In experiments on macaques with the introduction of microelectrodes into the F5 zone (frontal cortex). Then a similar type of neurons was found in other areas of the cortex - in the associative parietal (lower parietal) and temporal (upper temporal) cortex. In this regard, the point of view is popular that the activation of mirror neurons occurs not due to any one neuron, but as a synergistic result of the work of a neural network.

In humans, brain activity consistent with mirror neuron behavior was initially detected in the frontal and parietal regions by indirect methods such as MRI and electroencephalography (see brain diagram). In 2010 research group M. Jacoboni and co-authors registered the extracellular activity of 1000 neurons of the frontal and temporal cortex. Some of these neurons responded both to the performance of an action and to the observation of the action being performed.

Research costs in the field of mirror neurons, according to the journal's calculations The Economist, are growing almost exponentially every year, and the direction itself is predicted to play the role of one of the main trends in the development of science in the coming years.

Mirror neurons responsible for imitation.

Some scientists call their discovery the most important development in neuroscience in the last ten years. One of them is Vilayanur Ramachandran, who believes that these neurons play a key role in the processes of imitation and language learning. However, despite their extreme popularity, no decent computational model has been proposed to date to describe how the functioning of mirror neurons embodies cognitive functions such as imitation.

The function that mirror neurons perform is not completely clear and is the subject of scientific controversy. These neurons can be involved in empathy, in understanding the actions of others, and in learning new skills through imitation. Some researchers argue that mirror neurons can model observed events and actions, while others attribute their function to the acquisition of language-related skills. There is also a point of view that violations of their functioning may underlie some mental illnesses, in particular autism. However, the link between mirror neuron dysfunction and autism remains a matter of debate, and it does not appear that mirror neurons are associated with some of the major symptoms of autism.

Michael Wartburg
Mirror neurons

“Man alone cannot,” conjured Hemingway's favorite hero in his dying half-forgetfulness.
"It can't, it can't," culturologists, sociologists, psychologists, and neurophysiologists echo it. And now - an amazing series of experiments to study the so-called mirror reflection.
IN " Main topic“This issue tells about the reflection of communications and mutual understanding at the level of countries, peoples, large groups of people. In the experiments, which will be discussed below, the phenomena of reflection at the level of groups of neurons and local zones in the cerebral cortex of higher mammals are studied.
It is noteworthy that although the action begins with neurons, it ends with a solution to the problem of the origin of speech in humans, touching along the way, which was very popular at the time and sharply debatable "theory of gesture" - the connection of initial sound statements with gestures. Speech is the very special ability of our species, which gives rise to its truly immense communicative possibilities. And which makes it possible to effectively solve problems and conflicts in the space of reflexive relations.
We start with reflection (neural) - we end with reflection (universal).

Who hasn't watched another person try to turn a stubborn nut or thread through an ungraspable eye of a needle? And who at the same time did not experience a strange sensation in the muscles - as if they were tensing in an attempt to repeat the movements of this person, as if trying to help him? What is it in us that follows these movements so closely and reproduces them so exactly, even mentally?

This question, long of interest to many neuroscientists, recently received an unexpected solution, which, in turn, gave rise to a whole range of new questions and led to the emergence of curious and intriguing hypotheses. It turned out that special neurons were to blame for everything, which, due to the specifics of their action, were called “mirror neurons”.

These neurons were first discovered by Italian scientists Gallese, Rizzolatti and others from the University of Parma. In the early 1990s, they began to study the monkey brain. By implanting electrodes into it, they studied the activity of neurons in one specific zone of the monkey brain - zone F5. In humans, it corresponds to Broca's area in the left hemisphere, associated, as it is believed today, with the process of speech. The F5 zone in monkeys is located in that part of the cortex that is in charge of thinking and executing movements, and the neurons in the F5 zone become active (“fire” signals) when the monkey performs any purposeful motor actions.

And so, showing the monkeys what they should do, the experimenters unexpectedly discovered that the neurons of the F5 zone fire as if the monkeys themselves were performing the actions that a person was performing before their eyes. If the objects with which this action had to be performed simply lay on the ground, the F5 neurons remained passive. In other words, they reacted only to the demonstration, and they reacted like a mirror - mentally repeating the observed action. Therefore, the researchers called them "mirror neurons".

