AO1 - The Mirror Neuron System

• The mirror neuron system consists of brain cells called mirror neurons, which fire in response to personal action and in response to the action of others.
• Dysfunction in the mirror neuron system has been implicated in disorders such as autism spectrum disorder.
• Mirror neurons are a type of brain cell that fire both when an individual performs an action and when they observe someone else performing the same action.
• Dysfunction in the mirror neuron system has been associated with difficulties in social interaction and communication, as seen in disorders such as autism spectrum disorder.
• The mirror neuron system is believed to play a role in empathy, as it allows individuals to understand and share the emotions of others.
• It is suggested that mirror neurons are involved in the social cognition processes of empathy, understanding intention, perspective taking and theory of mind.
• According to Ramachandran (2006) the ability to share the emotions of those around us is due mirror neurons, and this ability has shaped how we communicate in society.
• Mirror neurons fire when a person observes the same action performed by another, the neuron mirrors the behaviour of the other.
• Mirror neurons are a type of brain cell that fire both when an individual performs an action and when they observe someone else performing the same action.
• Rizzolatti et al (1996) were studying electrical activity in a monkeys motor cortex, when a researcher reached to get his lunch in view of the monkey, and this action activated the monkeys cortex.
• Rizzolatti et al (1996) studied macaque monkeys and noticed that when wired with electrodes, they showed the same firing patterns when they watched other monkeys pick up food, as when they did so themselves.
• Rizzolatti et al (1996) coined the term ‘mirror neurons’.
• It is suggested that problems with the mirror neuron system could account for the inability of people with autism to empathise, which might explain their lack of ToM.
• The mirror neuron system is believed to play a role in empathy, as it allows individuals to understand and share the emotions of others.
• Cheng et al (2006) used brain scans to see if gender differences played a part in the mirror neuron system.
• Cheng et al (2006) found that female brains show a stronger motor resonance than male brains, which might explain why females are better at social referencing; where we look at others to read their emotions and know how to respond.
• Studies suggest that people understand other people’s actions and intentions through motor resonance; this is the perception of another's actions which produces brain activity very similar to what would be observed if they had performed the same actions.
• Rizzolatti & Craighero (2004) looked for mirror neurons in humans, however it is not yet possible to experimentally test single neurons in humans. They used brain scans to show a network of mirror neurons in the frontal and parietal regions.
• Lacoboni et al (1999) used fMRI scans to show support for the mirror neuron system in the frontal and parietal lobes, as these areas were most active when a person performs an action, and also when they see another person performing an action.
• Gallese & Goldman (1998) suggested that mirror neurons respond not just to observe the actions but to the intentions behind behaviour. Rather than the common-sense view that we interpret people's actions with reference to our memory, Gallese & Goldman suggested that we simulate others’ actions in our motor system and experience their intentions using our mirror neurons.
• Ramachandran & Oberman (2006) proposed the ‘broken mirror’ theory of autism. This suggests that neurological deficits in the mirror neuron system prevent a developing child understanding the behaviour of others.