SynthesisPsychological bulletin2016
Assessing human mirror activity with EEG mu rhythm: A meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Psychological bulletin, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 145 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Assessment of Brain Activation With Different Mirror Therapy Tasks - Contribution of EEG and fNIRS in Healthy Subjects.
Immersive AOT: Multisensory Stimulation and Neurophysiological Correlates - A Pilot Study
Who cites it
145 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 446 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in the Normalization of Brain Activation in Patients with Neuropsychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review of Neurophysiological and Neuroimaging Studies.Neural plasticity · 2020Pooled it
- Overlaps and distinctions between attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder in young adulthood: Systematic review and guiding framework for EEG-imaging research.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Biological motion perception in autism spectrum disorder: a meta-analysis.Molecular autism · 2019Pooled it
- The Activation of the Mirror Neuron System during Action Observation and Action Execution with Mirror Visual Feedback in Stroke: A Systematic Review.Neural plasticity · 2018Pooled it
- Cognitive, Neurophysiological, and Behavioral Adaptations in Golf Putting Motor Learning: A Holistic Approach.Psychological research · 2025Trial
- Experience with pointing gestures facilitates infant vocabulary growth through enhancement of sensorimotor brain activity.Developmental psychology · 2023Trial
- Sex differences in early sensorimotor processing for speech discrimination.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- EEG Biomarkers During Upper-Limb Action Observation Therapy for Stroke Rehabilitation: A Scoping Review.Annals of biomedical engineering · 2026Review
- From Traditional Tasks to Hyperscanning: Exploratory Evidence for Selective Modulation of Sensorimotor Neurodynamics Using Time-Resolved Generalized Additive Model Analysis.The European journal of neuroscience · 2026Article
- A Mixed Longitudinal EEG Study of Sensorimotor Rhythm Modulation and Its Relationship with Language Development in Children Aged 3-10 Years.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Empathy for pain persists across live two-way video interactions and viewing of prerecorded videos.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2026Article
- Shielding the First 24 Postnatal Months of Life: A Proposal for a Prospective Cohort Study of Early-Life Electromagnetic Exposure and Autism Risk.Alpha psychiatry · 2026Article
- Neural Correlates for Anticipating and Observing Goal-Directed Actions in Autism.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Article
- Reduced central alpha power at rest is associated with the risk of alcohol-induced blackout and frequency of non-REM parasomnia episodes in adults.Physiological reports · 2026Article
- Mirror Neuron System and Upper-Limb EMG Activity During Reaching Imitation in Stroke Survivors: Comparing Outcomes After Observing Normal vs. Aberrant Movements.NeuroRehabilitation · 2026Article
- Mirror Neurons and Pain: A Scoping Review of Experimental, Social, and Clinical Evidence.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Effects of tRNS on perception of static and dynamic displays of social-emotional communication.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2026Article
- Differential modulation of sensorimotor alpha rhythms by motor imagery, electrical stimulation, and mirror visual feedback following peripheral nerve reconstruction: an EEG study.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Article
- Neuroecology and educational equity: neural regulation, interpersonal synchronization, and social development.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Deep Learning-Based Decoding and Feature Visualization of Motor Imagery Speeds From EEG Signals.IEEE open journal of engineering in medicine and biology · 2026Article
85 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
A fundamental issue in cognitive neuroscience is how the brain encodes others' actions and intentions. In recent years, a potential advance in our knowledge on this issue is the discovery of mirror neurons in the motor cortex of the nonhuman primate. These neurons fire to both execution and observation of specific types of actions. Researchers use this evidence to fuel investigations of a human mirror system, suggesting a common neural code for perceptual and motor processes. Among the methods used for inferring mirror system activity in humans are changes in a particular frequency band in the electroencephalogram (EEG) called the mu rhythm. Mu frequency appears to decrease in amplitude (reflecting cortical activity) during both action execution and action observation. The current meta-analysis reviewed 85 studies (1,707 participants) of mu that infer human mirror system activity. Results demonstrated significant effect sizes for mu during execution (Cohen's d = 0.46, N = 701) as well as observation of action (Cohen's d = 0.31, N = 1,508), confirming a mirroring property in the EEG. A number of moderators were examined to determine the specificity of these effects. We frame these meta-analytic findings within the current discussion about the development and functions of a human mirror system, and conclude that changes in EEG mu activity provide a valid means for the study of human neural mirroring. Suggestions for improving the experimental and methodological approaches in using mu to study the human mirror system are offered.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.