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So differences in how our mirror neurons react could account for differences in how well we understand social relationships. Got it.

But what if a particularly sensitive mirror-neuron system could also explain why others actually *feel* better understood by some people (ok, me) even when I admittedly don’t understand them well at all? Because that does happen. It happens a lot.
There’s an old communication trick, of mirroring the body language, general tone, and attitude of a person you’re talking with. My recall of the method is vague, but the conscious mirroring was suggested as a way to make the other person feel more understood, as if you’re in synch with them. It was also supposed to help you better understand their own state of mind and what they might be feeling, improving relations over all.

If my mirror neurons are all fired up during an exchange with a person, I am likely mirroring the other person’s body language, word patterns, etc, in a subtle but detectable way. Just like in the communication trick mentioned above, my mirroring them would in fact make them *feel* more understood.

In fact the whole trick might work *because* of mirror neurons - consciously mirroring someone might make them subconsciously assume that neural mirroring was going on. I also have to wonder if conscious mirroring triggers and enhances the mirror neuron system - which would explain the “better understanding” part of the trick.

Egads, this is a lot of information I’ve sorted through, and I’ve only scratched the surface. Researchers are suggesting that the mirror neuron system might be involved in all kinds of social development, including the sense of self and others, culture and even language. There’s been some criticism of the fad-like popularity mirror neurons in the scientific community, but the potential in this discovery is so broad ranging, it’s hard not to be excited.

The application of these discoveries in better understanding and treating social disorders like autism is clear - but it seems like there’s some fascinating mind-tweak potential for the rest of us, too. Here’s a few more questions I’m pondering:

• Does focusing on our own emotional experience help us to become more responsive to the emotions of others, through tuning the associated mirror neurons?
• Can mirror neurons function be improved through compassion oriented meditation, the sort that dissolves the boundaries of self? How about the intentional mirroring of others, can that help develop a better neural mirroring system?
• How can this help to develop more useful visualization processes in self hypnosis and improvement programs?
• Do those of us who get labeled “too sensitive” actually have extremely active neural mirrors? If so, does it interfere with our functioning, does it create social anxiety, and can we learn to turn it down?

If you made it through this self-indulgent rambling, I’m impressed.

Any thoughts you’d like to share? Any bits of the science that you think I’m misrepresenting? Any potential applications that fascinate you? Have an MRI I can borrow, for fun? Please comment!

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If you haven’t had your fill of this stuff yet, here are even more links on the subject:APA Online: The Minds Mirror
Edge: The Neurology Of Self Awareness
Edge: Mirror Neurons and The Brain In A Vat
Boston Globe: Empathy May Begin At The Neurons
A Mirror To The World (From The Economist Magazine)