Mirror Neurons and Visuo-Motor Images in Children: A Meta-Analysis of Piaget and Inhelder's Data

Abstract

Using a meta-analysis of Piaget and Inhelder's (1966) data on static reproductive images, we examined the link between Piaget's theory of mental imagery and the motor cognition hypothesis (MCH), which reflects the functional aspect of the mirror neuron systems. We confirmed that reproduction of complex visual models mediated by visuo-motor images was facilitated much more by children's own activity than simple observation of either the model or someone else's reconstruction. Critically, the influence of imitation over the images did not change with children's age. Thus, as Piaget hypothesized, imagery may indeed have a very close relationship with imitation. However, lack of age effects shows that the type of imitation involved in visuo-motor imagery likely does not develop gradually, as predicted by Piaget, but rather it may be grounded on mirror neurons. The latter may be interpreted as the plausible biological substrate of accommodation, validating a cornerstone of Piaget's general theory.