![]() ![]() For example, some have argued that dysfunctional mirror neurons underlie autism spectrum disorders (ASD). For example, some have claimed that mirror neurons provide the necessary neural machinery for empathy, complex social interactions, language-and even that they are responsible for the rapid cultural advancement of the human race that led to us becoming modern humans.īased on these proposed roles for mirror neurons, researchers began to speculate that impaired functioning of mirror neurons may be the basis for certain psychiatric disorders. Some have interpreted the activity of mirror neurons as the basis for our ability to understand the actions of others-a deduction thought by some to be unjustified, and one that has led to other (perhaps even less justifiable) extrapolations. The discovery of mirror neurons has generated a type of excitement both in and outside of the scientific community that is not often seen in response to scientific findings. Four years later, they named these neurons mirror neurons because they seemed to be active not only when monkeys performed a particular action, but also when they saw someone else perform a similar action.Īs mentioned above, since their initial discovery mirror neurons have been found in various other regions of the monkey brain (as well as in the brains of other species like songbirds), and there is evidence to suggest that mirror neurons exist in human brains. to pick up a food reward and place it in the testing area). They noticed that neurons in the F5 region of the monkey's brain were activated not only when the monkey moved its hands, but also when the monkey observed an experimenter using his or her hands (e.g. The investigators at the University of Parma were attempting to further understand this type of neural activation when they observed something surprising. Previous research had found neurons in this area to be active during goal-directed hand movements (e.g. They were observing neurons in the premotor cortex-specifically a region of the premotor cortex called area F5. In 1992, a group of researchers at the University of Parma in Italy were recording the activity of individual neurons in the brain of a macaque monkey. ![]() What are mirror neurons and what do they do? This, combined with the neuroimaging data mentioned above, suggests that mirror neurons likely exist in the human brain as well as the monkey brain. Although this study could only explore certain areas of the brain (which didn't include the regions most frequently associated with mirror neurons in monkeys), investigators found neurons in the supplementary motor area and temporal lobe that displayed properties of mirror neurons. There is very little conclusive evidence that mirror neurons exist in the human brain, although there is evidence from neuroimaging studies that indicates there are neurons in the human brain that display patterns of activity similar to the mirror neurons identified in the monkey brain. There is, however, one study to date that directly recorded the activity of purported mirror neurons in the brains of human patients who were being prepared for neurosurgery. Mirror neurons were first identified in the premotor cortex of monkeys in 1992, and since that time they have also been found in several other areas of the monkey brain, including the primary motor cortex, inferior parietal lobule, frontal cortex, and the area surrounding a sulcus called the intraparietal sulcus. ![]()
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