., & Ebstein, R. P. . (2010). Intranasal oxytocin modulates EEG mu/alpha and beta rhythms during perception of biological motion. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 35, 1446 - 1453. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
Oxytocin (OT) plays a determining role in social and pair bonding in many vertebrates and increasing evidence suggests it is a social hormone also in humans. Indeed, intranasal administration of OT modulates several social cognitive processes in humans. Electrophysiological studies in humans associated the suppression of EEG in the mu/alpha and beta bands with perception of biological motion and social stimuli. It has been suggested that mu and beta suppression over sensory-motor regions reflects a resonance system in the human brain analogous to mirror neurons in the monkey. We therefore hypothesized that OT, a social hormone, would enhance this suppression, hence, for the first time, link the action of this neuropeptide with a human correlate of mirror neuron activity. Twenty-four students were administered 24IU of OT or placebo intranasally in a robust, double-blind within-subject design. 45min later participants were shown a point-light display of continuous biological motion of a
Perry, A., Bentin, S., Ben-Ami Bartal, I., Lamm, C., & Decety, J. . (2010). “Feeling” the pain of those who are different from us: Modulation of EEG in the mu/alpha range. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 10, 493–504. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
We explored how apparently painful stimuli and the ability to identify with the person on whom the pain is inflicted modulate EEG suppression in the mu/alpha range (8-12 Hz). In a 2 × 2 design, we presented pictures of hands either experiencing needle pricks or being touched by a Q-tip. In the dissimilar-other condition, the hand was assigned to a patient suffering from a neurological disease in which Q-tips inflicted pain, whereas needle pricks did not. In the similar-other condition, the hand was assigned to a patient who responded to stimulation in the same way as the healthy participant. Participants [...]
2009
Anat, P., & Shlomo, B. . (2009). Mirror activity in the human brain while observing hand movements: Equivalence between EEG desynchronization in the μ-range and fMRI. Brain Research, 1282, 126-132. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
Mu (μ) rhythms are EEG oscillations between 8–13 Hz distinguished from alpha by having more anterior distribution and being desynchronized by motor rather than visual activity. Evidence accumulating during the last decade suggests that the desynchronization of μ rhythms (μ suppression) might be also a manifestation of a human Mirror Neuron System (MNS). To further explore this hypothesis we used a paradigm that, in a previous fMRI study, successfully activated this putative MNS in humans. Our direct goal was to provide further support for a link between modulation of μ rhythms and the MNS, by finding parallels between the reported patterns of fMRI activations and patterns of μ suppression. The EEG power in the μ range has been recorded while participants passively observed either a left or a right hand, reaching to and grasping objects, and compared it with that recorded while participants observed the movement of a ball, and while observing static grasping scenes or still objects. Mirroring fMRI results (Shmuelof, L., Zohary, E., 2005. Dissociation between ventral and dorsal fMRI activation during object and action recognition. Neuron 47, 457–470), μ suppression was larger in the hemisphere contra-lateral to the moving hand and larger when the hands grasped different objects in different ways than when the movement was repetitive. No suppression was found while participants observed still objects but μ suppression was also found while seeing static grasping postures. These data are discussed in light of similar parallels between modulations of alpha waves and fMRI while recording EEG in the magnet. The present data support a link between μ suppression and a human MNS.
Perry, A., & Bentin, S. . (2009). Research Report: Mirror activity in the human brain while observing hand movements: A comparison between EEG desynchronization in the ?-range and previous fMRI results. Brain Research, 1282, 126 - 132. Retrieved from Publisher's VersionAbstract
Mu (?) rhythms are EEG oscillations between 8–13 Hz distinguished from alpha by having more anterior distribution and being desynchronized by motor rather than visual activity. Evidence accumulating during the last decade suggests that the desynchronization of ? rhythms (? suppression) might be also a manifestation of a human Mirror Neuron System (MNS). To further explore this hypothesis we used a paradigm that, in a previous fMRI study, successfully activated this putative MNS in humans. Our direct goal was to provide further support for a link between modulation of ? rhythms and the MNS, by finding parallels between the reported patterns of fMRI activations and patterns of ? suppression. The EEG power in the ? range has been recorded while participants passively observed either a left or a right hand, reaching to and grasping objects, and compared it with that recorded while participants observed the movement of a ball, and while observing static grasping scenes or still objects. Mi