The predictive vs. the simulating brain: A literature review on the mechanisms behind mimicry

Is it possible to understand the intentions of other people by observing their actions? And how does unconscious mimicking and synchronizing to behavior from other people relate to that? Behavioral synchrony and mimicry are important elements of social cognition. Their settings and effects have been well studied. However, the neurobiological mechanism behind them remains unclear. This review illuminates two neuroscientific approaches to explain the mechanism behind behavioral synchrony and mimicry. On the one hand, simulation through the mirror neuron system (MNS) describes behavioral synchrony as a by-product of simulation by certain motor-neurons. On the other hand, forward and inverse models, an internal prediction about future events, seem to be an important concept in motor control and have been suggested to be involved in social cognition as well. The author proposes that behavioral synchrony relates to forward and inverse models by acting as a facilitator of social cognition. A better prediction, due to behavioral synchrony, leads to a better understanding of others. Furthermore, limitations of the given approaches are illuminated.

[1]  W. Singer,et al.  Temporal binding and the neural correlates of sensory awareness , 2001, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[2]  J. Decety,et al.  From the perception of action to the understanding of intention , 2001, Nature reviews. Neuroscience.

[3]  A. Vighetto,et al.  An attention modulated response to disgust in human ventral anterior insula , 2003, Annals of neurology.

[4]  G. Rizzolatti,et al.  Speech listening specifically modulates the excitability of tongue muscles: a TMS study , 2002, The European journal of neuroscience.

[5]  T. Chartrand,et al.  Using Nonconscious Behavioral Mimicry to Create Affiliation and Rapport , 2003, Psychological science.

[6]  Jeremy N. Bailenson,et al.  Detecting digital chameleons , 2008, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[7]  G. Rizzolatti,et al.  Motor facilitation during action observation: a magnetic stimulation study. , 1995, Journal of neurophysiology.

[8]  Daniel M. Wolpert,et al.  Forward Models for Physiological Motor Control , 1996, Neural Networks.

[9]  A. Clark.  Whatever next? Predictive brains, situated agents, and the future of cognitive science. , 2013, The Behavioral and brain sciences.

[10]  V. Gallese.  Intentional attunement: A neurophysiological perspective on social cognition and its disruption in autism , 2006, Brain Research.

[11]  Michael J. Hove,et al.  It's all in the timing: Interpersonal synchrony increases affiliation , 2009 .

[12]  P. Churchland.  Self-Representation in Nervous Systems , 2002, Science.

[13]  Marianne LaFrance,et al.  Group Rapport: Posture Sharing as a Nonverbal Indicator , 1976 .

[14]  G. Rizzolatti,et al.  Neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the understanding and imitation of action , 2001, Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

[15]  K. Doya,et al.  A unifying computational framework for motor control and social interaction. , 2003, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[16]  G. Rizzolatti,et al.  A unifying view of the basis of social cognition , 2004, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[17]  T. Chartrand,et al.  The Chameleon Effect as Social Glue: Evidence for the Evolutionary Significance of Nonconscious Mimicry , 2003 .

[18]  E. Brown,et al.  The role of prediction in social neuroscience , 2012, Front. Hum. Neurosci..

[19]  D. Wolpert,et al.  Motor prediction , 2001, Current Biology.

[20]  Gregory Hickok,et al.  Eight Problems for the Mirror Neuron Theory of Action Understanding in Monkeys and Humans , 2009, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[21]  Klaus Jonas,et al.  Introduction to Social Psychology , 2001 .

[22]  T. Chartrand,et al.  The chameleon effect: the perception-behavior link and social interaction. , 1999, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[23]  Mitsuo Kawato,et al.  MOSAIC Model for Sensorimotor Learning and Control , 2001, Neural Computation.

[24]  T. Wheatley,et al.  From Mind Perception to Mental Connection: Synchrony as a Mechanism for Social Understanding , 2012 .

[25]  R. Miall,et al.  Connecting mirror neurons and forward models. , 2003, Neuroreport.

[26]  C. Summerfield,et al.  Grounding predictive coding models in empirical neuroscience research. , 2013, The Behavioral and brain sciences.

[27]  T. Poggio,et al.  BOOK REVIEW David Marr’s Vision: floreat computational neuroscience VISION: A COMPUTATIONAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE HUMAN REPRESENTATION AND PROCESSING OF VISUAL INFORMATION , 2009 .

[28]  A. Goldman,et al.  Mirror neurons and the simulation theory of mind-reading , 1998, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.