Download - Mirrors nerves and monkey brains
Keith Norman
Occupational Therapy Student
‘Love one another...as I have loved you.’
Jesus of Nazareth
‘Love is not the product of thought’Jiddu Krishnamurti
I'll be your dreamI'll be your wishI'll be your fantasy.I'll be your hopeI'll be your loveBe everything that you need
Savage Garden
Evidence-based and outcome-oriented practice often overlook the importance of caring in professional relationships
Unconditional love is vital to the development of the individual
Acceptance (unconditional positive regard), empathy and genuineness (Rogers)
Communication of empathic understanding and unconditional positive regard nurtures self-healing
(Stickley and Freshwater 2002)
Stern (1985) Empathic Attunement
Winnicott (1965) Holding
Bion (1963) Container/contained
Pines (1982) Mirroring
MIRROR MIRRORING
Immediate/fleeting One-way Exact Unbiased
Flat/two-dimensional
Delayed/enduring Two-way An imitation Coloured by
thoughts, judgements and pre-conditioning
Layered, complex, multi-textured
(Rizzolatti http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/589463_2
Individual neurons fire when an action is performed and when it is observed or heard
In macaques inferior frontal gyrus (region F5) and the inferior parietal lobule
In humans inferior frontal cortex (close to Broca’s area) and superior parietal lobe
Allow humans to understand others actions, but also emotions
People who have high activity in brain regions associated with mirror neurons also score highly on empathy questionaires
Allow others’ actions and intentions to be automatically understood/intuited
Allow others actions and intentions to be automatically and appropriately responded to
Works via insula with limbic system to allow understanding of others’ emotional state
Abnormal function of mirror neurons (pars opercularis) during action observation and imitation
No activity in pars opercularis during facial expression recognition
Lower activity in limbic (emotional) system during facial expression recognition
Children with ASD able to imitate and name facial expressions do so using different neural strategies
(Dapretto et al 2005)
Loss of a potential bridge between minds
Critical for intersubjectiveunderstanding, attention sharing and social survival
Imitation is critical for early development and learning (motor, language, behaviour)
Loss of imaginative ability
Behaviour restricted, repetitive & stereotyped
(Williams et al, 2001)
‘Theory theory’
Logical process based
Observe others behaviours
Theorize regarding mental/emotional state
Predict behaviour and plan response
‘Simulation theory’
Intuition based
Put self in other’s shoes
Simulate mental processes operating in other
Act in concert with other
‘Theory theory’
Logical process based
Observe others behaviours
Theorize regarding mental/emotional state
Predict behaviour and plan response
‘Simulation theory’
Intuition based
Put self in other’s shoes
Simulate mental processes operating in other
Act in concert with other
Find out more about them
Trust in them (they give us lots of useful information)
Be honest and genuine (the other person will know we’re faking, even if they don’t know that they know)
Forgive others when they don’t seem to understand us (their mirror neurons might be broken)