Mirror Neurons and Empathy

While watching this video, how many of you felt like you shared the sadness of Zac Efron's character?

A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both - when one acts and when one observes the same action performed by another.

1990s -Italy-Giacomo Rizzolatti and Vittorio Gallese and some of their colleagues discovered mirror neurons.

· Not only they observed how some neurons in the frontal lobes of the brain fire when an action is performed ( grabbing or pushing an object, hitting something etc) =Motor Neurons

· But also they found other neurons in the frontal lobes of the brain that fire when observing someone else performing an action.= Mirror Neurons

TEACHING EMPATHY

-Learning empathy in adolescence

-Leads to less aggressive children

By being able to feel others' emotions helps us as

individuals to understand

LANGUAGE AND IMITATION

Learning Cognitive Functions in Prehistoric Times

Possible implications of important cognitive functions such as

o Action Understanding

o Imitation

o Language

o Empathy

MIRROR NEURONS AND

WHOLENESS

- Mirror neurons are important in transmitting skills from generation to generation: transmission of learned skills, tradition, culture and emotions

-More empathetic people have more active mirror neuron systems for appreciating the pain of others

- Feeling the pain of others can contribute enormously to caring about them and being motivated to act ethically in general

-Empathy encourages human beings to relate, care and engage with others.

Mirror Neurons

HISTORY

WHAT IS A MIRROR NEURON?

EMPATHY

n. the ability to understand and share the feelings of another; being there

SYMPATHY

n. feelings of pity, sorrow, and compassion for someone

else's misfortune

BENEFITS OF EMPATHY

an emotional and motivational state characterized by the desire to help and promote others’ welfare

Empathic concern:

IMAGINE YOURSELF

Famous Rizzolatti Study

Monkey/Peanut/Action: In monkeys, the pre-frontal cortex contains a particular class of neurons that discharge both ---when the monkey does a particular action and when the monkey observes another individual doing a particular action---

MIRROR NEURONS & EMOTIONS

“Mirror Neurons will do for psychology what DNA did for Biology”

- Vilayanur S. Ramachandran

Tania Singer et al

• Conducted a study where people reacted to people who previously in a game acted fairly and unfairly
• Both received painful stimulation
• The people observing showed much less pain-related brain activity when seeing someone who acted unfairly receiving pain

From this study, it is shown that mirror neurons help us understand the emotions of others due to they fire when we see others showing their emotions

Mirror Neurons and Empathy

Ramachandran - Theory of Autism

• Theory that autism stems from a lack of mirror neurons
• Could explain why interactions

BY: Eillen Badilla, Jason Rotta, Nicole Moy

QUESTIONS?

References

Lamm C, Majdandžić J. The role of shared neural activations, mirror neurons, and morality in empathy – A critical comment. Neuroscience Research [serial online]. January 2015;90:15-24. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 24, 2015.

Praszkier R. Empathy, mirror neurons and sync. Mind & Society [serial online]. December 14, 2014;Available from: PsycINFO, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 24, 2015.

Bråten S. On Being Moved : From Mirror Neurons To Empathy [e-book]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Pub; 2007. Available from: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 26, 2015.

Thagard, P. (2010). Ethical Brain. In The brain and the meaning of life (pp. 158-162). Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univ. Press.

Dunbar, R. (2007). Oxford handbook of evolutionary psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.