How mirror neurons allow us to learn and socialise by going through the motions in the head
Filed under: Language and the brain
The old adage that we can only learn how to do something by trying it ourselves may have to be revised in the light of recent discoveries in neuroscience. It turns out that humans, primates, some birds, and possibly other higher animals have mirror neurons that fire in the same pattern whether performing or just observing a task. These mirror neurons clearly play an important role in learning motor tasks involving hand eye coordination, and possibly also acquisition of language skills, as well as being required for social skills, but the exact processes involved are only just being discovered. In particular the relationship between mirror neural networks and social cognitive tasks has been unclear, and greater knowledge of it could shed light on problems such as autism that may arise when this process goes wrong.
Full article: European Science Foundation
See also:
> Mirror self-recognition in magpies> Social imitation in neonatal monkeys
> Inside the head of an ape
> Learning a second language — Is it all in your head?
> Research Lays The Foundation For Improving Human Speech
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