# Functions and Development of the Mirror Neuron System

> **NIH NIH P01** · UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK · 2020 · $1,143,933

## Abstract

Function and Development of the Mirror Neuron System
 Project Summary
Two fundamental abilities are central to adaptive human functioning: the ability to deploy actions strategically in
the service of goals, and the ability to apprehend the goals of social partners in order to produce adaptive
social responses. These abilities emerge in infancy and undergo foundational developments across childhood.
Evidence from diverse scientific approaches indicates that these capacities may be supported by a common
underlying neural network known as the mirror neuron system (MNS). This system is comprised of a network
of inter-connected brain regions some of which may contain mirror neurons (MNs) and others that involve
feedback loops across brain regions supporting these complex capabilities. The MNS responds both when we
perform an action and when we observe someone else perform that action. The discovery of MNs, first made
in non-human primates, holds the potential to revolutionize scientific understanding of goal-directed action,
social perception and their development. During the initial award period, this Program Project began studies
that investigated integrating the complex neural circuitry and functional aspects of the MNS in human infants
and children, which arguably are some of the most powerful potential effects of the MNS. Our work highlighted
the need for systematic investigations of the neural and functional aspects of the MNS during development,
both for understanding typical developmental pathways and for shedding light on developmental disorders in
which the development of social cognition and the potential functions of the MNS are disrupted, as in autism
spectrum disorder (ASD). As well, it necessitates innovative methodological approaches to measure the
networks activated during complex behaviors associated with the MNS. Advances in our work include
description of an extended MNS, the result of a complex set of brain networks involved in action execution and
observation; findings of significant changes in the MNS across development; and, not surprisingly, that the
MNS is linked tightly to the emergence and integration of motor skills not only during infancy but across
childhood. In the next five years we will advance an understanding of the neural networks of the MNS and
relations to other cognitive systems; explore the potential contributions and limitations of the MNS for the
development of social cognition; and investigate the modulation of the MNS via experience including active
training. Finally, we will extend our approach to investigate factors that may drive the varied patterns of social
deficit seen in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9997951
- **Project number:** 5P01HD064653-10
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
- **Principal Investigator:** Nathan A Fox
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,143,933
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2010-09-10 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9997951

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9997951, Functions and Development of the Mirror Neuron System (5P01HD064653-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9997951. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*