Abstract

Mirror neurons are cells in motor areas of the brain which fire during both execution and observation of the same action; for example, both when an agent performs a precision grip and also when it passively observes a precision grip performed by another agent. These cells are intriguing because, like a mirror, they match observed and executed actions; they code both “my action” and “your action”. Ten years ago, mirror neurons were everywhere. Mirror neurons featured in prominent international print and broadcast media; and hundreds of articles were published in academic journals implicating mirror neurons in, among other functions: action understanding, alexithymia, autism, business management, empathy, imitation, language comprehension, language production, literary mimesis, post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia. However, measured by number of academic publications, interest in mirror neurons peaked in 2013 and then began to decline, raising the question: what happened to mirror neurons? In this talk, I provide a brief survey of mirror neuron research in the last 10 years, focusing on their potential roles in speech perception and imitation, and their possible link to behavioural symptoms of autism. I will also discuss new work from my lab testing mirror neuron contributions to action understanding. I conclude that, although the results of careful empirical research were bound to be disappointing relative to the earlier more grandiose claims, recent work should encourage further systematic investigation into the functions of mirror neurons.

Reference

Caroline Catmur (King's College London), “What happened to mirror neurons?”, IAST General Seminar, Toulouse: IAST, March 15, 2022, 12:45–13:45, room Auditorium 4.