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Facing You: The Neural Basis of the Intimacy of Self and Other
The
primate brain contains a fronto-parietal neural system in which cells
fire during goal-oriented actions and during the observation of the same
actions performed by other people. These cells, called mirror neurons,
have been implicated in several aspects of social cognition, from
imitation to empathy, from understanding the intentions of others to
self-awareness. The mirror neuron system is anatomically embedded in a
massive, parallel fronto-parietal neural architecture for sensory-motor
integration. This anatomical location suggests that the nature of the
social cognitive processes facilitated by mirror neurons is
sensory-motor and that these cells are critical during social
interactions. Mirror
neurons are concerned with two broadly defined domains of social
interactions: a cognitive domain, i.e., imitative learning and cognitive
empathy, and an emotional domain, i.e., contagion and emotional empathy.
Cognitive mirroring is supported by the neural interactions between the
mirror neuron system and prefrontal cortex. Emotional mirroring is
supported by the neural interactions between the mirror neuron system
and the limbic system. A core deficit of autism is a deficit in the
mirror neuron system, in particular the interactions of this system with
the limbic system. Why
did mirror neurons get selected by the evolutionary process? What is the
adaptive advantage of having mirror neurons? It is proposed that mirror
neurons facilitate inter-subjectivity, the sharing of meaning between
individuals, an intimacy between self and other that is a building block
of sociality. |