[lbo-talk] Bonobo you don't

[Charles Brown]

We discussed this mirror neuron article on Stan Goff's blog. I'd say the
qualities of the mirror neuron are the opposite of what we are looking for
in finding a physiological basis for symbolling, language and culture.
Symbolling involves a mental process of _not_ imitating , of not
representing like with like.  

Monkey see, monkey do, imitating is not the critical aspect of the human
ability to pass on enormous amounts of information from one generation to
the next through culture and language.  It is the opposite process of
representing something by something that it is not, that is critical for
getting across the death barrier between generations.

CB

^^^^^



Perhaps James is innocent of what a mirror neuron is. I'm sure I knew at
one time but drew a blank when reading Jerry's post. Here, for what it's
worth, is part of the Wikipedia presentation:


A mirror neuron is a neuron which fires both when an animal performs an
action and when the animal observes the same action performed by another
(especially conspecific) animal. Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior
of another animal, as though the observer were itself performing the
action. These neurons have been directly observed in primates, and are
believed to exist in humans and in some birds. In humans, brain activity
consistent with mirror neurons has been found in the premotor cortex and
the inferior parietal cortex. Some scientists consider mirror neurons
one of the most important findings of neuroscience in the last decade.
Among them is V.S. Ramachandran[1], who believes they might be very
important in imitation and language acquisition. However, despite the
popularity of this field, to date no plausible neural or computational
models have been put forward to describe how mirror neuron activity
supports cognitive functions such as imitation.
Introduction

In the monkey, mirror neurons are found in the ventral premotor cortex
(probably the equivalent of the inferior frontal gyrus in humans) and in
the anterior inferior parietal lobule. These neurons are active when the
monkeys perform certain tasks, but they also fire when the monkeys
watches or hears someone else perform the same specific task.
Researchers using fMRI, TMS, and EEG have found evidence of a similar
system (matching observations with actions), in the human brain.

The function of the mirror system is a subject of much speculation.
These neurons may be important for understanding the actions of other
people, and for learning new skills by imitation. Some researchers also
speculate that mirror systems may simulate observed actions, and thus
contribute to our theory of mind skills, [2] [3] while others relate
mirror neurons to language abilities.[4] It has also been proposed that
problems with the mirror system may underlie cognitive disorders, in
particular autism.[5][6]

Research into all of these possibilities is ongoing.