empathy and mirror neurons

this week's economist has a fascinating article on mirror neuron research. mirror neurons fire when we do a particular activity - such as reaching for a pen - but also fire when we watch someone else reach for the pen. it's kind of like putting ourselves in the other's shoes, cerebrally. research indicates that this kind of brain activity is absent in those without the ability to empathize, autistics.

this really cool research may answer some questions about altruistic behavior.

yesterday, while walking around georgetown, i saw a cab driver motioning a competitor towards a fare he couldn't get the get himself (he was going the opposite direction, and we know it's impossible to turn around in georgetown). i wondered at first why the cab driver would give his competition an edge, and there are a host of possible reasons. perhaps and wanted to promote the image that georgetown is a good place to get cabs, therefore increasing the likelihood that people would go to georgetown for cabs. another likely possibility is that the driver was a friend, and we usually want to help out our friends because we like them to do well and so that they'll return the favor someday.

another possibility, though, is these mirror neurons. he saw the driver wandering sans fare and his brain literally felt his rival's pain, prompting him to point out a fare to him.

a good research question would be to see if nervous states - such as activation of the sympathetic nervous system ("fight or flight") - dampen the activity of mirror neurons, thereby promoting our survival instinct. it wouldn't be very helpful to feel empathy for the guy who's trying to fight us, would it?

Labels: neuroscience