The fact that mirror neurons actually "repeated" the observed action, and not just fired when it was observed, was confirmed when the experimenters encouraged the monkeys to do the same action with their hands. It turned out that in this case, exactly the same neurons are excited as during the demonstration, and the nature of the firing of signals is also the same. On the other hand, mirror neurons turned out to be highly selective. Each of their groups reacted to some specific action (and did not even react to slightly different ones), and they reacted in a strictly defined way. All this reinforces the impression that mirror neurons are exactly mirror neurons: with their help, the brain of monkeys, as it were, comprehended the brain of experimenters in its external manifestations, in physical actions.

Approximately the same thing happens, apparently, in the brain of a dog when it rushes at a person, when he has just decided to make a threatening movement. This phenomenon is usually explained by the fact that the dog sees those barely noticeable, even unconscious changes in body stance, position of arms and legs, etc., which the brain has already ordered the body to make in preparation for the most threatening movement. But how does she know that these microscopic changes really herald a threat? Perhaps here, too, the dog's neurons, mentally reproducing the observed inconspicuous movements of a person, create in the dog's body the tensions characteristic of it when it attacks itself. In other words, the dog's brain "reads" the human brain.

The discovery of mirror neurons unexpectedly led Italian researchers directly to a long-standing mystery - can animals understand their own kind, and if so, in what way. It is known that baboon mothers often do not respond to the calls of their cubs lost in the forest. The experimenters who discovered this fact explained it by the fact that baboons are not able to understand that the behavior of their kind is similar to their own behavior. Not seeing the cubs, they do not understand what their cries mean.

Scientists see this as one manifestation of a common problem that can be defined as the problem of “reading” another brain. Undoubtedly, even monkeys are to some extent capable of such "reading" - at least when they see their own kind in front of them. The experiments of Italian scientists described above show that monkeys are able to partially “read” even the human brain. Humans are certainly endowed with this ability - each of us can give many examples of this. But scholars cannot agree on how such "reading" occurs. Some believe that it is carried out with the help of the “theory of the other”: our brain, accumulating life experience and generalizing it with the help of reasonable hypotheses, gradually creates a kind of “model” of how another person acts in certain circumstances, which follows expect from him. According to another theory, “reading” another occurs with the help of a kind of imitation: we put ourselves in the place of another and mentally imitate what he should think, feel and do.

The discovery of mirror neurons not only leads to this fundamental problem, but also tends to give preference to its solution, which explains the phenomenon of “reading the other” with the help of imitation. (This, by the way, reinforces the position of those scientists who believe that imitation processes play essential role not only cultural, but also biological evolution.) But at first, mirror neurons were only found in monkeys. Do people have them too? Of course, it is impossible to check this by implanting electrodes into the human brain - people are not monkeys. But the indirect experiments carried out by Luciano Fadigio showed that when observing certain certain movements, the corresponding muscles of the experimental people involuntarily contracted as if they themselves were preparing to make such movements. And then Rizzolati and Grafton used newly developed direct brain imaging techniques to observe neuronal activity. It turned out that people also have something like mirror neurons, and they are concentrated in Broca's area - the same one, if you remember, which corresponds to the F5 zone in monkeys.

The significance of this discovery is all the more significant since Broca's area, as already mentioned, is associated with speech. Based on this, Italian researchers have put forward a bold assumption that mirror neurons were the main factor in the appearance of speech in humans. In their opinion, these neurons became the first bridge between people.

This could have happened in the following way. Observing the actions of another person, the primitive hunter, just like we do today, mentally reproduced these actions using mirror neurons. Simultaneously, these neurons gave orders to his own muscles to perform the same actions. The muscles were tensed accordingly, but the actions themselves were not performed - they were suppressed by strong inhibitory impulses, usually given in such cases by the spinal cord. Sometimes, however, the tension overcame the inhibition and broke through in an involuntary and short “imitative” action. Such an action, according to Italian scientists, was the germ of a gesture that made it possible for another to see that he was “understood”. In other words, it was the germ of communication. At the next stage, speech itself was born from such gestures, the control of which, as before - the control of gestures, was concentrated in the area where mirror neurons are concentrated in people - in Broca's area.

