Editing Mirror neuron (section)

===Automatic imitation===
The term is commonly used to refer to cases in which an individual, having observed a body movement, unintentionally performs a similar body movement or alters the way that a body movement is performed. Automatic imitation rarely involves overt execution of matching responses. Instead the effects typically consist of reaction time, rather than accuracy, differences between compatible and incompatible trials.
Research reveals that the existence of automatic imitation, which is a covert form of imitation, is distinct from spatial compatibility. It also indicates that, although automatic imitation is subject to input modulation by attentional processes, and output modulation by inhibitory processes, it is mediated by learned, long-term sensorimotor associations that cannot be altered directly by intentional processes. Many researchers believe that automatic imitation is mediated by the mirror neuron system.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Longo MR, Kosobud A, Bertenthal BI | title = Automatic imitation of biomechanically possible and impossible actions: effects of priming movements versus goals | journal = Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance | volume = 34 | issue = 2 | pages = 489–501 | date = April 2008 | pmid = 18377184 | doi = 10.1037/0096-1523.34.2.489 | url = https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/5423/1/5423.pdf }}</ref> Additionally, there are data that demonstrate that our postural control is impaired when people listen to sentences about other actions. For example, if the task is to maintain posture, people do it worse when they listen to sentences like this: "I get up, put on my slippers, go to the bathroom."  This phenomenon may be due to the fact that during action perception there is similar motor cortex activation as if a human being performed the same action (mirror neurons system).<ref name="Kosonogov2011">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kosonogov V | title = Listening to action-related sentences impairs postural control | journal = Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology | volume = 21 | issue = 5 | pages = 742–745 | date = October 2011 | pmid = 21705230 | doi = 10.1016/j.jelekin.2011.05.007 }}</ref>