Between 4 and 7 months of age, infants begin to manipulate objects using role-differentiated bimanual manipulation (RDBM) where one hand stabilizes an object while the other hand manipulates the object (Rochat, 1989; Kimmerle et al., 1995, 2010). Because RDBM constrains the roles of the hands, it elicits a measurable asymmetry where the manipulating hand is considered to be the preferred hand f...

This study examined the effects of frontal lobe lesions on the control of movements during motor learning. We compared the performance of patients with unilateral frontal or temporal excisions and controls in two-dimensional aiming movements during adaptation to a transformed visuomotor mapping. Subjects tried to reach a fixed target on a graphics tablet using indirect visual control from a mon...

Many studies on bimanual coordination have shown that people exhibit a preference for mirror-symmetric movements. We demonstrate that this constraint is absent when bimanual reaching movements are made to visual targets. We investigated the ability of humans to make on-line adjustments during such movements when one or both targets were displaced during the initial phase of the movements. Adjus...

The author analyses a rare case of mirror-outrage that followed the destruction of the Buddhasof Bamiyan. This event brought the Taliban and the international community into opposition in2001. The article first stresses the intriguing paradigmatic similarities between the destruction ofthe Buddhas and the destruction of Artemis Temple in 356 BC, when the eradication of amonument...

The importance of a mirror neuron system (MNS) as a mechanism for understanding the actions of others has been established (e.g., Rizzolatti, Fadiga, Gallese, & Fogassi, 1996). Neurons in the primate premotor cortex fire both when a monkey performs an action (e.g., grasping) and when the monkey observes someone else performing the same action. It has also been proposed that the MNS is the start...

Congenital syndromes of altered nervous system connectivity are reviewed along with recent findings on axonal growth: achiasma, congenital nystagmus, congenital horizontal gaze palsy, mirror movements and the syndromes of Kallmann, Wildervanck, Duane and Marcus Gunn. Identical guidance molecules are most likely involved in making axonal connections after injury and during development. Thus, inv...

Lateralization of motor control refers to the ability to produce pure unilateral or asymmetric movements. It is required for a variety of coordinated activities, including skilled bimanual tasks and locomotion. Here we discuss the neuroanatomical substrates and pathophysiological underpinnings of lateralized motor outputs. Significant breakthroughs have been made in the past few years by studyi...

Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is a physical rehabilitation regime that has been previously shown to improve motor function in chronic hemiparetic stroke patients. However, the neural mechanisms supporting rehabilitation-induced motor recovery are poorly understood. The goal of this study was to assess motor cortical reorganization after CIMT using functional magnetic resonance imag...