You, Me, and Mirror Neurons (part 3)
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Ok, so mirror neurons really do seem to be an element in how well we relate to other people’s feelings, motivations, and so on.
But are some people more tuned in than others? *Are* there differences between individual’s mirror neuron systems? And why might mine, in particular, be different? (IF they are! )
Apparently, mirror neuron systems and their reactions do vary, from person to person.
- In autistic subjects , mirror neurons react to the subject’s own movements - but do not mirror the movements of others. The more severe the autism, the less mirroring the mirror neurons do. Since autism is marked by very poor understanding of social relationships, this seems to confirm the link between mirror neurons and understanding social relationships.
- Gender differences have shown up in the mirror neuron systems of men and women. It’s not clear if this is biological, vs cultural, but it makes evolutionary sense: females need to be more empathic when dealing with infants, males less empathic in order to hunt and without over identifying with their prey. (The link above is to the actual research paper. I don’t pretend to understand it - please explain it to me, if you do)
- Familiarity and experience affects the reactions of mirror neurons. Mirrored responses to movement are stronger when we’ve experienced the movement ourselves. So when images of a dance are shown, a trained dancer’s brain will react differently to watching dance moves than a non-dancer’s brain.
So yes, different people’s mirror neurons behave differently, both according to their own brain make up, and their experiences. And yes, mirror neurons are probably involved in understanding social relationships, learning, and predicting the intent/mindset of others.
It’s a good guess then, that an especially sensitive mirror neuron system would lend itself to easier and more accurate perceptions about other people’s intent, motivation, and emotions.
Since I don’t have access to fMRI equipment and the people-of-greater-brain I’d need to interpret the results, I can’t tell you if my own mirror system (or yours, for that matter) is particularly sensitive.
But I can make a guess that those of use who do seem particularly tuned into others emotions and intentions probably have a pretty active set of mirror neurons. I can also guess that the oblivious oaf who cranks his car stereo up at 4am has a mental mirror that needs a serious cleaning with Windex.
But what might create the increased mirror neuron activity some of us might have? What might make it more sensitive?
Stay tuned for more of the hypothesis and the post that ate my weekend.
