The Myth of Mirror Neurons

May 5, 2014
Hickok, professor of cognitive science at the University of California, Irvine, frames his book around a straightforward question: “How is it possible that a cell in the motor cortex of a monkey can provide the neural blueprint for human language, empathy, autism, and more?” His answer, presented with great clarity and detail, is equally straightforward: it can’t. Hickok balances his exploration of the hype surrounding the importance of mirror neurons with a careful analysis of the scientific literature, always attempting to ensure that conclusions are well supported by available data. In fact, he firmly believes that conclusions have far outpaced data. When he takes on the assertion that problems with mirror neurons are the cause of autism, he does not sugarcoat his finding that “the broken mirror hypothesis does not fare well in light of empirical facts.” He is equally confident that mirror neurons have not provided clues to the evolution of language, empathy, or theory of mind. Hickok’s skepticism toward the claims associated with mirror neurons began when he taught a course on the subject, and thanks to those origins his impressive handling of basic neuroscience makes a complex topic understandable to the general reader as he delves into cutting-edge science.

July 1, 2014
The discovery of a class of brain cells called mirror neurons was embraced by an entire generation of scientists as the key to the neurological understanding of human social behaviors. But what if the fundamental assumption about these cells' activity was wrong from the start?The behavioral characteristic of mirror neurons that generated such excitement is this: Neurons fire when a subject reaches for an object as well as when a subject observes someone else reach for an object. This simple but profound feature, which suggests a relationship between knowledge of self-actions and an understanding of the intentions of others, generated multidisciplinary theories about all kinds of human behavior and thought, from language to empathy. Hickok (Cognitive Science/Univ. of California, Irvine) understood the hype-if these claims held up, the mirror neuron theory of "action understanding" could revolutionize our comprehension of some of the brain's most compelling mysteries. However, the author was also wary, in part because the data that started the firestorm was the result of experiments on monkeys, not humans-a big leap to the nuanced human behaviors mirror neurons were purported to explain. When he dug deeper into the research, Hickok was not convinced that the hard evidence was there. He became a vocal critic of the cult of mirror neurons and began conducting his own research. The results are fascinating: New findings in behavioral science and neuroscience suggest mirror neurons have a vital role to play within a broader class of sensorimotor cells, which may lead to a new understanding of the brain within a computational theory of the mind. It's an inspiring example of experimental science at work: The initial theory of mirror neurons may have had a false start, but it inspired an even more complex and interesting story that is just beginning to unfold.A bold look at one of the most exciting theories in neuroscience.

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July 1, 2014
Since 2009, Hickok has been a one-man storm cloud raining on the parade of researchers celebrating the discovery of mirror neurons. These researchers have claimed that in a type of neuron first isolated in macaque monkeys, they have found how the brain simulatesmirrorsactions performed by others. This mirroring, they claim, ultimately explains distinctively human attributes, including language and empathy. But as he expands on a much-debated article in the professional literature, Hickok pokes holes in the mirror-neuron paradigm. This paradigm becomes glaringly inadequate in its explanation of language and in its diagnosis of autism as a deficiency of mirror neurons. Hickok does laud mirror-neuron pioneers for stimulating much-needed debate about the models cognitive scientists use to understand the brain. And he predicts that this debate will ultimately incubate a conceptual sophistication incorporating mirror neurons in a new taxonomy of sensory motor cells inclusive enough to account for the way the brain processes sensory input and governs physical actions. A bracing foray into the frontiers of twenty-first-century science.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)