Monkey See, Monkey Do

Hallo... I think PBS makes having a TV worth it! Recently on NOVA there was a piece about a recent brain discovery named, Mirror Neurons. When you watch a sports event, a movie, a person in distress, a person laughing, and such, our brain reacts, but how?

It all started with a monkey who was fed peanuts in an Italian lab. Each time the monkey reached out for the peanut, a certain neuron fired in the brain. Then one day, a lab technician reached for a peanut in front of the monkey (I guess he was hungry) and the same neuron fired in the monkey's brain! Did you get that? The monkey did not move, but his brain mirrored the action. It was as if the monkey actually reached for the peanut himself.

When we watch a game of basketball, we feel and behave as if we are playing the game. We move with the players, calling out cheers and jeers, we feel their pain when a foul is called, and we feel their happiness when a goal is scored! Our brains mirror it all and the mechanism is just amazing!

To learn more about Mirror Neurons or watch the program online go to NOVA - Science Now

-zensufi-