However, in recent months, Gallese's group seems to have discovered the presence of mirror neurons in some other areas of the human brain, no longer associated with motor skills, but with sensations. And this prompted Italian researchers to even more ambitious hypothesis, according to which mirror neurons and the imitation of what happens in the brain of another person can explain such phenomena as empathy for another person, compassion, as well as empathy, or "reading" feelings of another person. The hypothesis is fascinating and intriguing, but it still needs to be confirmed before being discussed.

Mirror neurons - supercells or a bloated concept?

I already wrote that mirror neurons are the most replicated concept in neuroscience. Discovered by Italian researchers in experiments on monkeys in the 1990s, these brain cells involved in the process of controlling movements are also activated by the mirror principle when observing the movements of someone else. A new study recently appeared in open access, in a calm and measured tone, adds a few touches to what we know about these amazing cells today.

But first, a little about why there is such a hype around mirror neurons. Neurologist V.S. Ramachandran believes that these cells have shaped our civilization; in fact, according to him, they are the basis of everything human, since they are responsible for empathy, speech and the emergence of human culture, including the spread of fire and tools. According to Ramachandran, autism is a consequence of the malfunctioning of mirror neurons. (Note in parenthesis that this year's detailed study did not find conclusive evidence for his views on autism. And other experts have debunked Ramachandran's theory that mirror neurons are inextricably linked to the origin of culture: the activity of these cells can be changed with simple training tasks, and this proves that mirror neurons are as well shaped by culture as they are influenced by it.)

To get an idea of ​​the extent of this neurological bullshit, try searching for "mirror neurons" on the Daily Mail website. Let's say this year the publication published that the most popular romantic films are popular because they activate our mirror neurons. And another article says that it is only thanks to mirror neurons that patients in hospitals improve when they are visited. In fact, there is no scientific evidence behind any of these statements, and each of them is an example of extreme simplification.

A quick search on Twitter can also show how deeply ingrained the notion of omnipotent empathic mirror neurons is in the public mind. “Mirror neurons are responsible for the fact that we wince when we see someone else’s pain!” - With deceptive confidence, WoWFactz twitter tells its 398 thousand followers as recently as this month. "Mirror neurons are so powerful that we can even 'mirror' each other's intentions!" says self-improvement author Dr. Caroline Leaf in a tweet sent a few weeks ago.

In fact, we don’t yet have research that proves that mirror neurons are necessary for empathy – and there is reason to believe that empathy is quite possible without them.

Many brain-damaged patients who can no longer speak are still able to understand other people's speech, and those who have lost the ability to express their own emotions still perceive others.

And just recently, two London-based neurologists published an introductory article in the respected journal Current Biology entitled "What we know today about mirror neurons." To the unhealthy hype that usually surrounds mirror neurons, James Kilner and Roger Lemon of University College London offer a balanced and objective look at the existing literature on the subject.

They acknowledge that it is difficult to explain the activity of mirror neurons in the human brain using neuroimaging technologies. Therefore, they focus on 25 studies based on the analysis of direct records of the activity of individual brain cells in monkeys. These studies found motor cells with mirror-like properties in the frontal lobes of the brain responsible for controlling movement (in the so-called premotor cortex and precentral gyrus) and in the parietal lobe, near the top of the head.

So, some motor cells show a mirror response only when the monkey sees in front of him Living being; others also react to motion recorded on video. Some mirror neurons are capricious: they only respond to specific movements; others respond to movements of a much wider range. There are even those that “turn on” in response to the sound of some special movement. And yet another type of cell exhibits mirror suppression: during the observation of movement, their activity decreases. Another study in monkeys identified neurons that are sensitive to touch: they fire when a monkey sees a touch on the same place in another animal (Ramachandran calls these neurons "Gandhi cells" because, in his opinion, they destroy the boundaries between human beings).

Significantly, Kilner and Lemon dwell on data that show how mirror neuron activity in monkeys varies depending on the angle of observation, on the opportunity for a reward due to the observed movement, and on the purpose of this movement (for example, whether it is not aimed at grab some object and eat it). These details are significant because they show that the activity of mirror neurons is caused not only by incoming sensory information, but also by inferences formed somewhere in other areas of the brain and concerning the meaning of the observed phenomena. This is noted not to underestimate the admiration for the work of mirror neurons, but to show that they are not at the beginning of the causal chain - rather, they are built into complex system brain activity.

