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Mirror Neurons Allow Us to Understand

Each Other

Remy Melina | April 16, 2010 12:54pm ET

We can understand the actins ! thers "ecause ! mirrr neurns # cells that are lcated in

the m$ement and memry sectins ! ur "rains and %hich help us interpret the actins !

thers, scientists ha$e ln& suspected' (% they ha$e e$idence'

Mirrrin& is "elie$ed t "e the %ay in %hich the "rain autmatically interprets the actins,

intentins and emtins ! ther peple' Mirrr neurns, the cells in the "rain that acti$ate

%hen %e per!rm a particular actin r %atch smene else per!rm that same actin, %ere up

until recently nly a thery' )cientists *ne% that they e+isted deep in ur minds and %ere

respnsi"le !r ma*in& us empathie %ith thers, "ut had n hard pr! t sh% !r it - until

n%'

While such neurns ha$e nly "een directly measured in mn*eys, scientists ha$e pre$iusly

cnducted e+periments usin& encephal&raph .EE/ machines that led them t "elie$e mirrr

neurns e+ist in human adults andin!ants' The latest research, usin& !ine electrical cnductrs

called depth electrdes, has resulted in the !irst e$er direct recrdin& ! mirrr neurns in the

human "rain'

The study su&&ests that the distri"utin ! these uniue cells lin*in& the acti$ity ! the sel!

%ith that ! thers is %ider than pre$iusly "elie$ed, said 3r' tha* ried, the studys senir

authr and directr ! the 789A Epilepsy )ur&ery r&ram'

Previously unexplored regions

Researchers studied the "rains ! 21 patients %h %ere currently under&in& treatment !r

intracta"le epilepsy at the Rnald Rea&an 789A Medical 8enter' ;ecause the patients had

already "een implanted %ith depth electrdes t identi!y seiure pints !r ptential sur&ical

treatment, researchers %ere a"le t cnduct their e+periments usin& the e+istin& electrdes'

n this %ay, ried and his cllea&ues &arnered and recrded the neurn acti$ity results directly

!rm the patients"rains' The researchers nted sin&le cell and multiple

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We hypthesie that the decreased acti$ity !rm the cells %hen "ser$in& an actin may "e

t inhi"it the "ser$er !rm autmatically per!rmin& that same actin, said Ry Mu*amel,

the studys lead authr' urthermre, this su"set ! mirrr neurns may help us distin&uish

the actins ! ther peple !rm ur %n actins'

The acti$e mirrr neurns that respnded t the tas*s %ere lcated in the medial !rntal crte+and medial tempral crte+ neural systems' Mirrrin& respnses n a sin&ular