AI Article Synopsis
- The study examined how mirror neurons affect our ability to process facial emotions, which is important for understanding social interactions.
- Researchers used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on 20 healthy adults and found that recognizing static facial emotions was linked to increased mirror neuron activation.
- The findings suggest that mirror neurons specifically enhance our recognition of facial emotions rather than general facial processing, supporting existing theories on their role in social cognition.
Article Abstract
Theoretical accounts suggest that mirror neurons play a crucial role in social cognition. The current study used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate the association between mirror neuron activation and facial emotion processing, a fundamental aspect of social cognition, among healthy adults (n=20). Facial emotion processing of static (but not dynamic) images correlated significantly with an enhanced motor response, proposed to reflect mirror neuron activation. These correlations did not appear to reflect general facial processing or pattern recognition, and provide support to current theoretical accounts linking the mirror neuron system to aspects of social cognition. We discuss the mechanism by which mirror neurons might facilitate facial emotion recognition.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.04.022 | DOI Listing |
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