Finally, it is important that Kilner and Lemon let down summary of the current state of development of the question of the functionality of mirror neurons in humans.

The method of recording the activity of individual brain cells, used in experiments with monkeys, is not applicable to humans - except in exceptional cases, such as necessary operations on the brain. The only study of its kind published so far reveals the existence of mirror neurons in the frontal cortex and in the temporal lobe of the human brain.

Neuroimaging studies done on humans also point to the existence of something similar to mirror activity in many of the areas of the brain where such activity has been found in monkeys. However, these studies were only focused on the observation of actions, and therefore cannot show whether the same areas of the brain are involved in action and observation of action.

Other neuroimaging studies have been based on the principle of adaptation (the more neurons are fired, the less excitable they are). If a certain area of ​​the brain has mirror properties, signs of fatigue in it should appear both after the action and after observing it. In fact, the results of two of the five adaptation studies are ambiguous, and the existence of mirror properties remains unproven. Perhaps this is because mirror neurons do not adapt at all - but this still needs to be clarified.

James Kilner and Roger Lemon can only be applauded for their long awaited review.

Also, there are many types of mirror neurons. And that we still need to prove whether they exist in humans, and if so, whether they are similar to apes. As for the functional significance of these cells... Don't be fooled: the road to understanding has just begun here.

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And some birds.

Mirror neurons were first discovered and described by Giacomo Rizzolatti, Luciano Fadiga, Vittorio Gallese and Leonardo Fogassi at the University of Parma, Italy in experiments on monkeys with the introduction of microelectrodes into the F5 zone (frontal cortex). Then a similar type of neurons was found in other areas of the cortex - in the associative parietal (lower parietal) and temporal (upper temporal) cortex. In this regard, the point of view is popular that the activation of mirror neurons occurs not due to any one neuron, but as a synergistic result of the work of a neural network.

In humans, brain activity consistent with mirror neuron behavior was initially detected in the frontal and parietal regions by indirect methods such as MRI and electroencephalography (see brain diagram). In 2010, the research group of M. Jacoboni et al. recorded the extracellular activity of 1000 neurons in the frontal and temporal cortex. Some of these neurons responded both to the performance of an action and to the observation of the action being performed.

The costs of research in the field of mirror neurons, according to The Economist, are growing almost exponentially every year, and the direction itself is predicted to play the role of one of the main trends in the development of science in the coming years.

Mirror neurons are responsible for imitation.

Some scientists call their discovery the most important development in neuroscience in the last ten years. One of them is Vilayanur Ramachandran, who believes that these neurons play a key role in the processes of imitation and language learning. However, despite their extreme popularity, no decent computational model has been proposed to date to describe how the functioning of mirror neurons embodies cognitive functions such as imitation.

The function that mirror neurons perform is not fully understood and is the subject of scientific controversy. These neurons may be involved in empathy, in understanding the actions of others, and in learning new skills through imitation. Some researchers argue that mirror neurons can model observed events and actions, while others attribute their functions to language-related skills. The point of view has also been put forward that problems in their functioning may underlie some mental illnesses, in particular autism. However, the link between mirror neuron dysfunction and autism remains a matter of debate, and it does not appear that mirror neurons are associated with some of the major symptoms of autism.

see also

Notes

Literature

• Bauer I. Why do I feel what you feel. Intuitive communication and the secret of mirror neurons. - St. Petersburg: Werner Regen Publishing House, 2009 ISBN 978-5-903070-20-6

• Marco Jacoboni. Reflecting in people. Why We Understand Each Other - United Press, 2011 ISBN 978-5-4295-0002-7

• Gallese V., Fadiga L., Fogassi L., Rizzolatti G. Action recognition in the premotor cortex. Brain, 119 (1996), 593-609.
• Giacomo Rizzolatti, Leonardo Fogassi, Vittorio Gallese: Mirrors in the Mind. Scientific American Band 295, Nr. 5, November 2006, S. 30-37

