[Zyx]

NYT Article "Cells that Read Minds."

WHEREAS humans may have instincts, the idea that our life is not emulation is one neither backed sociologically nor biologically. As I had said years ago, ABC, Acts Be Constructs, and beside from all the knowledge which I acquired sociologically, this "law" has recently become proven biologically.

In the article above, profound strides in the understanding of humanity and culture have been achieved through the serendipitous greed of a graduate student who chanced to eat an ice cream cone before a monkey set on a, sort of, brain scanner. The monkey showed the brain activity of eating an ice cream cone despite being restrained and away from the ice cream. Through this, the Eureka! moment of the day, was that mirror neurons are what makes animals emulate, and humans were most plentiful in this regard.

Suddenly, research abound, conclusions were set forth and many of what the social constructivists have been saying come to have biological basis:

Nevertheless, a study in the January 2006 issue of Media Psychology found that when children watched violent television programs, mirror neurons, as well as several brain regions involved in aggression were activated, increasing the probability that the children would behave violently.

. . .

Professional athletes and coaches, who often use mental practice and imagery, have long exploited the brain's mirror properties perhaps without knowing their biological basis, Dr. Iacoboni said. Observation directly improves muscle performance via mirror neurons.

Similarly, millions of fans who watch their favorite sports on television are hooked by mirror neuron activation. In someone who has never played a sport - say tennis - the mirror neurons involved in running, swaying and swinging the arms will be activated, Dr. Iacoboni said.

But in someone who plays tennis, the mirror systems will be highly activated when an overhead smash is observed. Watching a game, that person will be better able to predict what will happen next, he said.

In yet another realm, mirror neurons are powerfully activated by pornography, several scientists said. For example, when a man watches another man have sexual intercourse with a woman, the observer's mirror neurons spring into action. The vicarious thrill of watching sex, it turns out, is not so vicarious after all.

Suddenly, the idea that people must be stupid in order to be affected by the aggression of others is unfounded! The reasoning behind banning pornography or prohibiting violent television for children is reasonable, and biologically so. Even examples of bad behavior ought to be censored, given that people are biologically predisposed, and for their own good, to be influenced by such. So, when a person beats the person's spouse in public, it's more a social good to stop it then to leave it to the domain of privacy.

So, without my sociology primer beside me, I write in recollection of an interesting social constructivist implication. The child is said to go through phases: early on, embarrassment is near impossible, but as the child learns the social structure and how to interact with social entities in society, the child places itself and others in a hierarchy and interacts according to acquired norms. This has important implications on the role of media and child rearing, as well as schools and child rearing, but as to my current purposes, what of mirror neurons and the child's society? Reportedly, mirror neurons are near immediate.

Mirror neurons provide clues to how children learn: they kick in at birth. Dr. Andrew Meltzoff at the University of Washington has published studies showing that infants a few minutes old will stick out their tongues at adults doing the same thing. More than other primates, human children are hard-wired for imitation, he said, their mirror neurons involved in observing what others do and practicing doing the same things.

What to make of stages, then?

Anyhow, and most importantly, I found this article most exciting, so I felt obliged to share it and to hear responses with regards to it. Mirror neuron research seems to be especially relevant to society, and it's function seems to confirm the general truth to the, near, if not, consummate effects of society on an individuals development.

Cheerio and discuss.

[HoniSoit]

Hi Zyx - it'd be really appreciated if you could quote the article like the rest of us did. Thanks.

[Zyx]

HoniSoit, do you mean to quote the whole of the NYT article or the whole of the blog entry? I would have done the latter, but the post was not approved yet. It'd be rather against the whole waiting for approval if I set up an unapproved post to discussion. Ah well, I quoted the blog above.

[HoniSoit]

I meant to say quote the blog article.

Hasn't the blog article been approved? Does it need to be approved?

[Zyx]

Yes, but it was approved after I created this thread. Yes, it needs to be approved by a moderator. That's for another thread, though. This thread is on mirror neurons.