APA Citation
Iacoboni, M., & Dapretto, M. (2006). The mirror neuron system and the consequences of its dysfunction. *Nature Reviews Neuroscience*, 7(12), 942-951.
Summary
Neuroscientists Marco Iacoboni and Mirella Dapretto review research on the mirror neuron system—brain cells that fire both when performing an action and when observing someone else perform that action. First discovered in monkeys, mirror neurons are now understood to support action understanding, imitation, and empathy in humans. The article examines what happens when this system functions abnormally, with implications for autism, developmental disorders, and potentially other conditions affecting social understanding.
Why This Matters for Survivors
Mirror neurons may be part of the neural basis for empathy—the automatic simulation of others' actions and feelings that allows us to understand their experience. If mirror neuron function contributes to empathy, dysfunction might contribute to empathy deficits seen in narcissism. While research in this area continues to evolve, the mirror neuron framework offers one lens for understanding how some people can observe suffering without automatically sharing it.
What This Research Establishes
Mirror neurons fire for both action and observation. These cells activate both when you perform an action and when you observe someone else performing it, creating an automatic neural simulation of observed behavior.
Mirror neurons may support social understanding. By automatically simulating others’ actions, mirror neurons might contribute to understanding what others are doing and, by extension, what they’re feeling.
Dysfunction may contribute to social deficits. Abnormal mirror neuron function has been proposed as contributing to autism and potentially other conditions affecting social understanding, though this remains debated.
The system is modifiable. Mirror neuron activity appears to be influenced by experience and training, suggesting potential for intervention.
Why This Matters for Survivors
Understanding automatic empathy. Mirror neurons may underlie the automatic, involuntary aspect of empathy—feeling others’ pain without consciously deciding to. This helps explain why their suffering moved you but your suffering didn’t seem to move them.
One piece of the puzzle. If narcissists have reduced automatic simulation of others’ experience (mirror neuron function) while retaining cognitive understanding, this could explain the dissociation between knowing and caring.
Your empathy wasn’t weakness. If automatic empathic responding is neurobiological, your being moved by others’ pain isn’t naivety—it’s normal neural function. The deficit was theirs, not yours.
Context for the field’s evolution. Mirror neuron claims have been moderated over time. They’re likely one component of empathy, not the whole explanation. Understanding this prevents oversimplification.
Clinical Implications
Don’t oversimplify. Mirror neurons offer one lens for understanding empathy deficits but shouldn’t be treated as the complete explanation. Social cognition involves multiple interacting systems.
Consider automatic versus deliberate empathy. Mirror neurons may support automatic empathy while cognitive perspective-taking involves different systems. Assessing both aspects informs intervention.
Training may help. If mirror neuron activity is modifiable, practices emphasizing others’ perspectives or empathic responding might enhance function. This has implications for both treatment and recovery support.
Stay current with the literature. The mirror neuron field has evolved significantly. Claims made in 2006 have been refined. Clinicians should be aware of both the promise and limitations of this framework.
How This Research Is Used in the Book
Mirror neuron research appears in chapters on the neuroscience of empathy:
“Mirror neurons—brain cells that fire both when you perform an action and when you observe someone else performing it—may support automatic empathic responding. When you see someone in pain, your mirror system partially simulates that experience. If this system functions abnormally, you might understand that someone is suffering (cognitive empathy) without automatically sharing that suffering (affective empathy). This offers one possible mechanism for the dissociation narcissists show between knowing and caring—though the relationship between mirror neurons and narcissism requires more research.”
Historical Context
Mirror neurons were discovered by Giacomo Rizzolatti’s lab in Parma, Italy, in the early 1990s during studies of macaque monkeys. The discovery sparked enormous interest and speculation about their role in human social cognition, language, and empathy.
This 2006 review appeared during peak enthusiasm for mirror neurons as explanations for social understanding. Since then, the field has become more nuanced. While mirror neurons clearly play a role in action understanding, their involvement in complex social cognition like empathy is debated. Claims of a “broken mirror” theory of autism have been questioned. The current understanding sees mirror neurons as one component of a complex system rather than a single explanation.
Further Reading
- Rizzolatti, G., & Craighero, L. (2004). The mirror-neuron system. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 27, 169-192.
- Iacoboni, M. (2009). Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect with Others. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
- Kilner, J.M., & Lemon, R.N. (2013). What we know currently about mirror neurons. Current Biology, 23(23), R1057-R1062.
- Hickok, G. (2014). The Myth of Mirror Neurons: The Real Neuroscience of Communication and Cognition. W. W. Norton.
About the Author
Marco Iacoboni, MD, PhD is Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA and a leading researcher on mirror neurons in humans. Mirella Dapretto, PhD is Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA, specializing in developmental cognitive neuroscience.
Iacoboni's research has helped translate mirror neuron findings from monkey studies to human social cognition, with implications for understanding empathy, imitation, and social disorders.
Historical Context
Mirror neurons were discovered in macaque monkeys in the early 1990s by Giacomo Rizzolatti's lab in Parma, Italy. This 2006 review appeared as researchers were actively investigating mirror neuron function in humans and its potential role in social cognition disorders. The field has since become more nuanced about the claims made for mirror neurons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mirror neurons are brain cells that fire both when you perform an action and when you observe someone else performing that same action. They create an automatic neural 'simulation' of what you're watching, which may support understanding of others' actions and intentions.
One theory proposes that mirror neurons support empathy through automatic simulation—when you see someone in pain, your mirror system partially recreates that experience in your own brain. This might be one mechanism underlying affective empathy: automatically feeling what others feel.
This isn't well-established. While mirror neurons may support aspects of empathy, narcissistic empathy deficits are complex and likely involve multiple systems. The relationship between mirror neurons and narcissism remains speculative and requires more research.
The clearest evidence links mirror neuron abnormalities to autism spectrum disorders. Some researchers have proposed involvement in other social cognition problems, but evidence varies. The 'broken mirror' theory of autism has been influential but is not universally accepted.
No. Empathy involves multiple systems: automatic emotional sharing (possibly supported by mirror neurons), cognitive perspective-taking (requiring prefrontal cortex), and emotional regulation. Mirror neurons might contribute to one component but don't explain empathy entirely.
Research suggests mirror neuron activity can be modulated by experience. Training in perspective-taking or empathic responding might enhance mirror system function, though this area is still being researched.
Mirror neurons offer one possible mechanism for automatic empathic responding—the immediate, involuntary sharing of others' experiences. If narcissists have reduced automatic empathic simulation while retaining cognitive understanding, this could explain how they can manipulate effectively without being moved by others' pain.
The field has been criticized for overclaiming. Mirror neurons support action understanding, but their role in complex social cognition like empathy is debated. They're likely one component of a larger system rather than the single explanation for social understanding.