Links

• "Mirror" neurons have been found in songbirds. Gazeta.ru, January 17, 2008
• Neurons of the Looking Glass. Around the world, October 05, 2007
• V. Kosonogov Mirror neurons: a brief scientific review, Rostov-on-Don, 2009
• Mirror neurons // Lecture by Olga Svarnik in the PostNauka project (03.10.2012)

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See what "Mirror neurons" are in other dictionaries:

- (ToM) is to: explain the mental states of beliefs, goals, passions, simulations, knowledge, etc. to oneself and others, to understand that those beliefs, passions and goals that others have are different from our own. The term Theory of ... Wikipedia

- (The original English term Theory of mind (ToM). In the literature, you can find other translations of this term: the theory of intentions, the theory of consciousness, etc.) Model of the mental system of representations of mental phenomena ... ... Wikipedia

- (The original English term "Theory of Mind" (ToM). In the literature, you can find other translations of this term, for example: the theory of intentions, the theory of consciousness, etc. In BBC films it is found as a "theory of mind") system ... ... Wikipedia

Vileyanur S. Ramachandran eng. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Neuron (meanings). Not to be confused with neutron. Pyramidal neuron of the mouse cerebral cortex, expressive green fluorescent protein (GFP) Neuron (from ... Wikipedia

Giacomo Rizzolatti Giacomo Rizzolatti Date of birth: 1930 (1930) Place of birth: Kyiv Country ... Wikipedia

Marco Iacoboni (born March 13, 1960, Rome) is an Italian neuroscientist based in the United States. Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology, MD, PhD, Director of the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Laboratory at the Research Center for ... ... Wikipedia

Wiktionary has an article on "empathy" This article is about a narrow scientific concept. About more shi ... Wikipedia

Empathy is the ability to put oneself in the place of another person (or object), the ability to empathize. Empathy also includes the ability to pinpoint emotional condition another person based on facial reactions, actions, gestures ... Wikipedia

Look at your dad, ask him to look at your face and start yawning sweetly. You don't have to really yawn. You can just start saying "yawn, yawn, yawn." The effect will be the same: dad also gapes. Why is this happening? Scientists would have puzzled over this question for a long time, if in 1996 a very amusing incident had not happened to the Italian scientist Giacomo Risolatti.

Giacomo studied the brain of an experimental monkey: he looked for brain cells (neurons) that are activated when the monkey eats raisins. The search dragged on until evening. Finally these neurons were discovered. They gave electrical signals whenever the monkey brought a raisin to its mouth. The time was late, Giacomo was tired, hungry and decided to eat a couple of raisins himself. He took the raisin and brought it to his lips in front of the macaque. Suddenly, her neurons gave off a very powerful electrical response. They activated as if the monkey itself was eating the raisins.

Giacomo realized that he had found such special cells that beep on two occasions: 1) when the monkey itself eats raisins, and 2) when it sees someone else eating its raisins. He named these cells mirror neurons, because they seem to "reflect" someone else's behavior in our head. Later, mirror neurons were found in other monkeys, in some birds, and, of course, in humans. But why do we need these strange cells?

French scientists decided to answer this question. They divided the subjects into two groups. The first group was evoked real emotions with the help of different smells(pleasant and nasty). At the same time, they were photographed. And the subjects of the second group were shown only photographs of the faces of the first group (without odors). What turned out? In the subjects of the second group, the same zones in the brain were activated as in the subjects of the first group. In other words, if a person saw a photograph happy person, his brain was "rejoiced", and if people saw a "sour mine", then they themselves felt disgusted.

Therefore, if we are surrounded by smart and happy people We ourselves will also become happier and smarter. And if there are evil, grouchy, rude people next to us, our character can deteriorate greatly.

Mirror neurons help us detect more than just other people's emotions. Here is how Risolatti explains his discovery: “Let's imagine that a person in front of us brings a glass of water to his mouth. How does our brain understand what it is doing? The brain could compare the images of a person and a glass with what is stored in memory, think, remember the laws of physics and make some assumption. But it turns out that it is much easier for our brain to understand what another person is doing by mentally repeating his action. That's what mirror neurons do." It turns out that mirror neurons allow us to feel what is happening to others, as if we were doing this action ourselves. Therefore, we like to watch movies, sports programs, ballet so much. Whenever we watch a movie, some part of the brain makes us feel like we just turned 10 times on pointe, we ran to the finish line first, we defeated the villain and saved the beauty from terrible death. Scientists have established it in the following way. They hung special sensors on people who watched TV. It turned out that when people watched the race of skiers, the muscles in their legs were activated. When they watched boxing, their arm muscles tensed and their fists clenched.

