Posted on 04/29/2005 1:44:38 PM PDT by demlosers
Mirror neurons may generate ability to empathize
Empathy allows us to feel the emotions of others, to identify and understand their feelings and motives and see things from their perspective. How we generate empathy remains a subject of intense debate in cognitive science.
Some scientists now believe they may have finally discovered its root. We're all essentially mind readers, they say.
The idea has been slow to gain acceptance, but evidence is mounting.
Mirror neurons In 1996, three neuroscientists were probing the brain of a macaque monkey when they stumbled across a curious cluster of cells in the premotor cortex, an area of the brain responsible for planning movements. The cluster of cells fired not only when the monkey performed an action, but likewise when the monkey saw the same action performed by someone else. The cells responded the same way whether the monkey reached out to grasp a peanut, or merely watched in envy as another monkey or a human did.
Because the cells reflected the actions that the monkey observed in others, the neuroscientists named them "mirror neurons."
Later experiments confirmed the existence of mirror neurons in humans and revealed another surprise. In addition to mirroring actions, the cells reflected sensations and emotions.
"Mirror neurons suggest that we pretend to be in another person's mental shoes," says Marco Iacoboni, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. "In fact, with mirror neurons we do not have to pretend, we practically are in another person's mind."
Since their discovery, mirror neurons have been implicated in a broad range of phenomena, including certain mental disorders. Mirror neurons may help cognitive scientists explain how children develop a theory of mind (ToM), which is a child's understanding that others have minds similar to their own.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
My wife's been reading my mind for years....but only the bad thoughts...
Secular humanist liberals think they are right. WOW! It really works!
I believe it. There are many times when I can read my wife's mind just by her glare at me when I commit an indiscretion... *g
"You and your friend probably shared and thought of the same things during the day, or days prior to the dream."
I've thought of that reason as well, but it doesn't hold up when you know the details of the dream and the lack of anything like this dream's details or substance in our daily lives-- it was completely out of context.
Reading a mind made me a quick $100.
Walking into a casino in Istanbul, I walked around looking at slot machines, waiting for one to sort of call my name. As I passed a fellow hunched over his machine, who looked like he'd been there for hours, I heard him thinking loud and clear: "She'll probably sit down next to me and win." So I did. One pull, and out came the bucks. It was like taking him up on his offer to send his luck my way instead of keeping it for himself.
If you gamble, be careful what you think!
Loose minds sink ships.
Some day these geniuses will discover that non-verbal communication exists and that it has nothing to do with telepathy. Maybe they can get a big government grant to study what facial expressions mean.
In figure drawing sessions, when I concentrate particularly hard on a specific part of the model, the hand, a part of the face, whatever, the model will often suddenly move that specific part, almost as if my brainwaves caused an itch or something. This happens so often that I'm getting tired of remarking on it.
My daughter and I have noted that when one of us is thinking something, the other will suddenly say it, right down to using the right word. This also happens all the time.
I have the mind of a child.
I keep it in a jar on my desk.
[With apologies to Robert Bloch.]
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This-Is-Not-A-Ping-List ping!
[Freepmail me to get on or off this Not-A-Ping-List.]
Quantum Entanglement doesn't require an exchange of energy.
Most of them have no tangible plot and the characters are underdeveloped. Most of the minds I've read had a lot of blank pages in them.
I knew you were going to say that you knew that but you also knew I'd say this which of course I knew. Want a beer?
I have a hard time keeping my hands off of him.
Oh, did you mean "hot" as in temperature, or "hot" as in sexy?
But if I argue with you I must take up a contrary position.
Anomalous cognition, remote viewing, whatever. There is something there, not sure what myself, but something, enough that the militaries of various nations researched the matter for possible use in warfare. If you're curious about such things and enjoy those online tests, here's a link that I found through the Rhine Institute http://www.rhine.org with all sorts of amusement:
http://www.sciencehorizon.com/TKR/index2.cfm?msg=&ID=0&CFID=2738096&CFTOKEN=65869020
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