All Do As I Do

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Most of us like to feel that we make up our own mind about what we are going to do.  However scientists working with monkeys, have now discovered something they dub ‘mirror neurons'.  Functional MRI brain scans of monkeys show that when one monkey watches another monkey trying to do something, his brain lights up in the same way as the monkey he is observing.  The observing monkey's brain image mirrors changes in the first monkey's brain almost exactly.  It appears as if the two brains were somehow connected, so that the monkey struggling with the problem transfers his learning to the observing monkey's brain.

Some who study animal behaviour have extended these observations to other animals and even humans, suggesting, for example, that the reason dogs are so perceptive in reading our intention to go for a walk, is found in the way the mirror neurons in their brains light up in response to our brain activity.

Scientists claim that these observations may help explain why we sometimes feel another person's pain or become cheerful in the company of a jolly person.  They suggest that our unconscious reflection of other people arises from the firing of mirror neurons in our brain as we watch them.  Certainly mimicking starts early in life.  Very young babies can mimic changes in a nearby face - even sticking out their tongue in response to our gesture.

So next time you find yourself unconsciously doing something, look around, you may not be the only one.