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Mirror neurons are central for a second-person neuroscience: Insights from developmental studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 July 2013

Elizabeth Ann Simpson  and
Pier Francesco Ferrari
Elizabeth Ann Simpson
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Parma, 43100 Parma, Italy. simpsonea@mail.nih.gov Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, Animal Center, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Dickerson, MD 20842. pierfrancesco.ferrari@unipr.ithttp://www.unipr.it/arpa/mirror/english/staff/ferrarip.htm
Pier Francesco Ferrari
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Parma, 43100 Parma, Italy. simpsonea@mail.nih.gov
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Abstract

Based on mirror neurons' properties, viewers are emotionally engaged when observing others – even when not actively interacting; therefore, characterizing non-participatory action-viewing as isolated may be misleading. Instead, we propose a continuum of socio-emotional engagement. We also highlight recent developmental work that uses a second-person perspective, investigating behavioral, physiological, and neural activity during caregiver–infant interactions.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 36 , Issue 4 , August 2013 , pp. 438
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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