MIRRORING THE PROSPECT? LET’S ASK MONKEYS!
WHAT DOES MIRRORING THE PROSPECT MEAN? LET’S ASK MONKEYS!
In the 1990s, Italian researchers led by Giacomo Rizzolatti worked with macaque monkeys. During their study, these scientists stumbled upon an intriguing phenomenon. They discovered that the monkeys’ brain cells that fired when they performed actions like grabbing a nut also lit up when they merely watched others carry out the same activities. In other words, the monkeys’ brains responded as if they had done those things even when they were just observers. The scientists called the brain cells responsible for this event “mirror neurons.”