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Review
. 2016 Dec;17(12):757-765.
doi: 10.1038/nrn.2016.135. Epub 2016 Oct 20.

The mirror mechanism: a basic principle of brain function

Giacomo Rizzolatti  1   2 , Corrado Sinigaglia  3   4
Affiliations
Review

The mirror mechanism: a basic principle of brain function

Giacomo Rizzolatti et al. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2016 Dec.

Abstract

The mirror mechanism is a basic brain mechanism that transforms sensory representations of others' behaviour into one's own motor or visceromotor representations concerning that behaviour. According to its location in the brain, it may fulfil a range of cognitive functions, including action and emotion understanding. In each case, it may enable a route to knowledge of others' behaviour, which mainly depends on one's own motor or visceromotor representations.

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