Associative sequence learning
Associative Sequence Learning (ASL) explains how mirror neurons are able to match observed and performed actions, and how individuals (adults, children, animals) are able to imitate body movements. The theory was proposed by Cecilia Heyes in 2000.[1] [2] Its central tenet is that associations between sensory and motor representations are acquired ontogenetically, as a result of correlated sensorimotor experience. ASL proposes that this learning is mediated by the same mechanisms of associative learning that produce Pavlovian conditioning.