But that's not all that our mirror neurons can do. It turns out that they help us quickly learn something new, even if we don’t understand anything yet. After all, learning by trial and error is very long and sometimes even dangerous. And thanks to mirror neurons, it’s very easy for us to imitate: we do it without thinking, as if automatically. Therefore, children love to repeat after someone big and smart (for example, after dad). You can repeat after each other. For example, if Petka Ivanov suddenly starts soaking bread in compote or smearing plasticine on the wallpaper, his comrades will immediately joyfully join him. Not only children, but also adults constantly imitate each other: for example, their favorite movie actors, bosses.

Of course, some animals can imitate too (for example, talking parrots or great apes). But people do it more often and more willingly. This was confirmed by Derek Lyon in his wonderful experiment. Derek showed how to open a candy box to chimpanzees and young children (3-5 years old). In addition to the necessary actions that lead to the opening of the box, Derek performed a bunch of "extra" actions. Then Derek left the box for the test subjects, and he left the room and began to peep. It turned out that the chimpanzees gradually stopped doing “extra” actions and performed only what was needed to get sweets. But human children happily reproduced both necessary and unnecessary actions.

Scientists believe that our tendency to copy “meaningless” actions is not so meaningless on the scale of human history: thanks to this, people were able to pass on the experience of distant ancestors to subsequent generations. Thus, elements of culture began to be transmitted from person to person: festive songs and dances, prayers, mystical rituals, useful skills. Therefore, it turns out that small mirror neurons are the basis of our great culture!

Artist Anna Gorlach

"I'm good - that's why I sympathize. And you're bad - that's why you won't wait for understanding." According to this moral parameter, we are trying to divide each other.
But in fact, this is not entirely correct.

There are no "good and understanding" or, conversely, "bad and insensitive" people. There are only people with different features brain...

Mirror neurons are special neurons in the brain that fire both when a certain action is performed, and when another creature performs this action.

The Mirror Neuron Phenomenon and Intuition

How do we perceive other people's emotions?

What is empathy, empathy, where do these emotions come from? Once in France, while investigating this question, they conducted a curious experiment.

One group of volunteers was asked to depict different emotions on their faces - sadness, joy, longing, anger, disgust. The test subjects were photographed and then shown the photographs to another group, while fixing its participants. It turned out amazing: when looking at emotional images in the brain of volunteers, the same areas instantly activated, as if they themselves were sad, happy, longing, angry or disgusted. In fact, some people internally "mirrored" the emotions of others - without realizing it.

This experience only confirmed the version of neurophysiologists that in the brain of each of us there are special cells that, without any analysis, understand the emotions of another person. Scientists call these cells "mirror neurons".

How Mirror Neurons Help Us Learn and Know

To learn the skills and information necessary for survival, the human cub must be able to imitate adults very well, understand the motives of their actions, quickly memorize and imitate their movements. This is what "mirror neurons" are responsible for. Those first representatives of the species Homo sapiens, who did not have enough of them, simply died out, leaving no offspring. Well, we - the heirs of millions of "mirror" generations - "mirror" each other constantly, easily and naturally, without noticing it.

What determines the number of mirror neurons in the brain

The number of "mirrors" in the brain depends on various factors. For example, from the floor. Women have several times more mirror neurons than men, so they are better equipped to understand and empathize. It happened as a result of evolution: a mother who spends a lot of time with her child must be emotionally open and able to empathize - so that her baby can develop his own emotions according to the mirror principle.

Genetics also leave their mark social norms that existed among different peoples for generations: for example, among representatives of emotionally restrained peoples (Japanese, Chinese, Swedes, Indians North America) there are more "mirrors" than those of temperamental Italians or emotionally open French, because "restrained" must be able to notice emotional changes even on stony faces. Therefore, the Chinese will easily "decipher" the feelings of an open European, but the European will be at an impasse in relation to the Chinese.

