The Empathic Brain

At the beginning of the 1990’s, colleagues of mine in Parma, Italy, discovered some special brain cells they coined “mirror neurons,” which dramatically changed the way we look not only at the brain, but also our understanding of social interactions.

Mirror neurons make us fundamentally social —for better and worse.

They become active not only when you eat the chocolate, but also when you see another person eat it.

it. In fact, this feat of our brain, the emotional connection with others is, to a large extent, what makes us human. But how does our brain do that? Why should the emotions of others affect us so much? That is what this book is all about.

Mirror neurons “mirror” the behavior and emotions of the people surrounding us in such a way that the others become part of us.

What, though, does it mean for a premotor neuron to fire while you are observing the actions of others?

Seeing other people eat chocolate triggers a feeling for what it would be like to do the same.

Since mirror neurons contribute to our connecting with other people, a dysfunction of these cells can lead to an “emotional disconnection” with others. Autistic people are emotionally cut off from the rest of us.

Empathy is deeply engraved in the architecture of our brain.