Mirror neurons were discovered in the early 1990s and have revolutionized our understanding of how people learn from and communicate with one another (Rizzolatti 1996).
Basically, the idea of mirror neurons is there are networks in our brains that allow people to feel what others experience as if it were happening to them. Human brains have an intrinsic ability for imitation, and are able to share mental processes and emotions. Brain cells not only fire when a person performs an action, they also fire when observing someone else’s behavior. For example, a person watches a race and his or her own heart rate begins to increase with excitement as the runners cross the finish line. A person sees someone else sniff food and make a face of disgust, and then the observer’s stomach begins to ache. When a person smiles, areas of the brain are activated and release neurochemicals that produce positive feelings. The same brain activity and emotional response occurs when observing someone else’s smile (Gazzaniga 2008).
Humans begin life with a rudimentary mirror neuron system. Newborns are able to imitate mouth opening, tongue protrusion, lip pursing, finger movements, and facial expressions. The anterior insula, a brain region that receives input from all parts of the autonomic nervous system, responds in the same way when study participants sniff a foul-smelling substance and when they observe videos of faces displaying expressions of disgust (Wicker et al. 2003).
Mirror neurons explain why people seem to “read” other’s minds and have empathy and heartfelt compassion for another’s pain. Parents can often feel their child’s pain, as if it were their own pain. Spouses can feel their partner’s distress as if it where their own. Human brains are built with the ability to understand one another.
