Before and below ‘theory of mind’: embodied simulation and the neural correlates of social cognition

Gallese, Vittorio

doi:10.1098/rstb.2006.2002

Cited by 590 publications

(459 citation statements)

References 89 publications

(121 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

420

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…However, the mirror mechanism is not able to provide us with the reasons that might underlie the motor intention of Mary (for example, she grasped the cup to drink from it because she was thirsty or because she wanted some caffeine, or she did it to please her friends). understanding the reasons behind an agent's motor intention requires additional inferential processes [89][90][91] .…”

Section: Motor Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The functional role of the parieto-frontal mirror circuit: interpretations and misinterpretations

2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Motor Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The functional role of the parieto-frontal mirror circuit: interpretations and misinterpretations

2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…While there is still considerable debate about exactly how these shared activations contribute towards the understanding of others (see the following reviews for three distinct accounts: Cook, Bird, Catmur, Press, & Heyes, 2014;Gallese, 2007;Kilner, Friston, & Frith, 2007), the involvement of neural systems involved in representing the bodily self in social cognition is now well established.…”

Section: Prejudice and The Bodily Selfmentioning

confidence: 99%

Putting Ourselves in Another’s Skin: Using the Plasticity of Self-Perception to Enhance Empathy and Decrease Prejudice

Farmer

Maister

2017

Soc Just Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The self is one the most important concepts in social cognition and plays a crucial role in determining questions such as which social groups we view ourselves as belonging to and how we relate to others. In the past decade, the self has also become an important topic within cognitive neuroscience with an explosion in the number of studies seeking to understand how different aspects of the self are represented within the brain. In this paper, we first outline the recent research on the neurocognitive basis of the self and highlight a key distinction between two forms of self-representation. The first is the ''bodily'' self, which is thought to be the basis of subjective experience and is grounded in the processing of sensorimotor signals. The second is the ''conceptual'' self, which develops through our interactions of other and is formed of a rich network of associative and semantic information. We then investigate how both the bodily and conceptual self are related to social cognition with an emphasis on how self-representations are involved in the processing and creation of prejudice. We then highlight new research demonstrating that the bodily and conceptual self are both malleable and that this malleability can be harnessed in order to achieve a reduction in social prejudice. In particular, we will outline strong evidence that modulating people's perceptions of the bodily self can lead to changes in attitudes at the conceptual level. We will highlight a series of studies demonstrating that social attitudes towards various social out-groups (e.g. racial groups) can lead to a reduction in prejudice towards that group. Finally, we seek to place these findings in a broader social context by considering how innovations in virtual reality technology can allow experiences of taking on another's identity are likely to become both more commonplace and more convincing in the future and the various opportunities and risks associated with using such technology to reduce prejudice.

show abstract

“…My main claim is that key aspects of human social cognition are underpinned by neural exploitation, that is, by the adaptation of neural mechanisms originally evolved for sensorimotor integration, later on also employed to contribute to the neurofunctional architecture of thought and language, while retaining their original functions as well (Gallese & Lakoff, 2005; see also Gallese, 2003cGallese, , 2007. The execution of any complex coordinated action makes use of at least two cortical sectors *the premotor cortex and the motor cortex, linked by reciprocal neural connections.…”

Section: The ''Neural Exploitation Hypothesis''mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mirror neurons and the social nature of language: The neural exploitation hypothesis

Gallese¹

2008

Social Neuroscience

Self Cite

257

170

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper discusses the relevance of the discovery of mirror neurons in monkeys and of the mirror neuron system in humans to a neuroscientific account of primates' social cognition and its evolution. It is proposed that mirror neurons and the functional mechanism they underpin, embodied simulation, can ground within a unitary neurophysiological explanatory framework important aspects of human social cognition. In particular, the main focus is on language, here conceived according to a neurophenomenological perspective, grounding meaning on the social experience of action. A neurophysiological hypothesis *the ''neural exploitation hypothesis'' *is introduced to explain how key aspects of human social cognition are underpinned by brain mechanisms originally evolved for sensorimotor integration. It is proposed that these mechanisms were later on adapted as new neurofunctional architecture for thought and language, while retaining their original functions as well. By neural exploitation, social cognition and language can be linked to the experiential domain of action.

show abstract

Before and below ‘theory of mind’: embodied simulation and the neural correlates of social cognition

Cited by 590 publications

References 89 publications

The functional role of the parieto-frontal mirror circuit: interpretations and misinterpretations

The functional role of the parieto-frontal mirror circuit: interpretations and misinterpretations

Putting Ourselves in Another’s Skin: Using the Plasticity of Self-Perception to Enhance Empathy and Decrease Prejudice

Mirror neurons and the social nature of language: The neural exploitation hypothesis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About