Over the last 20 years, numerous human brain imaging studies related to motor control have identified left hemispheric parietofrontal activity as central to motor planning and execution for complex movements. This has often been postulated to be ‘mirror neuron’ type network activity. Unfortunately, the precise nature of this activity has been difficult to understand given the consistency of the findings across numerous different paradigms. Our recent studies have suggested an alternative theory that could, in part, explain the preponderance of such activity and why it may be seen in motor-related paradigms. Further studies may demonstrate utility of this activity for motor rehabilitation efforts that utilize action-observation.