Table 1.
List of brain areas constitute the mirror neuron system
| Area | Brodmann area | Related function |
|---|---|---|
| Supplementary motor area (SMA), secondary motor cortex (M2) | BA6 | Postural stabilization Control of sequences of movements (hypothetical) |
| Premotor cortex (PMC) | BA6 | Planning movement, spatial guidance of movement, sensory guidance of movement, understanding the actions of other, complex movement in hand and the mouth |
| Primary motor cortex (M1) | BA4 (task-relevant) | Force in a muscle |
| Pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), part of Broca’s area | BA44 (task-relevant) | Language production and phonological processing, music perceptionhand movementsImpulse control (risk aversion) |
| Pars triangularis of the IFG, part of Broca’s area | BA45 | Semantic processing |
| Area PF/PFt of the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) | BA40 (rostral) | Reading both as regards meaning and phonology |
| Supramarginal gyrus (SMG) | ||
| Intraparietal sulcus (IPS) of the human intraparietal area 3 (hIP3) | - | Symbolic numerical information processing visuospatial working memory, interpreting the intent of others |
| Primary somatosensory cortex (S1) | BA2 | Tactile perception |
| Visual area 5 (V5) in the extrastriate areas =middle temporal (MT) visual area | BA19 (partial) | Perception of motion, integration of local motion signals into global percepts, guidance of some eye movements |
| Fusiform face area (FFA) | BA37 (partial) | Face and body recognition |
| Fusiform body area (FBA) | Recognition for familiar stimuli | |
| Posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) | BA21 (caudal) | Contemplating distance, recognition of known faces accessing word meaning while reading |
| Insula | BA13 (anterior) | Olfactory perception, motor control, self-awareness interpersonal experience (social emotion) |