Goal-Oriented Brain Cells: Neurons may track action as a prelude to empathy
By Bruce Bower
Neuroscientists in Italy listened in on monkeys’ brains cells that they say may lie at the root of empathy, the ability to discern others’ thoughts and intentions.
Nerve cells located in premotor tissue toward the back of the brain assist in discerning the goals of specific actions, Leonardo Fogassi of the University of Parma and his colleagues propose in the April 29 Science. Some of these neurons discharge strong electrical impulses as a monkey grasps a food pellet with the intention of eating it as well as when the monkey sees a person pick up a food pellet and start to raise it to his mouth. Other premotor cells become especially active as a monkey clutches a food pellet to place it in a container and also when the animal sees a person do the same thing.