The Myth Of Mirror Neurons: The Real Neuroscien... -

Discovered in the 1990s in the brains of macaque monkeys, these cells fired both when a monkey grabbed a peanut and when it watched a human grab one. The scientific community went wild. Suddenly, mirror neurons were the "DNA of psychology." Experts claimed they were the secret to empathy, language, and even why we enjoy watching sports.

The motor system helps us predict or refine that understanding. The Myth of Mirror Neurons: The Real Neuroscien...

We understand others through high-level conceptual processing. Discovered in the 1990s in the brains of

Hickok argues that the brain is more like a sophisticated than a simple mirror. The motor system helps us predict or refine

Hickok pointed out that while macaques have these neurons, they don't have human-level empathy or language. Have mirror neurons but don't imitate well.

Gregory Hickok, a linguistics professor at UC Irvine, spent years watching the world fall in love with "mirror neurons."

Yet, patients with severe paralysis or speech production issues (like Broca’s aphasia) can still perfectly understand the actions and speech of others. The "mirror" was broken, but the understanding remained. 🐒 The Monkey vs. The Human