Influence of motor expertise in the mirror neuron system activation: non-dancers vs expert ballet dancers
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The mirror neuron system (MNS) involves a group of neurons in the brain that respond to the performance and observation of similar motor actions. Investigation of this system has furthered the understanding and representation of action comprehension and other fields of interest in cognitive neuroscience. In this study, the aim is to look at differences of response between both groups following the observation of expert ballet dancers’ performance and everyday movements, and also their ability to discriminate the correctness of specific actions observed. METHODS: Ten adult female volunteers were selected to participate. They were divided in two groups: experimental (ballerinas) and control (non-dancers). EDQ, Eye Tracking Technology and SuperLab were used to extract and analyse data. RESULTS: Differences between groups were only found in terms of fixation perimeter during expert movements observation. Correlations showed direct relation between action familiarity variables and motor expertise. DISCUSSION: Results show that motor expertise is a good predictor for the ability to comprehend the actions observed and the imagination of oneself executing those specific movements. It would be interesting to further explore these findings with a bigger sample size and EEG analysis.