Meet the mirror neurons

Meet the mirror neurons

Day by day we observe a large number of behaviors of the people around us and to most of them, we attribute an explanation. Even when watching a music show or theater, sometimes we feel the need to do it. It seems that in our relationships there is more than just curiosity, something like a kind of underlying synchrony or contagion that influences them. Now, what happens according to experts is that both when interacting and observing others, a very special type of neurons known as mirror neurons are activated.

They are responsible for our emotions when we see a passionate kiss in a movie, we feel sadness in the face of the catastrophes that the news shows or we have that feeling of pain when we observe that another person falls or hits himself. Interesting right? Let's find out more about them.

"Mirror neurons are the tiny miracles through which we go through the day."

-Marco Iacoboni-

The discovery of mirror neurons

Mirror neurons or mirror neurons were discovered by the team of neurobiologist Giacomo Rizzolatti (1996) while investigating how premotor cortex neurons in the macaque controlled the action of prehensility.

When using electrodes in the areas where these neurons were to record how they were activated when the monkey grabbed an object or some food, they perceived that when one of the researchers picked up a banana, some neurons of the monkey reacted.

At first, they thought that what happened was an error caused perhaps by the measurement technique or by some member of the team, but then they verified that everything was fine and that the neurons reacted every time the movement occurred. And that's how Giacomo Rizzolatti and his team discovered mirror neurons.

«Mirror neurons are the brick on which culture is built».

-Giacomo Rizzolatti-

What are mirror neurons?

Mirror neurons are a type of neurons that are activated when an action is executed and when it is observed to execute that action or there is a mental representation of it. Therefore, they were assigned as the last name "mirror" because they somehow reflect what you see.

Thus, deducing what others think, feel or do is possible thanks to their activation, since they are specialized in understanding not only the behavior of others but also how they feel. In fact, they are closely related to empathic, social and imitative behaviors, being considered by some scientists as one of the most important discoveries of neurosciences in recent years.

Curiosities of the mirror neurons

According to the latest studies, these types of neurons are located primarily in the Broca area, related to language and in the posterior parietal cortex, allowing experts to study the relationship between language and imitation of gestures and sounds.

Mirror neurons are important to control and decode the movement of the hands. So when we talk to someone and he moves his hands, our mirror neurons go into action to interpret the movement of the other person's hands.

In addition, as we said before, they not only reflect what we see abroad at the motor level, but they are also able to reflect emotional aspects due to their connection with the limbic system.

According to the statements of neuroscientist Marco Lacoboni, children who imitate and observe more closely the facial expressions of the people around them show greater activation of these neurons and as a result, a higher level of empathy.

The reason for this is that when a child sees someone smile, his mirror neurons create a mental representation of that smile in his mind, sending signals to the limbic system and finally, he ends up feeling the same as the person observing.

«We are social creatures. Our nature depends on understanding the actions, intentions, and emotions of others. Mirror neurons allow us to understand the minds of others, not only through conceptual reasoning but through direct simulation. Feeling, not thinking ».

-Giacomo Rizzolatti-

Another curious fact is that neuroscientist V. Ramachandram refers to them as "Gandhi neurons" because of his ability to facilitate understanding, solidarity, and cooperation with others. Even mirror neurons are responsible for making us yawn when another person yawns or that we find ourselves imitating a gesture of the person with whom we are having coffee, without knowing why.

As we can see, mirror neurons give us a plausible neurophysiological explanation about some aspects of social relationships. They help us not only to recognize the actions of others but also to understand them, having a fundamental role in processes such as empathy, imitation, and theory of mind. These neurons are further proof that we are social beings.

What applications can mirror neurons have?

Rizzolatti, in an interview with a digital medium, says that mirror neurons play a very important role in rehabilitation processes through the use of virtual reality.

According to the author, both in stroke and in those that cause problems in the motor system, through virtual reality, recovery could benefit. How does this benefit occur? Through the virtual reality glasses "the patient visualizes the correct movements to be performed and the mirror mechanism is activated" and in this way "with the virtual reality the equivalent to one month of rehabilitation could be advanced by one week".

«Technology is wonderful. Before we used movies and the stimuli were weaker, but now with these glasses, it really seems that you are walking. It makes you feel it ».

-Giacomo Rizzolatti-

On the other hand, Rizzolatti highlights the important function when learning a new sport. These types of neurons are fundamental in imitation learning, so in sports such as tennis or martial arts they would perform a fundamental task: «the student learns better the closer he is to his teacher, whose movements he repeats».

Scientific research progresses daily, perhaps not at the pace we all would like, but, without a doubt, each discovery can be a fundamental contribution to the well-being and health of each one of us.

Mirror neurons, like any discovery related to the brain or the human body, can be of great benefit not only at a theoretical level but also at a practical level. That is why we encourage you to know our brain, because the better we know it, the more we can get it out.

Next, we leave you an interesting video about this type of neurons so important.