Decoding grip type and action goal during the observation of reaching-grasping actions: A multivariate fMRI study

•Both action observation and execution activate shared cortical and cerebellar areas.•Type of grip is processed in several parietal, premotor and cerebellar regions.•The inferior parietal cortex plays a key role in encoding final action goal.•Multivariate pattern analysis allows to decode subtle features from observed actions.•Both grip type and final action goal are decoded within the mirror neuron system.