2016 年 2 巻 1 号 p. 31-37
Mirror neurons in the ventral premotor cortex (area F5) and inferior parietal cortex (area PFG) in the macaque monkey brain has provided the physiological evidence for direct matching of the intrinsic motor representations of the self and the visual image of the actions of others. The existence of mirror neurons implies that the brain has mechanisms reflecting shared self and other action representations. This may further imply that the neural basis self-body representations may also incorporate components that are shared with other—body representations. It is likely that such a mechanism is also involved in predicting other’s touch sensations and emotions. However, the neural basis of shared body representations has remained unclear. Here, we propose a neural basis of body representation of the self and of others in both human and non-human primates. We review a series of behavioral and physiological findings which together paint a picture that the systems underlying such shared representations require integration of conscious exteroception and interoception subserved by a cortical sensory-motor network involving fronto-parieto-inner perisylvian circuits (the ventral premotor [PMv]—the ventral intraparietal area [VIP]/inferior parietal area [PFG]—secondary somatosensory cortex [SII]/insular cortex [IC]).