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Video: What is the Mirror Neuron Phenomenon

What else are mirror neurons responsible for?

Thanks to them, we are really scared while watching horror movies - although logic understands that there is nothing to be afraid of, because horrors do not happen to us, but on the other side of the screen.

Thanks to them, the mood rises if we find ourselves surrounded by smiling cheerful people.

Thanks to them, we ourselves can cheer up a sad friend just by smiling at him.

And also magic power mirror neurons are already widely used in physiology and medicine. It has long been noted that when people watch, say, a boxing match, their muscles involuntarily tighten and their fists clench. This is how human muscles "sympathize" with what we see on the screen. This neuroeffect is already being used to restore people who have experienced serious injuries, stroke, and other diseases that impair motor function. As it turned out, if such patients are shown special films with appropriate movements, then their body itself, without exhausting training, "remembers" how to move correctly.

"Mirrors" can be consciously used in ordinary life. Forgive me, look at the smiling, successful, healthy people- both your brain and your body will begin to tune in to the same positive wave.

Lecture "Through the Looking Glass of the Brain: The Phenomenon of Mirror Neurons"

Scientific and educational film "The Theory of Everything: God in neurons and the general scheme of the Universe; Modern neurology

The scientist, who revealed the secret of mirror neurons to humanity, spoke about how to improve mutual understanding between people, as well as about new approaches to the treatment of stroke and autism.

INDIFFERENT PEOPLE DO NOT ENOUGH NEURONS?

But after all, all people are different: there are very responsive, sensitive. And there are callous and indifferent, which, it seems, you can’t get through with anything. Perhaps nature has deprived them of emotional mirror neurons?

Hardly. The brain is not so simple. In addition to mirror neurons, of course, our consciousness and will work - with their help, you can partially extinguish those feelings and emotions that appear due to the action of mirror neurons.

And an even greater role is played by social norms adopted in society. If society supports the ideology of selfishness, individualism: take care of yourself first, own health, material wealth, - then you have to be selfish, because it is believed that this will lead to success. In this case, the role of your system of mirror neurons is reduced by willpower, upbringing, and habitual behavior.

motivation is very great importance. By the way, in many religions there is a principle: love others as you love yourself. You should not think that such a principle came from God - in fact, this is a natural rule that reflects the biological structure of a person and is based on the work of mirror neurons. If you do not like people, then it will be very difficult to live in society. Meanwhile, in Western societies, especially in recent centuries, there has been a period of a strictly individualistic approach. Now, for example, Italy, France, Germany are returning to the understanding that social life no less important than personal.

"DO NOT RESPOND TO MEN"

If we still talk about differences in the structure of the brain, it is noticed that women have more mirror neurons in the emotional system than men, the professor continues. – This explains the higher capacity of women for understanding and empathy. There were experiments when volunteers of both sexes were shown someone in a state of pain, suffering - the female brain reacted much more strongly than the male. It happened as a result of evolution: it is important for nature that it is the mother who spends the most time with the child who is emotionally open, empathizes, rejoices, and thereby helps the child develop emotions according to the mirror principle.

It turns out that it is pointless to accuse men of being insensitive, and to be offended by them?

Yes, there is no need to be offended by us (laughs). This is nature. By the way, there is another curious experiment showing the difference between men and women. A game is organized: let's say I play with you against someone else, and then you start playing against me on purpose, to cheat. In this case, I, the man, will start to get terribly angry, while the woman considers such behavior an innocent joke. That is, a woman is more inclined to forgive, to treat many things easier in the end. And a man perceives the same betrayal, say, much more seriously and less easily appeased.

HOW THOUGHT PUTS THE SICK ON THE FEET

You discovered mirror neurons over 20 years ago—probably since then, except for scientific research Were there any attempts to use your discovery in medicine?

Yes, we are working on practical application discoveries, including in medicine. It is known that motor mirror neurons make us mentally reproduce the same action that we see - if it is performed by another person, including on a TV or computer screen. So, for example, it has been noticed: when people watch a boxing match, their muscles tense up, and their fists can even clench. This is a typical neuroeffect, and it is based on a new technology for recovering from a stroke, Alzheimer's disease and other diseases in which a person forgets movement. Now we are conducting experiments in Italy and Germany.

