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Viaro R, Maggiolini E, Farina E, Canto R, Iriki A, D'Ausilio A, Fadiga L. Neurons of rat motor cortex become active during both grasping execution and grasping observation. Curr Biol 2021; 31:4405-4412.e4. [PMID: 34433079 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.07.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Revised: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
In non-human primates, a subset of frontoparietal neurons (mirror neurons) respond both when an individual executes an action and when it observes another individual performing a similar action.1-8 Mirror neurons constitute an observation and execution matching system likely involved in others' actions processing3,5,9 and in a large set of complex cognitive functions.10,11 Here, we show that the forelimb motor cortex of rats contains neurons presenting mirror properties analogous to those observed in macaques. We provide this evidence by event-related potentials acquired by microelectrocorticography and intracortical single-neuron activity, recorded from the same cortical region during grasping execution and observation. Mirror responses are highly specific, because grasping-related neurons do not respond to the observation of either grooming actions or graspable food alone. These results demonstrate that mirror neurons are present already in species phylogenetically distant from primates, suggesting for them a fundamental, albeit basic, role not necessarily related to higher cognitive functions. Moreover, because murine models have long been valued for their superior experimental accessibility and rapid life cycle, the present finding opens an avenue to new empirical studies tackling questions such as the innate or acquired origin of sensorimotor representations and the effects of social and environmental deprivation on sensorimotor development and recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Viaro
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Section of Physiology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; Center for Translational Neurophysiology, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Emma Maggiolini
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Section of Physiology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Emanuele Farina
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Section of Physiology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Rosario Canto
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Section of Physiology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Atsushi Iriki
- Laboratory for Symbolic Cognitive Development, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe 650-0047, Japan
| | - Alessandro D'Ausilio
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Section of Physiology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; Center for Translational Neurophysiology, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Luciano Fadiga
- Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Section of Physiology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; Center for Translational Neurophysiology, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
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Ishihara K, Izawa KP, Kitamura M, Shimogai T, Kanejima Y, Morisawa T, Shimizu I. Pinch strength is associated with the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in patients with cardiovascular disease. J Cardiol 2020; 75:594-599. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jjcc.2019.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Revised: 12/07/2019] [Accepted: 12/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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Bardo A, Vigouroux L, Kivell TL, Pouydebat E. The impact of hand proportions on tool grip abilities in humans, great apes and fossil hominins: A biomechanical analysis using musculoskeletal simulation. J Hum Evol 2018; 125:106-121. [PMID: 30502891 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Revised: 10/02/2018] [Accepted: 10/03/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Differences in grip techniques used across primates are usually attributed to variation in thumb-finger proportions and muscular anatomy of the hand. However, this cause-effect relationship is not fully understood because little is known about the biomechanical functioning and mechanical loads (e.g., muscle or joint forces) of the non-human primate hand compared to that of humans during object manipulation. This study aims to understand the importance of hand proportions on the use of different grip strategies used by humans, extant great apes (bonobos, gorillas and orangutans) and, potentially, fossil hominins (Homo naledi and Australopithecus sediba) using a musculoskeletal model of the hand. Results show that certain grips are more challenging for some species, particularly orangutans, than others, such that they require stronger muscle forces for a given range of motion. Assuming a human-like range of motion at each hand joint, simulation results show that H. naledi and A. sediba had the biomechanical potential to use the grip techniques considered important for stone tool-related behaviors in humans. These musculoskeletal simulation results shed light on the functional consequences of the different hand proportions among extant and extinct hominids and the different manipulative abilities found in humans and great apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ameline Bardo
- Paris Descartes University, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, 75006, France; Department of Adaptations du Vivant, UMR 7179-CNRS/MNHN, MECADEV, Paris, 75321, France; Animal Postcranial Evolution Laboratory, Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NR, United Kingdom.
| | - Laurent Vigouroux
- Institute of Movement Sciences, UMR 7287-CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, 13288, France
| | - Tracy L Kivell
- Animal Postcranial Evolution Laboratory, Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NR, United Kingdom; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany; Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa
| | - Emmanuelle Pouydebat
- Department of Adaptations du Vivant, UMR 7179-CNRS/MNHN, MECADEV, Paris, 75321, France
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Stephens NB, Kivell TL, Pahr DH, Hublin JJ, Skinner MM. Trabecular bone patterning across the human hand. J Hum Evol 2018; 123:1-23. [PMID: 30072187 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2017] [Revised: 05/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/10/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Hand bone morphology is regularly used to link particular hominin species with behaviors relevant to cognitive/technological progress. Debates about the functional significance of differing hominin hand bone morphologies tend to rely on establishing phylogenetic relationships and/or inferring behavior from epigenetic variation arising from mechanical loading and adaptive bone modeling. Most research focuses on variation in cortical bone structure, but additional information about hand function may be provided through the analysis of internal trabecular structure. While primate hand bone trabecular structure is known to vary in ways that are consistent with expected joint loading differences during manipulation and locomotion, no study exists that has documented this variation across the numerous bones of the hand. We quantify the trabecular structure in 22 bones of the human hand (early/extant modern Homo sapiens) and compare structural variation between two groups associated with post-agricultural/industrial (post-Neolithic) and foraging/hunter-gatherer (forager) subsistence strategies. We (1) establish trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV), modulus (E), degree of anisotropy (DA), mean trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) and spacing (Tb.Sp); (2) visualize the average distribution of site-specific BV/TV for each bone; and (3) examine if the variation in trabecular structure is consistent with expected joint loading differences among the regions of the hand and between the groups. Results indicate similar distributions of trabecular bone in both groups, with those of the forager sample presenting higher BV/TV, E, and lower DA, suggesting greater and more variable loading during manipulation. We find indications of higher loading along the ulnar side of the forager sample hand, with high site-specific BV/TV distributions among the carpals that are suggestive of high loading while the wrist moves through the 'dart-thrower's' motion. These results support the use of trabecular structure to infer behavior and have direct implications for refining our understanding of human hand evolution and fossil hominin hand use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas B Stephens
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Tracy L Kivell
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NZ, United Kingdom; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dieter H Pahr
- Institute for Lightweight Design and Structural Biomechanics, Vienna University of Technology, Getreidemarkt 9, A-1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Matthew M Skinner
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NZ, United Kingdom; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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