The Role of Mirror Neurons (AO1 & AO3) Flashcards
What are mirror neurons?
A neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another.
Why are mirror neurons important in social cognitive functions (theory of mind/perspective taking)?
If mirror neurons fire in response to others actions and intentions, this may give us a neural mechanism for experiencing and hence understanding, other peoples perspectives and emotional states.
What did Ramachadran (2011) suggest about mirror neurons?
That mirror neurons are so important that they have effectively shaped human evolution; the uniquely complex interactions that we have as humans require a brain that facilitates an understanding of emotion, intention and perspective.
What theory did Ramachadran and Oberman (2006) propose about mirror neurons?
The broken mirror theory of autism spectrum disorder. Found that children with dysfunction in the mirror neuron system will struggle with social interactions such as the reading of others intentions and emotions.
What was the evidence for the role of mirror neurons?
Hake el al (2012) demonstrated that an area of the brain believed to be rich in mirror neurons is involved in contagious yawning. He carried out an MRI scan on participants while they were stimulated to a film of others yawning. When they yawned in response, ppts showed considerable activity in the Broadmann’s area 9, a part of the brain which was believed to be rich in mirror neurons. This shows how regions of the brain activate when empathy or perspective taking takes place.
What was the criticism of mirror neurons?
It is difficult to study mirror neuron activity in humans. Scanning does to allow us to measure activity in individual brain cells. This means that researchers are generally measuring activity in a part of the brain and inferring this means mirror neurons. Shows a lack of direct evidence for mirror neuron activity.