The bottom line is this: if the patient's neurons are not completely "broken", but their work is disrupted, then using a visual push - showing the necessary action under certain conditions - you can activate the nerve cells, make them "reflect" movements and start working again as needed . This method is called "action-observation therapy" (action-observation therapy), in experiments, it gives a significant improvement in the rehabilitation of patients after a stroke.

But the most surprising result was found when this therapy was tried to be used to restore people after serious injuries, car accidents - when a person is put in a cast, and then he actually needs to learn to walk again. Usually in such cases a painful gait persists for a long time, the patient limps, etc. If you traditionally teach and train, it takes a lot of time. At the same time, if a specially created film with appropriate movements is shown, the necessary motor neurons are activated in the brains of the victims, and people begin to walk normally in just a few days. Even for us scientists, it looks like a miracle.

"BROKEN MIRRORS"

Professor, what happens if a person's mirror neurons themselves are damaged? What diseases does this happen with?

In fact, it is not so easy to massively damage these neurons, they are distributed throughout the cerebral cortex. If a person has a stroke, only a fraction of these neurons are damaged. For example, it is known that when the left side of the brain is damaged, a person sometimes cannot understand the actions of other people.

The most serious damage to mirror neurons is associated with genetic disorders. Most often this occurs in autism. Since the mechanism of “reflecting” the actions and emotions of others is broken in the brain of such patients, autistic people simply cannot understand what other people are doing. They are unable to sympathize because they do not experience similar emotions when they see joy or experiences. All this is not familiar to them, it can be frightening, and therefore autistic patients try to hide, avoid communication.

If it was possible to find out such a cause of the disease, did scientists get closer to discovering the means of cure?

We think that it is possible to fully restore autistic children if done at a very young age. At the very early stage, you need to show very strong sensitivity, even sentimentality with such children: the mother, the specialist must talk a lot with the child, touch him - in order to develop both motor and emotional skills. It is very important to play with the child, but not in competitive games, but in those where success comes only with joint actions: for example, a child pulls a rope - nothing happens, mom pulls - nothing, and if they pull together, then some prize is awarded . So the child understands: you and I are together - this is important, not scary, but useful.

TO THE POINT

Who will understand us from our smaller brothers?

Most of us have pets, which for many become real family members. We really want to understand their mood, somehow more meaningfully communicate with them. To what extent is this possible thanks to mirror neurons? Do cats and dogs have them?

As for cats, it is very difficult to find out. We would have to implant electrodes in their heads, and experiments on such animals are prohibited here. It’s easier with monkeys and dogs: they are more “conscious”. If a monkey knows that a certain behavior will get a banana, then he will do what the scientists are interested in. With a dog, this can also be achieved, although it is more difficult. And the cat, as you know, walks by itself and does what it wants, - the professor smiles. - When a dog eats, it does it the way we do. We understand this because we ourselves have the same action. But when a dog barks, our brain is not able to understand what it means. But with the monkey, we have a lot in common, and they understand us very well thanks to mirror neurons.

There have also been experiments showing that some songbirds have mirror neurons. They found cells in the motor cortex of the brain that are responsible for certain notes. If a person plays these notes, then the corresponding neurons are activated in the brain of birds.

THIS WILL BE USEFUL

How to cheer yourself up and others

Professor, if we subconsciously perceive the emotions of other people, then it turns out that when we watch horror films or tragic reports on TV, we automatically receive the same emotions? Let's say we get upset, and the stress hormone cortisol begins to be produced, which disrupts our sleep, memory, thyroid function, etc.?

Yes, it happens automatically. Even if you try to calm down, control yourself - this can only slightly weaken the reaction, but will not get rid of it.

But, on the other hand, perhaps you can use the same principle of mirror neurons to cheer up?

You're right. If you communicate with a positive, cheerful person or watch a movie with such a hero, then the same emotions arise in your brain. And if you yourself want to cheer up someone, then the chances are higher to do this not with a tragically sympathetic expression on your face, but with a benevolent light smile.

P.S. There is also a problem with mirror neurons in psychopaths. For example, modern look successful person- this is a typical picture of a psychotic in the manic stage - high efficiency, low need for sleep and food, lack of feelings and the ability to empathize, movement towards the goal using any available means.