|
|
|
That “direct grasp of the mind of others” is an ability that sets humans apart from almost all other animals, except the monkeys and apes, which have only the first rudiments of this skill. Understanding what others intend makes possible those unique human skills of deliberate lying, cheating and manipulating, as well as imitation of others. Imitation is another skill that is almost uniquely human and permits learning to be passed on and culture to develop.
Language, too, may owe its origins to the mirror-neuron system. Obviously enough, any language has a first requirement that the person being communicated with understands the message of the communicator. Mirror neurons provide this first step directly. When a monkey performs an action with its hand, the mirror cells of another monkey watching will register that same action as if it were its own. Mirror neurons could have provided the starting-point for the evolution of a language based on gestures which only later became associated with sounds.
Although many scientists have looked for the origins of language in the calls and grunts of our ape ancestors, the early appearance of a gesture-based language makes good sense. Humans can still communicate very well with just their hands. Deaf children can naturally develop a gesture language without being taught. And as hands come equipped with complex muscles which allow them to do anything from gripping big sticks to picking tiny berries, they seem ready-made for expressive gestures to evolve.
If our spoken language did come from gestures, then there should still be an overlap between the language areas of the brain and the motor areas. Not only does that turn out to be true but brain scanners also show that one of the most important speech areas is active when we speak, when we gesture and when we see others gesture—just what would be predicted from a mirror-neuron origin of language.
What happens if mirror neurons go wrong? We might expect that people would lose their ability to have a direct, intuitive feel for the mind of other people. That condition sounds very much like autism, which is characterised by defects in social interaction. Recently, Vilayanur Ramachandran and his team at the
Some years ago Mr Ramachandran predicted that mirror neurons would “do for psychology what DNA did for biology; they will help explain a host of mental abilities that have hitherto remained mysterious.” Judging by the pace of research he may be right: the number of scientific papers mentioning mirror neurons has risen 800% in the past two years. Psychologists, linguists, biologists, robot builders (who think mirror-neuron-like properties might help their robots be a bit more human) and philosophers are all taking on board the new view that “cognition is embodied in action”. It’s a deep phrase to impress your friends with in 2006.
Alun Anderson: senior consultant, New Scientist
1. What do you think of mirror neurons that give us the power to feel what others feel as if they were our own?
2. Do you have any experience related to system of mirror neurons?
Do you often have great empathy with other ones.
3. Let's talk about psychological terminology which you know. (eg.defense mechanism, halo effect ,Electra complex)
stum·ble vi.
발부리가 걸리다, (…에) 채어 비틀거리다 《on, over》
sure·fire a.《구어》 틀림없는(reliable), 확실한;틀림없이 성공할, 실패 없는
cog·ni·tive〔
defect 결점, 결함;단점, 약점;흠(blemish)
au·tism n.【심리】 자폐성(自閉性) 《몽상·환상에 지배된 상태》;【정신의학】 자폐증 premotor cortex - 전운동피질(premotor cortex)cor·tex n. (pl. -ti·ces, cortex·es)
1【식물】 피층(皮層)
2a【해부】 피질(皮質), 외피
b 대뇌 피질(=cerebral cortex)
ru·di·ment〔
1 [pl.]
a 기본, 기초 (원리)
b 초보;시작
2 [보통 pl.] (발전의) 조짐, 싹수
grunt vi. <돼지가> 꿀꿀거리다;<사람이> 툴툴거리다, 불평하다
━ vt. 으르렁거리듯 말하다 《out》
━ n. 꿀꿀[툴툴]거리는 소리
made to order - 주문해서 만든, 맞춘(opp. ready-made)
hith·er·to〔
1 지금까지(는);지금까지로 봐서는 (아직)
em·bod·y vt. (사상·감정 등을 예술품·말 등으로) 구체화하다, 구체적으로 표현하다, 구현하다 《in》
ter·mi·nol·o·gy n.
1 술어학;(특수한) 용어법[론]
2 [집합적] 술어, (전문)용어
|