What is the relationship between mirror neurons and the primary, premotor, and prefontal motor cortex?
608359
The mirror neurons are primarily found in the inferior frontal area (near Broca's area, which seems to be associated with facial movement planning) and inferior parietal region (considered an association cortex that integrates sensory information of the brain)- It's an interesting question, because it gets to an understanding of where intention to move ends, and the commands for movement itself starts.  There doens't appear to be activity in any of the three motor cortices you mentioned in observational firing of mirror neurons-though these neurons clearly exist in places that are strongly associated with "intended and concious" movement.  There is some system in place that runs the planning/association network, but does not allow it to procede to the motor/movement control areas.  Thus, there really isn't any relation, except for the fact that there *isn't* a relation, and yet one might expect to find it.
127791
the two-neuron arc is going to be faster than the three-neuron one.  two connected neurons form a shorter chain than three therefore the reflex is going to be faster.
255438
I think action potentials is what you mean. but neurons in your body do not use different coding mechanisms to the ones in your brain
230369
The brain controls "lower" or involuntary activities such as heartbeat, respiration, and digestion - these are known as autonomic functions. The brain also controls "higher" order, conscious activities, such as thought, reasoning, and abstraction. The human brain is generally regarded as more capable of these higher order activities than any other species.\n\nThe human brain is thought to be the source of the conscious, cognitive mind. The mind is the set of cognitive processes related to perception, interpretation, imagination, and memories, of which a person may or may not be aware. Beyond cognitive functions, the brain regulates autonomic processes related to essential body functions such as respiration and heartbeat.\n\nExtended neocortical capacity allows humans some control over emotional behavior, but neural pathways between emotive centers of the brain stem and cerebral motor control areas are shorter than those connecting complex cognitive areas in the neocortex with incoming sensory information from the brain stem. Powerful emotional pathways can modulate spontaneous emotive expression regardless of attempts at cerebral self-control. Emotive stability in humans is associated with planning, experience, and an environment that is both stable and stimulating, especially during early developmental years.\n\nThe 19th century discovery of the primary motor cortex mapped to correspond with regions of the body led to popular belief that the brain was organized around a homunculus. A distorted figure drawn to represent the body's motor map in the prefrontal cortex was popularly recognized as the brain's homunculus, but function of the human brain is far more complex.\n\nThe human brain appears to have no localized center of conscious control. The brain seems to derive consciousness from interaction among numerous systems within the brain. Executive functions rely on cerebral activities, especially those of the frontal lobes, but redundant and complementary processes within the brain result in a diffuse assignment of executive control that can be difficult to attribute to any single locale.\n\nMidbrain functions include routing, selecting, mapping, and cataloguing information, including information perceived from the environment and information that is remembered and processed throughout the cerebral cortex. Endocrine functions housed in the midbrain play a leading role in modulating arousal of the cortex and of autonomic systems.\n\nNerves from the brain stem complex where autonomic functions are modulated join nerves routing messages to and from the cerebrum in a bundle that passes through the spinal column to related parts of a body. Twelve pairs of cranial nerves, including some that innervate parts of the head, follow pathways from the medulla oblongata outside the spinal cord.\n\nA definite description of the biological basis for consciousness so far eludes the best efforts of the current generation of researchers. But reasonable assumptions based on observable behaviors and on related internal responses have provided the basis for general classification of elements of consciousness and of likely neural regions associated with those elements. Researchers know people lose consciousness and regain it, they have identified partial losses of consciousness associated with particular neuropathologies and they know that certain conscious activities are impossible without particular neural structures.
381191
The cerebellum (Latin: "little brain") is a region of the brain that plays an important role in the integration of sensory perception and motor output. Many neural pathways link the cerebellum with the motor cortex—which sends information to the muscles causing them to move—and the spinocerebellar tract—which provides feedback on the position of the body in space (proprioception). The cerebellum integrates these two functions, using the constant feedback on body position to fine-tune motor movements.\n\nIts location is shown here:\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebellum
118490
Neo-Cortex is the part(s) of brain that was formed after we became humans. (or lead to humanization)\n\nOther parts (we share with monkeys) communicate using alcohol. And hence forth alcohol consumption fires these cells at the cost of the Neo-Cortex leading to Primal behaviour...\n\nI have no clue how they have linked Neo-Cortex all the way to an abortion.
218030
You asked this question twice.\n\nAn apparently straightforward question with an elegant and profound underlying answer.\n\nA classic primate study has yielded the answer, which you may submit to your tutor. =)\n\n"Cerebellar ablations in monkeys result in postural and movement disorders, including hypotonia of limb extensor muscles. An important mechanism underlying the hypotonia is a depression of the responses to muscle extension of spindle primary afferents owing to a decrease of fusimotor activity."
320990
Look at the knee jerk reflex as a typical example:\n\nhttp://staff.washington.edu/chudler/chreflex.html#patella\n\nYou may need to look at other parts of the site, for info on structure inside neurons:\n\nhttp://staff.washington.edu/chudler/introb.html
350796
The way I just learned it these are terms describing cortical organization (brain). Ipsilateral control means that the right hemisphere controls a function on the right side of the body. Contralateral means that the function is crosswired, as most are, so somthing going on in your right side, lets say some incoming stimuli will be prossesed by your left hemisphere of the brain.
483072
Recognition; the brain must recognize complex verbalizations prior to attempting language Goo-goo La-la ga-ga MAMA ! lol Reinforcement and reward i.e. Say the right word Momma gives a big kiss....
815074
Women are better at multi-tasking because the two sides of their brains are more firmly connected.  Men, however, are generally better at focusing on a single task because the two sides of their brains are less connected.  I believe the connecting part is called the corpus callosum, but i may be wrong.\n\nRemeber, this is in general, there can always be exceptions.
1017679
They are a massive bundle of nerve fibers originating from pyramidal cells in the precentral motor and premotor area and in the postcentral gyrus. Their course from their origin in the cortex to cell bodies in the spinal cord is somewhat complex as is their function. To provide a simple answer, I will say that one of the primary functions of these tracts is to provide a pathway so that your brain can control your skelatal muscles for purposfull movement.
548399
http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/research/cdl/pdfs/German_Niehaus_Roarty_etal_2004.pdf#search='neural%20correlates%20of%20theory%20of%20mind'
117658
Interesting. The brain is a bundle of neurons, but it has no "feeling" itself.  An electrode inserted into the brain is painless.
1113559
Handwriting is not controlled by just one part of the brain. It involves many parts. Language, muscle movement, imagination, creative activity etc
655674
This circuitry is called the “mirror-neuron system,” because it contains a special type of brain cells, or neurons, that become active both when their owner does something, and when he or she senses someone else doing the same thing. \n\nMirror neurons typically become active when a person consciously imitates an action of someone else, a process associated with learning. But they seem to play no role in yawn contagiousness, the researchers in the new study found. The cells are have no extra activity during contagious yawning compared with during other non-contagious facial movements, they observed.
17157
The short answer is 'yes' unless you are referring to sight.\n\nThe right and left hemispheres of the human brain are connected by a huge nerve bundle called the corpus callosum. In the male fetus when male hormones are generated the corpus callosum shrinks reducing cross-communication. Because the left hemisphere deals with logic and the right hemisphere deals with emotion, women connect all logic better with emotion than men do. Although a man can chose, he is always either logical or emotional but rarely both at the same time. A man either flies off the handle or thinks the problem through. A woman can weep or laugh when she discovers something that makes sense. This explains why women are better at nurturing (cranky) children and men are better at hunting for bears (or a six pack).  Of course men can care for their children and women can hunt bare; I mean bear.