Motor system neural networks are activated during movement imagery, observation and execution, with a neural signature characterized by suppression of the Mu rhythm. In order to investigate the origin of this neurophysiological marker, we tested whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) modifies Mu rhythm oscillations during tasks involving observation and imagery of biological and...

Disruptions in the mirror neuron system (MNS) have been suggested to play a key role in the core social deficits observed in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). EEG mu rhythm suppression during the observation of biological actions is believed to reflect MNS functioning but understanding of the developmental progression of the MNS and EEG mu rhythm in both typical and atypical development is lacki...

The realization that the mu-opioid system plays a key role in the control of the process of neuroinflammation is a new concept that may lead to identification of novel therapies for this extremely widespread and intractable syndrome. Fever is the hallmark among the defense mechanisms evoked by the entry into the body of pathogens to initiate the innate immune responses. In an attempt to determi...

Changes in power in the mu frequency band (8-13Hz) of the electroencephalogram (EEG) is thought to indirectly reflect the activity of mirror neurons in premotor cortex. Activation of these neurons by self-performed, observed or imagined motor actions is assumed to produce asynchronous firing and a reduction in mu rhythm oscillation (referred to as mu suppression) in sensorimotor cortex. A recen...

The 7 to 12 Hz rhythm is a high-voltage oscillatory phenomenon recorded in many rat neocortical regions, largely analogous to the rodent and human somatosensory mu rhythm. Central to any interpretation of the functional significance of this pattern is the analysis of the behavioral context associated with it. Much of the debate on the function of mu, variously believed to represent either an en...

The mu rhythm as an 8–13 Hz component generated by the primary sensorimotor cortex, has been noted as a promising marker of the human mirror neuron system (MNS). The MNS discharge both when a movement is executed and when that same movement is observed and imagine, has been considered to facilitate emotion processing. But whether emotional stimulus can influence the ensuing MNS is unclear. The ...