Latest Mirror neuron Stories

International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA) We know the world through the sensory representations within our brain. Such "reconstruction" is performed through the electrical activation of neural cells, the code that contains the information that is constantly processed by the brain. If we wish to understand what are the rules followed by the representation of the world inside the brain we have to comprehend how electrical activation is linked to the sensory experience. For this...

Researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute (BSI) in Japan have uncovered two brain signals in the human prefrontal cortex involved in how humans predict the decisions of other people. Their results suggest that the two signals, each located in distinct prefrontal circuits, strike a balance between expected and observed rewards and choices, enabling humans to predict the actions of people with different values than their own. Every day, humans are faced with situations in which they...

No matter what novel objects we come to behold, our brains effortlessly take us from an initial "What's that?" to "Oh, that old thing" after a few casual encounters. In research that helps shed light on the malleability of this recognition process, Brown University neuroscientists have teased apart the potentially different roles that two distinct cell types may play. In a study published in the journal Neuron, the researchers document that this kind of learning is based in the inferior...

Reports new study in Biological Psychiatry Impaired social function is a cardinal symptom of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). One of the brain circuits that enable us to relate to other people is the "mirror neuron" system. This brain circuit is activated when we watch other people, and allows our brains to represent the actions of others, influencing our ability to learn new tasks and to understand the intentions and experiences of other people. This mirror neuron system is impaired...

The incredible ability of our brain to create a three-dimensional (3D) representation from an object's two-dimensional projection on the retina is something that we may take for granted, but the process is not well understood and is likely to be highly complex. Now, new research published by Cell Press in the January 12 issue of the journal Neuron provides the first direct evidence that specific brain areas underlie perception of different 3D structures and sheds light the way that the...

How the brain controls impulsive behavior may be significantly different than psychologists have thought for the last 40 years. That is the unexpected conclusion of a study by an international team of neuroscientists published in the Aug. 31 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. Impulse control is an important aspect of the brain's executive functions – the procedures that it uses to control its own activity. Problems with impulse control are involved in ADHD and a number of other...

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but how do our brains decide when and who we should copy? Researchers from The University of Nottingham have found that the key may lie in an unspoken invitation communicated through eye contact.In a study published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience, a team of scientists from the University's School of Psychology show that eye contact seems to act as an invitation for mimicry, triggering mechanisms in the frontal region of the brain that...

Players of the game "rock, paper, scissors" unknowingly mimic one another's hand shapes, increasing the chance of the game ending in a draw, according to new research published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B this week. The study shows that even when players lose out by drawing a game, they can't help themselves from copying the hand gestures of their opponent. The result is surprising because advantage is gained in the game by acting differently. Usually when chance is the...

Developmental abnormalities in the mirror neuron system may contribute to social deficits in autism.The mirror neuron system is a brain circuit that enables us to better understand and anticipate the actions of others. These circuits activate in similar ways when we perform actions or watch other people perform the same actions.Now, a new study published in Biological Psychiatry reports that the mirror system in individuals with autism is not actually broken, but simply delayed.Dr. Christian...

'Can you hear me now?' Researchers detail how neurons decide how to transmit informationThere are billions of neurons in the brain and at any given time tens of thousands of these neurons might be trying to send signals to one another. Much like a person trying to be heard by his friend across a crowded room, neurons must figure out the best way to get their message heard above the din.Researchers from the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, a joint program between Carnegie Mellon...