{"id":64386,"date":"2022-08-18T04:16:05","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T08:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=64386"},"modified":"2022-08-18T04:16:05","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T08:16:05","slug":"mirror-neurons-this-is-how-they-put-us-in-the-skin-of-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/mirror-neurons-this-is-how-they-put-us-in-the-skin-of-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Mirror neurons: this is how they put us in the skin of others"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Have you ever wondered why when we see someone yawn, we yawn almost immediately?\u00a0Or how newborns imitate facial gestures like sticking out their tongues?\u00a0And what about how we learn to use scissors or color?<\/p>\n

It has a lot to do with some peculiar neurons called mirror neurons.<\/p>\n

What are mirror neurons?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Mirror neurons are amazing neurons that participate in such important processes as learning, empathy, and imitation.<\/p>\n

They were discovered by chance by the Italian neurobiologist\u00a0Giacomo Rizzolatti in 1996<\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0Examining the brain of a macaque, this researcher and his team recorded neurons that were activated not only when the animal executed the action, but also when they observed another one doing the same activity.\u00a0Moreover, in both cases the premotor cortex was activated in the same way.<\/p>\n

It was soon found that exactly the same thing happens in humans.\u00a0For example, when we watch someone climb stairs, the motor neurons that correspond to those movements are activated without us taking a single step.\u00a0And, in general, when we watch another individual perform an action, without the need to speak, our mirror neurons can put us\u00a0in the same situation<\/a>\u00a0, mentally simulate it as if it were happening to us.<\/p>\n

Not only that: this type of nerve cell allows us to understand the intention with which the action is performed.<\/p>\n

Another of their properties is that they are activated by the sound associated with an action.\u00a0For example, when listening to how a paper is torn, they already\u00a0mentally\u00a0emulate that action, although we do not get to see it.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Where are they?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Mirror neurons are located\u00a0in four regions of the brain that communicate with each other<\/a>\u00a0: the premotor area, the frontal gyrus, the parietal lobe, and the temporal sulcus.<\/p>\n

Different functions reside in these zones:<\/p>\n