Data from: Action observation responses in macaque frontal cortex

Neurons that are active during action execution and action observation
(i.e., Action Observation/Execution Neurons, AOENs) are distributed across
the brain in a network of parietal, motor, and prefrontal areas. In a
previous study, we showed that most AOENs in ventral premotor area F5c,
where they were discovered three decades ago, responded in a highly phasic
way during the observation of a grasping action, did not require the
perception of causality or a meaningful action, and even responded to
static frames of the action videos. To assess whether these
characteristics are shared with AOENs in other areas of the AOE network,
we performed the first large-scale neural recordings during action
execution and action observation in multiple frontal areas including
dorsal premotor (PMd) area F2, primary motor (M1) cortex, ventral premotor
area F5p, frontal eye field (FEF) and 45B. In all areas, AOENs displayed
highly phasic responses during specific epochs of the action video and, in
addition, strong responses to a moving object, similar to F5c. In
addition, the population dynamics in PMv, PMd, and M1 showed a shared
representation between action execution and action observation, with an
overlap that was as large as the overlap between action execution and
passive viewing of translation movements. These results pose important
constraints on the interpretation of action observation responses in
frontal cortical areas.