Memetic Horizon

.A fascinating NYTimes article talks about research into “Mirror Cells”

Most nerve cells in the brain are comparatively pedestrian. Many specialize in detecting ordinary features of the outside world. Some fire when they encounter a horizontal line while others are dedicated to vertical lines. Others detect a single frequency of sound or a direction of movement.

Moving to higher levels of the brain, scientists find groups of neurons that detect far more complex features like faces, hands or expressive body language. Still other neurons help the body plan movements and assume complex postures.

Mirror neurons make these complex cells look like numbskulls. Found in several areas of the brain–including the premotor cortex, the posterior parietal lobe, the superior temporal sulcus and the insula–they fire in response to chains of actions linked to intentions.

Studies show that some mirror neurons fire when a person reaches for a glass or watches someone else reach for a glass; others fire when the person puts the glass down and still others fire when the person reaches for a toothbrush and so on. They respond when someone kicks a ball, sees a ball being kicked, hears a ball being kicked and says or hears the word “kick.”

It’s a good sized article, definitely worth a read. Essentially its talking about the cells that are key in emotion based memetics. The cells allow us to feel emotions associated with the events that we sense happening to other people. These events are experience based, effected by culture and nurture.



http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/10/science/10mirr.html?ei=5070&en=b3c51be11d972c49&ex=1137733200&pagewanted=print