Mirror Neurons: The Construction And Understanding Of Civilization

Years ago, one of the most important discoveries in the history of neuroscience occurred by chance that modified our conception of how the brain works: mirror neurons. The mirror neurons They participate in processes such as learning complex behaviors through observation (also called vicarious learning) and understanding other people’s behavior through empathy.

Thus, the research of these neurons has become one of the fundamental pillars to understand phenomena such as the implication of empathy in the development of social skills, the construction of cultural schemes and how it is transmitted through generations and in how Behaviors are generated from the understanding of behavior.

Serendipity: The unexpected discovery of mirror neurons

In 1996, Giacomo Rizzolatti worked together with Leonardo Fogassi and Vottorio Gallese in the investigation of the functioning of motor neurons in the frontal cortex of the macaque monkey during the execution of the hand movement when grasping or stacking objects. For their research, they used electrodes placed in the areas where these motor neurons are located, recording how they were activated while the monkey performed a behavior such as grabbing pieces of food.

Rizzolatti recalls that “when Fogassi, standing next to a fruit bowl, took a banana, we observed that some of the monkey’s neurons reacted, but: how could this happen if the animal had not moved? At first we thought it was a mistake in our measurement technique or perhaps a failure of the equipment; then, we verified that everything was working well and that the neuron reactions occurred every time we repeated the movement, while the macaque observed it.” So it was that, as has already happened with many other discoveries, mirror neurons were found by chance, a serendipity .

What are mirror neurons?

The mirror neurons They are a type of neurons that are activated when executing an action and when that same action is observed being executed by another individual. They are neurons highly specialized in understanding the behavior carried out by others, and not only understanding it from an intellectual perspective, but also allowing us to connect with the emotions that are manifested in the other. So much so that, in this way, we can feel completely moved when observing a beautiful love scene in a movie, such as a passionate kiss between two people.

Or, on the contrary, feeling sad when observing many of the scenes that the news or newspapers show us daily about unpleasant situations that people experience, such as wars or natural disasters in regions of the world. When we see that someone is suffering or feeling pain, mirror neurons help us read that person’s facial expression and, specifically, it makes us feel that suffering or pain.

The amazing thing about mirror neurons is that it is an experience like simulation in virtual reality of the other person’s action In this way, mirror neurons are closely linked to imitation and emulation. Because to imitate another person’s behavior, the brain needs to be able to adopt that other person’s perspective.

What is the importance of mirror neurons?

Knowing the functioning of this system of neurons specialized in understanding the behavior of others is of great relevance, since it allows us to make hypotheses to investigate and understand many social and individual phenomena. And when talking about these phenomena, I am not only referring to those that currently occur, but also to how the abilities and skills that we possess today, such as the use of tools, began and developed throughout the history of human evolution. , he use of language and transmission of knowledge and habits that constitute the foundations of our cultures today.

The beginning of civilization

It is here where we find the contributions of the Indian neurologist VS Ramachandran, who defends the relevance of mirror neurons in understanding the beginning of civilization. To understand it, we must go back in time to 75,000 years ago, one of the key moments in human evolution, where the sudden appearance and rapid spread of a series of skills took place: the use of tools, fire, shelters and Of course, language, and the ability to read what someone is thinking and interpret that person’s behavior. Although the human brain had reached its current size almost 300 or 400 thousand years ago, these abilities only appeared and spread about 100,000 years ago.

In this way, Ramachandran considers that 75,000 years This sophisticated system of mirror neurons emerged that allowed us to emulate and imitate the behavior of other people. Therefore, when a member of the group discovered something accidentally, such as the use of fire or a particular type of tool, instead of gradually disappearing, it spread quickly, horizontally, through the population and was transmitted vertically through the generations.

In this way, we can see that the human being develops a qualitative and quantitative leap within its evolution, since through learning by observation, emulation and imitation of behaviors, human beings can acquire behaviors that take other species thousands of years. years to develop. Thus, Ramachandrán illustrates us with the following example of how this occurs: “A polar bear will take thousands of generations (perhaps 100,000 years) to develop fur. However, a human being, a child, can see that his parents They kill a polar bear, skin it and place the skin on its body, and it learns it in a single step. What it took the polar bear 100,000 years to learn, it learns in just a few minutes. And once it learns it, it spreads in geometric proportions within a population. This is the basis for understanding how culture and civilization began and developed. The imitation of complex skills is what we call culture and is the basis of civilization.

Understanding Civilization – Expanding the Paradigm of Science

Through this hypothesis developed by Ramachandran we can understand many of the social phenomena that occur in our cultures, as well as realize why we are essentially social beings. The discovery of mirror neurons opens a space for the relationship between neurosciences and the humanities, by bringing to the fore relevant issues related to leadership, human relationships, culture and the transmission through generations of habits that make up our culture.

Continuing to investigate mirror neurons not only allows us to expand the scientific paradigm in order to understand culture and social phenomena, but also helps us develop therapeutic methods within the field of psychology and psychiatry that may be more effective.

The human brain remains a mystery and entails many mysteries about its functioning at a global level, but we are getting closer to understanding the complex processes that identify the human being. Through research like this we can reach conclusions that move from reductionism to a more accurate and global vision, with the aim of understanding why we are the way we are and the influence of brain processes on society and how culture also shapes Our brain.

As you said Antonio Damassio in his book “Descartes’ Error ”:

“Discovering that a certain feeling depends on the activity of several specific brain systems that interact with various organs of the body does not diminish the status of that feeling as a human phenomenon. Neither the anguish nor the exaltation that love or art can provide are devalued by knowing some of the innumerable biological processes that make them the way they are. It should be precisely the other way around: our capacity to marvel should increase at the intricate mechanisms that make such magic possible ”.