Mirror Neuron Mechanism

This article describes the functional roles of a neural mechanism – the mirror neuron mechanism – that allows us to understand the actions done by others, their intentions, and emotions. The mirror mechanism produces, in our brain, motor representations that reflect the actions and the emotions of others. Because we know the outcome of our own motor representations, we have, through the mirror mechanism, a direct knowledge of what the others are doing and feeling. The role of the mirror mechanism in language and the possible role that its impairment plays in autism are also discussed.