Mirror Neurons
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In the history of thought, the idea that the mind and body are separate has been hotly debated. Probably the most famous statement of mind/body dualism is from the philosopher René Descartes , who in the 17th century argued that there are two different kinds of stuff in the world: stuff extended in space (such as chairs, computers, and human bodies) and stuff which lacks extension but somehow exists as an immaterial substance (the human mind). So instead of asking that question, let’s think about a similar, yet very different question: Are the mind and body separate in our perception of and thoughts about other people? We typically experience the two as separate. Most people think, for example, that a human body just before and after death somehow changes in a simple yet dramatic way: before, it had a mind; after, it does not.
Are the mind and body separate? They may be in perception « Psychology In Action
SMF, on 6 April 2011 - 11:29 PM, said: As I said before, the fact that neurophysiologists are recording the activity of neurons that indicate recognition of a specific activity in the self and also, separately, while observing it in others is straightforward evidence that they exist. The real question is- What does this mean in terms of cognition? The big deal of the discovery is related to action understanding unconsciously.
Debate on Mirror Neuron - Science Forums
Mirror Neurons in Area F5 of Macaque. Neural recording show that a mirror neuron in area F5 of the macaque inferior frontal cortex fires both when the monkey grasps the food itself (Top) and when it observes the experimenter grasp the food (Bottom). [1] A mirror neuron is a neuron that belongs to a class of neurons that have the property of firing both 1) when an animal performs a particular action and 2) when that animal merely observes the same action being performed by another animal.
Mirror neuron - NeuronBankWiki
Found article: Mirror neurons in humans — the controversy continues
Now that some new researchers have published proof that mirror neurons exist in humans , there’s an even bigger stir about whether or not they’re even useful as a theory, let alone demonstrated to really be “in there.” Here’s a fascinating blog post from “NeuroKüz,” a self-described “curious freelance neuroscience researcher.” Mirror neurons, neurons that fire both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action being performed by another, have been implicated in the understanding of intentions, empathy, language, and autism (among other things). Several pop science books and articles have raved about mirror neurons and their widespread applications to our everyday lives.
MIRROR NEURONS AND THE BRAIN IN A VAT By V.S. Ramachandran
"I am a brain, my dear Watson, and the rest of me is a mere appendage." — Sherlock Holmes An idea that would be "dangerous if true" is what Francis Crick referred to as "the astonishing hypothesis"; the notion that our conscious experience and sense of self is based entirely on the activity of a hundred billion bits of jelly — the neurons that constitute the brain. We take this for granted in these enlightened times but even so it never ceases to amaze me. Some scholars have criticized Crick's tongue-in-cheek phrase (and title of his book) on the grounds that the hypothesis he refers to is "neither astonishing nor a hypothesis". (Since we already know it to be true) Yet the far-reaching philosophical, moral and ethical dilemmas posed by his hypothesis have not been recognized widely enough.
Mirror Neurons Fire Better at Close Range | Wired Science | Wired.com
A newly discovered type of brain cell may help us prep for social interactions. The cells are a special type of "mirror neurons," which are thought to aid understanding of the actions and intentions of others. Mirror neurons fire both when you do something, like grab a bottle of wine, and when you watch another person do the same thing.
ScienceDaily (Apr. 12, 2010) — Mirror neurons, many say, are what make us human. They are the cells in the brain that fire not only when we perform a particular action but also when we watch someone else perform that same action. Neuroscientists believe this "mirroring" is the mechanism by which we can "read" the minds of others and empathize with them. It's how we "feel" someone's pain, how we discern a grimace from a grin, a smirk from a smile. Problem was, there was no proof that mirror neurons existed -- only suspicion and indirect evidence.
First direct recording made of mirror neurons in human brain
ROBERT KRULWICH: Hello again. Gaze into a mirror, and what do you see? Well, I see my face, of course. But in my face I see moods, I see shifts of feeling. We humans are really good at reading faces and bodies. 'Cause if I can look at you and feel what you're feeling, I can learn from you, connect to you, I can love you.
NOVA | Mirror Neurons
Mirror neuron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behaviour of the other, as though the observer were itself acting. Such neurons have been directly observed in primate and other species including birds . In humans, brain activity consistent with that of mirror neurons has been found in the premotor cortex , the supplementary motor area , the primary somatosensory cortex and the inferior parietal cortex . The function of the mirror system is a subject of much speculation.
Theory of mind - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states— beliefs , intents , desires , pretending , knowledge , etc.—to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires and intentions that are different from one's own. [ 1 ] Though there are philosophical approaches to issues raised in such discussions, the theory of mind as such is distinct from the philosophy of mind . [ edit ] Defining theory of mind Theory of mind is a theory insofar as the mind is not directly observable. [ 1 ] The presumption that others have a mind is termed a theory of mind because each human can only intuit the existence of his or her own mind through introspection, and no one has direct access to the mind of another.Next week Giacomo Rizzolatti will give the Keynote Address at the 23rd annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science . According to the published abstract of the talk ... he will discuss the limits of the mirror mechanism in understanding other people. He will stress that the parieto-frontal mirror mechanism is, however, the only mechanism that allows a person to understand others’ actions from the inside, giving the observing individual a first-person grasp of other individuals’ motor goals and intentions. As is clear from this quote and from recent publications by Rizzolatti and colleagues (e.g., Rizzolatti & Sinigaglia, 2010), the Parma group is reining in their original claim that mirror neurons are the basis of action understanding, period.
I am so fascinated by them - suuuure they can be their own tree :) Feel free to add if we're teamed up! by nerdyneurogirl May 20